Sonia Punjabi

New EWI artist Sonia Punjabi says her work is, "inspired by folk." Sonia taps into her Indian heritage to create colorful paintings and jewelry. She grew up in the metropolitan city of Bombay, yet remains most inspired by a visit to the Indian state of Rajasthan, known for its vibrantly colored textiles, semi-precious stones, and handicraft traditions.

Sonia was drawn to EWI for its mission and the opportunity it provides her. After only two months, she says the experience has been positive. Sonia will take the EWI business training this month to gain marketing and financial skills. She isn't sure to what scale she wants to take her art, but she says, "I wouldn't want to be sitting at home with a small audience. I want to create an avenue." EWI's gallery on King Street provides a strong start to this endeavor and a place to showcase her work.

She says of the gallery, "It's unique. It has a lot of different artwork. I kind of like the concept that here art is anything handmade. It's almost like a store, but with a cause." Sonia works at a nonprofit organization, but she notes that EWI is a morale boost for women who do not have that chance. She says it is important for, "especially immigrant women who are in the home, with no opportunity to work. They have these talents, so it gives them this option."

Wynn Creasy

Wynn Creasy's life journey has been as colorful and curving as the varying brushstrokes of her popular oil paintings. Her memories of growing up in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains inspire the themes of nature and harmony that run through her art. Wynn began her art career singing musical comedy, then Opera. She has sung on Broadway, at the Met, and at many regional theaters, but as a self- described "recluse and homebody," she hated living out of a suitcase. She teaches singing and acting, but a desire to make a career change and become a visual artist prompted her to seek training at EWI.

While she is not an immigrant, she immediately recognized the value of EWI's training program in business and marketing for the arts and signed up. Previously, she had never had a portfolio, photographed her work, or had any formal training in business management or accounting. She says, "From the first night, I thought, ‘This is good.' There was so much information."

Later, she realized EWI's larger role. She said, "This is something I need to be involved in, not just as an entrepreneur, but as a woman supporting other women and immigrants."

So, how has participation with EWI changed her life? Wynn says, "It's safe to say those nine weeks completely changed my life." Since graduation from EWI's program, Wynn has enjoyed a high level of commercial success, but she warns that recognition doesn't immediately translate into sales. Her advice for artists just starting out is not to let others set your limitations. She says, "Do everything. Get all the information you can. Don't do it part way. Do it with 110 percent!"

Jenny McKenzie

Jenny McKenzie creates artwork by holding a pen or other tool between her thumb and chin and moving her shoulder. She says, "I know it sounds hard, but I am used to it, so it is not." Jenny contracted viral encephalitis at age three, leaving her deaf and mostly blind, with a form of cerebral palsy.

Jenny recently graduated from the EWI business training program with a portfolio and marketing plan for her emerging business. She currently exhibits at craft shows, yet her dream is to send her portfolio to a museum or a business to display.

She says, "I don't think that a physical disability should be a limitation to what a person can create and express. You don't always have to see perfectly in order to see what is in your mind or in your heart to put it on paper."

Jenny says she thinks creative talents are gifts for us to use to help others and enjoy. She adds, "And if we remember that God gives us these talents, he will help us find a way to create that picture, even though maybe we can't hear or see or use our hands."

Diana N'Diaye

Diana N'Diaye was born in the United States but grew up in Bermuda with family ties in Barbados and Senegal . She grew up with an interest in art, but says that at the time the field was limited mainly to Western art while she wanted to pursue other forms from around the world

She chose instead to enter the field of anthropology and today works at the Smithsonian Museum as a curator. However her interest in art never subsided. She has been working with fiber/textiles and designing jewelry, but until EWI she admittedly had never fully developed projects.

"There has been a tremendous difference in my life from EWI's business training. There are projects I have been working on for seven years and only now do I have direction," she says.

Dianna works with collector's beads, such as Murano and Venetian Chevron, from as early as the 15th century. She says she combines these antique beads along with contemporary pieces to create talismanic necklaces. "The person wearing one of my necklaces, it is wearing basically a necklace of power based on many traditions," she says.

Diana emphasizes the importance of the support she got from EWI not only for herself, but for her daughter, Mame, who is also an artist. She says the program has inspired and equipped her with knowledge to act upon her aspirations for developing an art business instead of just thinking about it. She adds that she would like to see EWI expanded beyond the DC metro region to benefit a wider range of artists.

