Nikki May: social butterfly, coffee addict, and the unofficial Queen of Lowertown. She also happens to be one of hell of a great artist, a super savvy business woman, and an inspiration to poor, starving artists like myself. Nikki is a partner and the creative side of iList Paducah. She is an artist, designer, and illustrator. Her art can be seen at nikkimay.com. Some of Nikki’s art is available at nikkidmay.etsy.com
David: Nikki, I’ve known you a couple of years now. I worked for you at iList Paducah for a short while. I remember your enthusiasm and great talent as a business owner and artist. Can you tell me about iList and how you started it?
Nikki: Mary Thorsby, the World’s Best Business Partner, and I started it together 3 ½ years ago. Mary had the original idea for doing an online event calendar and came to me because she knew I had the web design skills and we developed it together.
David: I love your work as an artist. Can you tell me about your work and what medium(s) you work in? And what’s your favorite to work in?
Nikki: Thanks Dave! I work in lots of different media, but my favorite thing to work with in the past few years is encaustic. Encaustic is pigmented beeswax mixed with resin and you melt it to paint with it. It’s an amazing material that allows me to combine so many different things that I like to do: drawing, painting, collage… I also draw in pen and ink constantly.
David: You live in Paducah, Kentucky, in the LowerTown Arts District. How did you find out about it and why did you choose to live and move here?
Nikki: I was living in Atlanta and working for IBM as a Creative Director. It was a great job, but I wasn’t doing any art. I wanted to leave my job and work for myself and have more time to do my art. I knew that I couldn’t afford to live in Atlanta and not have that kind of job, so I was looking for a place to move to. I did a google search for “small town art” and I found an article about the Artist Relocation Program in Art Calendar magazine. It sounded like just what I was looking for and so I came for a weekend visit. I made an offer on a house that first weekend!
David: You have excellent training. Where did you go to college and what was your course of study?
Nikki: My education is all in fine art. I studied drawing and painting University of Georgia and went to grad school at Savannah College of Art and Design, where I studied fiber art. I also spent 6 months studying art in Italy while I was at UGA. All of my computer, web development and graphic design skills are self-taught. I continue to learn on my own by reading design and web development blogs.
David: For anyone who wants to start their own business, especially those using the world wide web and social networks, what advice can you give?
Nikki: Actually, we have a great local resource for people who want to start their own business – EntrePaducah (www.entrepaducah.com). Check out their website and give Terry Reeves a call. There is also more information online than you could possibly want… reading blogs written by superstars in the art and design world is a great way to keep up on what’s going on out there.
Thank you Nikki! You are always so much fun to be around, especially with your snappy remarks, for those of us who know you. Your art is fabulous. Check out nikkimay.com
copyright David Hurley 2010
