BELIEVING IN GIRLS EMPOWERMENT PROJECT
ARTISTS

Rosanna Kalis

Rosanna Kalis is a self taught Korean-American artist based in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Rosanna specializes in large scale abstract paintings and murals. Her style is influenced by traditional Korean paintings, street art from the various cities she has lived in around the world, and the intricacies of art nouveau. After working 15+ years in finance with an MBA from the Wharton School, Rosanna left her career as a corporate executive to pursue her passion for the visual arts. Her pieces have been purchased by in various collectors nationwide. Current special projects include the launch of custom high-end shoe designs.

Rosanna now lends her talent to our Believing in Girls Empowerment Project. When asked why she is participating in the project, here's what she had to say: "To me, a community is only as strong as the support for its children. I grew up never fully understanding my power and potential - I was always told my role [and was] never encouraged to explore my own unique possibilities. This project is exciting to me because I want girls to recognize their fundamental inner power and potential, regardless of their circumstances. It is important for all youth, especially girls, to understand that they do have people who believe in them, and they need to believe in themselves too. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to reinforce this message through my art."

Outside the Lines
 

Priscilla is the lead artist on this project with Outside the Lines, a mural artist team newly formed in January 2021 by Priscilla Perez, Jess Osborn, and Xavier Herron. The OTL crew is on a mission to inspire youth and to bring peace, hope and courage into the world through powerful messaging and dynamic designs.

Talia Ore

Miami artist Talia Oré specializes in custom creations from large to small scale. Talia was born and raised in Miami, Florida where the city's vibrancy and mix of cultures inform her work directly. Her work often depicts combinations of figurative and spiritual imagery; with a deeper commentary on both humanity and the power of The Artist. Her mission is to enrich the quality of life for both individuals and communities through artistic expression.

Caryn Frishman 

Caryn Frishman is a local independent South Florida artist who loves bright colors and has a style of her own. Her artwork is cheery, colorful, inspirational and makes people smile. Her work has been shown in several local South Florida galleries and she has shown her work in the renowned art experience Art Miami at Spectrum Miami in 2018 and the Palm Beach Fine Art show in 2019. Currently, her painted Breast Cancer Awareness bench in the Shops at Pembroke Gardens is for all to enjoy. She is the Artist in Residence at Camp Maas, Tamarack Camps in Michigan where she worked with kids of all ages. She has completed two murals in Downtown Hollywood. She currently is teaching art to kids with special needs and senior adults. Caryn loves to give back to the community and do for others!  She is a wife, mom, teacher and 18-year cancer survivor who loves to create.

Mermanaut Mishell

Mychelle Bentley, known as Mermauant Mishell, was born in Venezuela and raised in Miami. Coming from a creative family, she constantly thrived to discover new ways to communicate through the arts. She first started her artistic endeavors from the age of 5 creating stained glass with her mother. At the age of 9, she became the president of her art club, and grew alongside any and every artistic club throughout elementary and middle school. She was later accepted into Design and Architecture Senior High school, where she studied both architecture, industrial design, and a core curriculum of fine arts. She also attended pre-college at Maryland Institute College of Art and studied human anatomy through acrylic. She then graduated as the class of 2011 and was admitted into the architecture program at Florida International University. During this time period, she practiced various art forms within the South Florida artist community. There, she expanded her skill set with more traditional portraits, mural work and the medium of spray painting.

While co-owning the pop-up art shop 5100 Gallery, she taught art, ran a small business distributing art supplies, and recruited several artists to showcase them during Art Basel in Miami. As time passed, she decided to venture out of Seattle, Washington. There, she learned the trade of caricature art. Becoming successful at her new found medium, she toured down the west coast until she moved to Los Angeles, where she drew at weddings, birthdays, and company events. However, that was not enough for her.

While in L.A., she found her true calling. Mychelle grew fascinated with the artist industry and took on the recommendation of attending courses at the Animation Guild in Burbank, California. There, she studied under world renowned Disney artist, Alex Topete. Since then, she has continued to study and provide services in all the trades she's learned. From simple small illustrations, to acrylic painting, caricaturing events, animating shorts, and painting massive three story murals. Her hunger for creative knowledge is endless and all the gains for her clients.

Mayte Almeida

Mayte Almeida is a sculptor, painter, and photographer born in Havana, Cuba where her passion for art began at a very early age. Already a blossoming pianist for four years, Mayte left Havana with her mother at the age of seven heading to Venezuela in search of a better life.

Her mother, a nurse, became the owner of a nursing home in Caracas, were Mayte spent most of her childhood surrounded by animals (cats, dogs, turtles, parrots and even a monkey) and drawing and painting on the walls of the nursing home. At the age of 19, Mayte returned to her native city of Havana to pursue her passion for art as a student in the National Art School of San Alejandro. Life as a young artist in Havana wasn't quite how Mayte thought it would be and she was forced to leave once again. She found her new home in Florida where she continued developing her art and discovered a talent for a career quite uncommon for a woman.