Mame N'Diaye

"I make art because it can heal the world and make it a better place for you and me"

Mame N'Diaye, an EWI artist member and a 2006 business graduate, began making art when she was six years old, encouraged by her mother, who is also an artist. Working mainly in pen and ink, Mame derives her themes from mystical, fantasy worlds.

"When I make art my images just come, just like the images in a crystal ball.

You don't know where the images come from, they just come. What comes may be unexpected and you may not believe what appears."

Her linear style may be described as overflowing mazes, with a strong attention to composition and interlocking subjects. She has recently learned more advanced computer graphic systems, scanning in her original black and white drawings which she then colors within the computer and prints on a variety of paper types.

Mame, who has Asperger's syndrome and bipolar disorder, experienced difficulties with formal school instruction.

"In high school, my teachers thought that I was not able to do anything because of my disability. Through my artwork, I proved them wrong." Mame uses art as a place to share her dreams. "I make art because it can heal the world and make it a better place for you and me."

An advocate for not only herself but for all people with disabilities, Mame's passion, honesty and general ability to express herself has set her apart. She has received much encouragement from EWI and valuable business skills to help market her art.

Mame attended EWI Business Training for Success and she has learned about pricing, accounting, legal matters, and marketing, and is planning to open a solo exhibition with her mother as the curator.

She says that for her, art is not only a form of expression, but a type of spiritual quest.

Joyce Wagner

Joyce Wagner has always loved to make things. As a child, while her neighborhood friends were dressing up in ball gowns, she preferred to sit in her side yard concocting mud pies painstakingly decorated with Dogwood berries.

A native Washingtonian, Joyce lives with her husband and four of their five children in Old Town, Alexandria. She is active in making decoupage flowers and leaves and constructing mosaics from river glass, seashells, pebbles, tiles, and broken dinnerware.

She has even started her own company, Reinvented Elegance, which showcases her love of discovering the "hidden potential" of discarded objects. "Growing up, my family always fixed up things instead of throwing them out, and I developed an appreciation for using everything to its fullest," Joyce says.

She came to Empowered Women International looking for a better way to manage her company. She credits the patience and support of Marga Fripp, founder and executive director of EWI, with her increasing success.

"EWI has given me so many pointers to help improve not only my art, but my business skills. It is constantly a learning process, and I feel the course has changed the life of my business," Joyce says.

"I feel I've learned so much through the business training and it really helps me to focus and to break things down into manageable chunks."

Padma Prasad

"I don't know why I'm so drawn to figures; I like how their faces reflect their thoughts, and how we try to hide ourselves, but really reveal ourselves..."

Padma Prasad's best qualification to be an artist is being the daughter of well-known contemporary Indian artist, Dr. M. Reddeppa Naidu. She painted continuously with watercolors as a child in her father's studio, however decided to be a writer as a young woman and put her brushes down.

When she came to America in 1997, she could not get a work visa, and became dispirited with nothing to do. It was her father's suggestion and the need to recreate life at home in India that led her to pick up a paintbrush and express herself in art once more. "It felt like discovering old ground. There was no new learning, just rediscovering what I previously knew," Padma says.

For her, each painting is a joy of discovery, of remembering lines and colors and spaces. The blank canvas is a powerful excitement to the mind. Her subjects are mainly people, their expressions, attitudes and postures. "I don't know why I'm so drawn to figures; how they stand, how they look, their expressions when they talk to each other. I enjoy being around people; I like how their faces reflect their thoughts, and how we try to hide ourselves but really reveal ourselves, so I wanted to capture all of that"

Padma says that when she tries to paint a still life, she just doesn't get the same amount of satisfaction as when she paints figures. "I think people are a great source of power and strength, and I take my inspiration from the people around me."

Padma's Figurative Moods collection is available for sale at our online gallery.

Mekbib Gebertsadik and Meseret Desta

International, award-winning artists Meseret Desta and Mekbib Gebertsadik came to the United States from Ethiopia in 2001.

Their art is concerned with the life in their homeland, as well as understanding the reality of the cosmos by means of painting. Their painting has bright, strong colors. They use their colors like the Impressionist artist, allowing the viewer's eyes to mix the colors. The real palettes are the audience's eyes.

When Ethiopian artists, Mekbib and Meseret came to EWI in the spring of 2004, they had no idea how much their careers and lives would change in less than two years.

