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Houston Creatives 2015: Vonetta Berry, Body Painter

By Jef Rouner

May 8, 2015

After the birth of her first child Vonetta Berry, like a lot of women, wasn't feeling all that great about how her body looked. Kate Middleton aside, most women find themselves looking far different after a pregnancy than they did before it. In fact, some studies show that body image...

Houston Creatives 2015: J.L. Clark, Young Adult Book Author

By Joelle Jameson

Apr 27, 2015

J.L. Clark grew up reading mysteries like the Nancy Drew series, but didn't connect that love of logic with psychiatry until later in her studies. "I went into medical school thinking I would do pediatrics," she recalled. "But I realized I enjoy piecing the puzzle pieces together in the field...

Houston Creatives 2015: Nathan Lindstrom, Elite Photographer

By Jef Rouner

Apr 1, 2015

Nathan Lindstrom is one of Houston's top photographers with a list of credits that is a mile long. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Marie Claire, Forbes and more. He shoots everything from corporate photos to rural landscapes to boxing. His fluency in Spanish netted him the post...

Houston Creatives: Vanessa Sosa, Artist Drawing Hyper-Realistic Food

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Mar 20, 2015

Vanessa Sosa is a talented and impressive young artist. Her work so impressed the judges at Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, she was named a 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Award Portfolio Gold Medalist (one of 16 medalists from thousands of student applicants). The award came with a $10,000...

Creatives 2015: Alecia Lawyer, Founder/Artistic Director of River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Feb 27, 2015

Alecia Lawyer was inspired to found the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in much the same way Noah was inspired to build his ark. "Really, I think God just put the idea in my head," she tells us. "With Noah and the ark, God said, 'You know it's going to rain...

100 Creatives 2015: Eric Kinkead, Old School Video Game Maker

By Jef Rouner

Jan 7, 2015

What He Does: Eric Kinkead is one of the focal points of the surprisingly busy Houston indie video game developer scene. He is both instrumental in spreading the news about Houston game happenings through HoustonGameDev.org and the head of app-developer Lava Level. It's from there that he launched the mobile,...

100 Creatives 2014: Nathaniel Donnett, Artist

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Dec 24, 2014

It's been a stellar year for visual artist Nathaniel Donnett. During 2014, he had his first ever solo show at a major museum with "Nothing to See Hear." It was part of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, "Right Here, Right Now: Houston" ongoing series of exhibits and events. In support...

100 Creatives 2014: Sylvia Narvaez Blanco, an Artistic Hired Gun

By Jef Rouner

Dec 19, 2014

What She Does: Sylvia Narvaez Blanco has been painting for the past four years. Drawing and doodling were always a part of her life, but it was painting that really drove her to where she is now, mostly doing commissioned orders for a variety of clients. Her first public work...

100 Creatives 2014: Pureum Jo, Opera Singer

By Margaret Downing

Dec 17, 2014

Pureum Jo, a soprano from South Korea, came to the United States while still in high school and all by herself. "I am quite independent and brave," she says. She was determined to be a global singer and to do so she believed she needed to speak English. "English is...

100 Creatives: Camilo Gonzalez, Interdisciplinary Artist and Educator

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Dec 12, 2014

Camilo Gonzalez grew up using both old- and new-school technology. "I grew up with 16mm stuff, but I also grew up with a phone in my pocket. My grandfather was a chemical photographer, so I grew up seeing that. And I still carry a pencil and a little notebook around...

100 Creatives 2014: Kendall Kaminsky, Playwright

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Dec 10, 2014

What did you do last weekend? Laundry? Dinner with friends? Last weekend, University of Houston theater student Kendal Kaminsky had the world premiere of her play The End of Side A. The 22-year-old was selected from several other playwriting students to develop a full-length play. Working with UH Professor Rob...

100 Creatives 2014: Christopher Turbessi, Pianist

By Margaret Downing

Dec 5, 2014

Early on, Christopher Turbessi played percussion but quit after a couple years. ("I hated it; not for me.") Then he went on to the French horn and stayed with that for a while. He finally found his way to piano when he was 12; he calls that a late start...

100 Creatives 2014: Chuck Norfolk, Filmmaker

By Jef Rouner

Dec 3, 2014

What He Does: Chuck Norfolk is a titan of the local film industry. He's written, directed, produced, and acted in at least a dozen features and shorts, a real hands-on member of the local scene. He's most notable for The Haunted Trailer starring Ron Jeremy, Joe Grisaffi, and Lauren Leal,...

100 Creatives 2014: Reginald Smith Jr., Opera Singer

By Margaret Downing

Nov 28, 2014

Reginald Smith Jr. is a studio artist in his second year with the Houston Grand Opera, which means he's part of a small elite group getting an intense course of study and a chance to appear in operas while readying for what he hopes will be a longtime career. At...

100 Creatives 2014: Luke Hamilton, Dancer, Choreographer and Actor

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Nov 26, 2014

Bayou City Theatrics resident choreographer Luke Hamilton showed signs of being a performer early in his life. "When I was five years old, I was on a soccer team. I scored a goal, turned to my Grandma and took a bow. She said she knew right then and there that...

100 Creatives 2014: Jera Rose Petal Lodge, Metalsmith and Jewelrymaker

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Nov 21, 2014

Jera Rose Petal Lodge, one of five artists currently in residence at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, has been making things her whole life, she says. "I was always really into sewing and would make jewelry with whatever I could get my hands on, but I didn't think making...

100 Creatives 2014: Lauren Burke, Dancer and Choreographer

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Nov 19, 2014

Lauren Burke has had a busy couple of years. She was named the 2014 Outstanding Dance Student of the Year at the University of Houston (her picture is currently on UH Dance department's promotional material). She was awarded a prestigious scholarship to attend American Dance Festival 2014. She was one...

100 Creatives 2014: Ben Fritzsching, Comic Book Show Promoter and Character Actor

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Nov 14, 2014

Ben Fritzsching, a partner in the comic book show promotion group STX Shows, has a very simple explanation as to how he started collecting comic books: "My mom never made me get rid of anything. The next thing I knew, I was collecting." His parents took him to a couple...

100 Creatives 2014: Will Ottinger, Novelist

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Nov 12, 2014

Chances are novelist Will Ottinger won't die on a golf course in the next five years. At least not according to his own estimate of life expectancy after retirement (which is based on a completely unscientific sampling, we're sure). Ottinger, who had a long career in finance, tells us that...

100 Creatives 2014: Greg Starbird, Theater Lighting Designer

By Olivia Flores Alvarez

Nov 7, 2014

As a theater lighting designer, Greg Starbird does a lot of planning. He analyzes the show's script. He meets with the show's director and other designers to determine a communal approach. He creates a light plot of his initial ideas and tweaks it as he goes along. "In smaller theaters,...

100 Creatives

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