For over ten years Mayte worked in the aviation field as an airplane mechanic. Mayte was featured in Woman in Aviation Magazine, Miami Herald, and many other publications. But Mayte left her career in aviation to continue to do what she loves best:  her wild passion for sculpting using the Hawaiian technique called "Tiki Art". No one taught Mayte how to create "Tiki Art", she just decided one day to begin carving and grabbed a chainsaw. Carving is her new passion. Using the Hawaiian technique Mayte carves wild, original pieces that grow out of the marriage between crude lumber and an untamable imagination. Mayte is also a painter and  freelance photographer. Look for her images of the beautiful Florida Keys in local galleries and news publications.

Gabriela Martinez

Gabriela Martinez, aka "Gibbigabs" is a freelance illustrator focusing on Children's Illustration. She received an AA from New World School of the Arts in 2008 with a focus on Digital Art. Her work is primarily in digital media and traditional illustration such as gouache and watercolor. She also does large-scale mural work for private schools and daycares, and private residences.

Gabriela is also a full-time Medical Education Specialist and develops & coordinates Accredited Medical Education activities for physicians and medical specialists. She is natively from Chile and lives in Miami, Florida. Gabriela likes to crochet, sculpt, read, and play video games in her spare time.

Chen Bitton and J. M. Bondanella

Chen Bitton is a local Floridian originally from Israel, self-taught artist, and art curator. "Since I was a child I was truly fascinated with all forms of visual creative expressions. Personal works of art utilize acrylic mediums to form abstract, figurative expressions through a release of feelings, and thoughts portraying a personal sentiment. From free flowing, abstract, figurative to pop art, my various styles open up the viewer to a world of curiosities! I enjoy freeing myself through my art showcasing my innate response to the interaction we face as humans with the world and society's influence on mankind's state of reality. Creating thought provoking art which not only serves as a decoration but also carries along intelligent conversation with a wealth of context and a particular message to its present beholder. My art speaks to me and alongside the visual form, I enjoy writing poems about my creations that go along with my art. I find true joy in connecting and de-constructing the dots of a story, discovering things which were not always seemingly there, yet have always belonged. I founded 'PaintingPicnik' to share the pleasant and healing effects of art with all by replacing fears with courage to explore art in inspirational 'En Plein Air' settings throughout South Florida."

J. M. Bondanella  (Born Joseph Michael Bondanella) is an American artist, photographer and political cartoonist for the New Pelican newspaper. Born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, he was known mostly for his artistic talents by friends, family classmates and even teachers. After remarkably graduating from N.E. High School in 1998, he aspired to become a cartoonist and professional photographer.  He attended Broward Community College studying fine art, photo journalism and finally architecture design. As of 2013, he has been very active in the local art community throughout south Florida.  In May of 2013, he won the Mizner Park Photo contest and the following year his photography was featured in a local wildlife calendar.   In February 2020, he won best in show at the Uncommon Art Gallery for his mixed media collage on canvas.  Also, in March of the same year, his art was featured in the local publication Lifestyle Magazine for his contribution to the COVID relief project.  The programs intent was to auction off artwork created by South Florida local artists to help assist those in need that where economically impacted by the pandemic.   

Nadine Egan Floyd

Nadine is an award winning multi-talented artist working in oil, acrylic, pastels, and stained glass among other genres, and has been commissioned to create many murals and works in glass and painting. She will be bringing a beautiful mosaic piece to life in our patio area and adding sponsor names to the final piece.

Gabriela Jaxon

Originally from Peru, Gabriela Jaxon is a Florida raised artist, muralist, creative director, and community organizer traveling and painting walls around the US. After attending Harrison School for the Arts for Visual Arts followed by a 4 year Bachelor's of Science in Psychology with a focus on art therapy from Florida Southern College, Gabriela has since been been commissioned murals nationwide, developed and organized art and music initiatives and events, and has exhibited her works in galleries and public streets nationwide. Some of her most notable clients & collaborations include Java Monster, Cinematic Music Group NYC, The City of Lakeland,  Art Basel House Wynwood Miami,  StickFigure (band), Lakeland Regional Airport, Rolling Stone Magazine, Rohan Marley, & Jets Football player Darryl Roberts.

Whether translating a vision on canvas, 3D sculptures, or crushing massive walls with a spray can, she often creates visual explorations through unpredictable intertwining of abstraction with figurative, resulting works arise from free styling tightly refined compositions from spontaneous scribbles of paint splashes, drips, and sprays. Gabriela's current personal focus is on creative direction, progressive mural productions, community outreach and exploration of new mediums of expression.