Their English was limited, and their knowledge of the art business here was non-existent. Although their art was very popular in Ethiopia and their names recognized in major art galleries there, in the United States, they were unknown.

Assisted by EWI mentors and volunteer staff, Mekbib and Meseret pursued English classes and now speak fluently. They gained business skills and learned to market their work professionally.

They exhibited extensively throughout the DC Metropolitan area. But most importantly, Mekbib and Meseret found their unique way to have a voice in America. By creating and showing their art, they built a network of friends and supporters, and found a way to participate in society and give back to their communities.

"It's unbelievable how much help we received from EWI. EWI helps us build confidence and constantly connects us with resources, and with that, we know we can be successful." (Mekbib Gebertsadik)

Blanca Vasquez

Blanca Vasquez was born in Honduras and was raised by her mother. She got involved in community work and activism at an early age.

She went to community meetings to learn how to solve electricity and water problems that plagued her town in Honduras. This early exposure to community events helped her to become a leader and to give back later on in the form of community service in her native country and later in the US.

Her deep involvement in the community led her to join a dance club in Northern Virginia and to meet Juanita Moh, a jewelry maker from Belize. Juanita's designs and encouragement inspired Blanca to begin to make her own unique jewelry.

Juanita Moh is one of the women Blanca is currently assisting to find resources to expend her business. Blanca also works with a community of immigrant women in Northern Virginia helping them explore and expand their artistic talents and providing them with resources for economic development.

Blanca credits EWI for teaching her to better organize her community activities and master PR skills that helped her to market better her community programs. Blanca also received one-on-one business and computer coaching through EWI volunteer staff and members. "Because of EWI now I have a business plan, a portfolio and a much better idea of how to market my own art and the art of many other women I help."

"Art is very fundamental," she says, enabling us to "transmit out culture to others. Thanks to the beauty of art we can demonstrate how each culture is a unique and different part of wonderful diversity to the human race."

Tayseer Shibrain

Tayseer Shibrain, a native of Sudan, has been coloring and painting since she was a child. She grew up in an artistic environment watching her father work on his paintings in their hometown of Khartoum, Sudan.

"I consider myself a self-starter, and art meant so much to me in my life journey," she says, "Art has been my inspiration and one of my ways to express myself."

In pursuing her education, Tayseer majored in Political Science but continued to paint and exhibit during her school years until she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Khartoum in 1989. She continued her education and received her Master's Degree in Gender Analysis in Development in the UK in 1994. That degree drew her attention to creating art about women and making women a major subject for her abstract paintings.

"Women have accomplished so much and went a long way in so many areas of the world and across cultures, but yet there is so much that needs to be said about women and so much work is needed to make women more visible in many cultures," Tayseer said.

In presenting her abstract paintings, she has been using curve as a way of capturing people's movements, presenting different ways in which people express themselves and interact with each other. In doing so she is aiming at making women the center of her art work.

"I believe that this work can bring a positive energy that will remind people of the good that we women can add to so many pictures in life," Tayseer said.

Tayseer will continue to experiment with her ideas using different medium including oil paint, acrylic paint, foil papers and wires.

Regina Margarita Barker-Barzel

Regina Barker-Barzel, an Israeli born in Russia has lived and traveled through Europe, North America, and Asia, an experience through which she says she became haunted by the faces of the people and characters that she met.

Regina's love of fine art and her need to express herself during the difficult moments of her life led her to painting. Her art demonstrates her life experience and draws light to acts of terrorism around the world.

"I could not stay indifferent to the world around me and the events and terrorist acts that maimed and killed women and children," Regina says, adding that they "inspired me to express artistically on canvas and paint with a bleeding paint brush my emotions of these events." Regina immigrated to the United States in 1975 after marrying an American citizen.

Although Regina has exhibited in Israel, Spain, Italy, and has a body of works of more than 500 paintings of oil on canvas, she has exhibited her art only a few times in the United States and gained very little financial or artistic recognition for her works.

Regina came to Empowered Women International in June 2005. She attended EWI's business training, and received one-on-one business coaching and computer skills through EWI staff and volunteer mentors.

"This program focuses on our strengths, and opportunities. It shows us how to use these opportunities to overcome obstacles," she said, "The classes and speakers trained us how to be independent, and provided us with knowledge and resources to market and sell our art. Now it's up to us to find and learn how to use these different resources and avenues for success."

Tricia O'Hara

Tricia O'Hara is a seasoned artist inspired by the work of other artists, particularly Monet and the Impressionists. She worked full time at the U.S House of Representative and painted in her free time, and received various commissions from her colleagues on Capitol Hill upon discovering her artistic talent

Graduating from the Corcoran School of Art encouraged her to continue her schooling at Georgetown and the Arts Students League. The inspiration she drew from Monet led her to paint many of his works and others that were similar in feeling, one of which led to an article in Horizons Magazine in Sept/Oct 1993.

However during a move to a new residence, Tricia discovered in 2004 that some of her works had been stolen. Despite this, she still continues to paint and has a small collection of her works in her home.

EWI helped her most with legal knowledge, securing space in galleries and building a portfolio, which she could present. The services have provided for Tricia "a roadmap," so she can "reach realistic goals."

"The program has supported my professional and artistic goals by keeping me focused on what it takes to market my business and to break into the art industry," Tricia says, " This is not about ‘I'm an artist, please buy my paintings.' It's about developing relationships and nurturing the people that are interested in your works."

Mahasin Mohammed

Mahasin Mohammed came to EWI with a great passion for art.

"I have a never- ending desire, vision and dream to create and innovate with my God-given talents and come out with the valuable substances that are intrinsic in my nature," she said.

She had developed this passion at an early age growing up in Sudan watching her mother weave, sew and knit.

Growing up in Sudan gave her limited resources in terms of art materials, so she often experimented with different mediums. This experimentation led her to her current use of feathers and consequently various exhibitions in both the United States and other countries.

"The first thing(s) I learned in EWI's artists entrepreneurial training was how to determine my goals, how to organize my work, and to put it together...to build a successful portfolio. Believe me I learned a lot from this class."

Her art speaks for itself, but she learned how to market it successfully. Her two completed portfolios include one of feather collages and paintings, and another one featuring Sudanese children who perform traditional Sudanese dances choreographed by Mahasin.

In addition to portfolios, she also learned skills such as how to organize her work on a CD, prepare a mailing list and generally build her business from the ground up. She also speaks highly of Marga Fripp, the founder of EWI, "she encouraged us to build ourselves, and I feel she opened a lot of opportunities for me."

Juanita Moh

Juanita Moh was born in the Cayo District of Belize. She moved to an archeological site with her family for her father's job and could not finish school, so she started designing jewelry while she was home and gave it to her mother to sell in her gift shop.

In June 2002, she started to work as an interpreter in Lamanai where she learned how to make silver wire jewelry from a woman named Karen Pierce, who was teaching the craft in a local village. Juanita came to the United States in November 2003, and a short time later met Blanca Vasquez, who introduced her to the local community and to Marga Fripp of EWI.

Taking classes at EWI "helped me with everything. From the starting point of a business all the way through the process of how to market my work," Juanita said. She learned how to be better organized and how to better communicate with others, as well as creating a professional artist portfolio. The speakers also benefited her greatly not only in the information which they gave her, but in their enthusiasm for what they were doing.

Juanita plans to build a successful business based on her jewelry designs. She hopes that all her dreams come true, and says that, "we should have patience and enjoy life for what it is."

Edith Sanabria

Edith Sanabria, an aspiring painter, poet and jewelry maker from Bolivia, has had a great deal of success with all forms of her art. She was encouraged in art from an early age by her mother and grandfather.

She draws much of the inspiration for her jewelry from her grandfather who was a well-respected jeweler in her home country. Her designs for clothes received a lot of attention from various companies throughout Europe, but being plagued by censorship of some of her poetry in her home country, she decided to move to the United States.

Edith is a member artist of the EWI since 2004, when she joined EWI to gain more exposure and learn to market her art at a higher level. She says she learned a lot from the professionals who came to speak to EWI's business classes and helped her to see in a global way so as to market her art nationally and internationally.

When she met Marga Fripp (founder of EWI), she did not want to show her art, but got much encouragement from having even some of her simpler and smaller sketches framed. "EWI provided me with a GREAT service and help to build my art business professionally," says Edith. "It is wonderful help to learn how to organize my professional documents and art photos in order to market them on a more professional level."

Since then Edith has sold her paintings and jewelry in prestigious galleries and shops in the DC area, participated in more than ten solo and group exhibitions, and constantly exhibits and sell her art with EWI.