Interview with Nolan Williams, Jr. Composer, Producer, Lyricist, Playwright, and Cultural Creator
Conducted by Jordan Wright
October 6, 2024
Multi-disciplinary artist and long-time DC resident Nolan Williams, Jr. has already achieved more than most people do in a lifetime. At 55 years old the Oberlin College grad is at the top of his game with a slew of media awards from his career as a composer, producer, playwright, lyricist, director, and cultural creator. We first met at the premiere of his 2022 production, “Grace, The Musical” at Ford’s Theatre, when I was reviewing the show that later garnered 11 Broadway World Washington, DC awards, and I have been following his career like a hound dog ever since.
As the inaugural Social Practice Resident at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Williams, Jr. is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Kennedy Center’s National Performing Arts Committee’s 2019 Arts Advocacy Award.
He is known for composing emotionally stirring, inspirational and uplifting music influenced by musical theatre, gospel, classical music, jazz, R&B, soul and roots music featuring choral and orchestral works.
Many of his works have been performed at the Kennedy Center and are star-studded artistic collaborations with Aretha Franklin, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, Denyce Graves and Ladysmith Black Mambazo as well as local award-winning artist Nova Y. Payton. He has also collaborated with Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Leslie Odom, Jr., Natalie Cole, Raul Esparza, and more.
Williams, Jr. has recently released the PSA “Rise Up & Fight” (click here to watch the award-winning PSA) produced by his NEWorks Productions media company as part of their Freedom Advances campaign. This animated music video and civic anthem is designed to encourage Blacks and minorities to register and vote as well as ‘Post’, ‘Share’ and ‘Like’. It emphasizes the importance of voting to achieve power and change for Black communities in America and has already earned six international film awards, including Best Lyrics Video in the International Music Video Competition, three Awards of Excellence in the Best Shorts Competition and, this past week, the PSA became an Official Selection of the New York Film & Actors Awards.
Previous PSAs include the 2020 multi award-winning social impact video, “I Have a Right to Vote” and the America Song Project, which garnered over 2 million and 1.3 million global hits, respectively. Williams has also produced, directed and co-written the celebrated documentary, “Becoming Douglass Commonwealth,” in commemoration of DC Emancipation Day 2021. This DC Statehood video—which has won ten media prizes—reviews the history and evolution of DC and its search for statehood status. The video features historians, scholars, business leaders, legal scholars, DC leaders, Congressional Representatives, former and current DC Mayors, as well as community activists.
This week I had a chance to talk with this über-creator about his life, his accomplishments and his dreams.
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JW: Does your inspiration come because of the need to connect with the culture or is it the need to educate to impact social change?
NWJ: It’s both. Cultural connection is very important to me because I see great value in our cultural expressions. I’m always looking for ways to lift up our history, culture, practices and traditions. At the same time, I understand the impact music and the Arts have in educating and uplifting our community. I’ve been doing this impact work for 21 years through my company NEWorks.
What haven’t you done yet that you’d like to?
I have other musicals currently in development. And, I want to do a musical recording of the social justice songs I’ve composed – a comprehensive album. I have written many of these songs during my 20-year tenure as Music Producer for Let Freedom Ring, the annual MLK Birthday concert jointly presented by Georgetown University and the Kennedy Center. I want to accomplish that in the next few years.
What’s on the horizon?
We will soon be making announcements about “Grace, The Musical”. I have been retooling it with Nikkole Salter [co-book writer] for the past two years, figuring out what the show wants to be. This past Spring, we did a work session at Arena Stage and a private reading at the Kennedy Center.
I am also excited about my collaborations with the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center in Orlando. I have revamped their “6th & Jazz” program, which annually reaches over 16,000 sixth graders in Osceola County—and we’re now looking to expand. And, I have been appointed the first Artist Director outside of the UK for a project called “STROKESTRA”, an organic initiative of music-making that pairs world-class musicians with stroke survivors and their caregivers. It was invented by the Royal Philharmonic in the UK a decade ago. The Dr. Phillips Center is now leading a residency of the project in collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic and Advent Health. It’s a beautiful program purposed to build the spirits of those involved and to facilitate healing and wholeness.
Lastly, in early November, I’ll be in London to witness two of my works being premiered on that side of the pond by the London Symphony under the baton of Maestro Andre Thomas.
How does the music come to you?
In different ways. I find it best to write when I’m inspired by something I read or see. There needs to be some kind of catalyst.
Sometimes it’s a lyric in search of a tune, other times it’s a tune awaiting a lyric. I’ve been very intentional in recent years about not writing as much at the piano, relying more on what I’m actually hearing. At some point I’ll use the piano to refine concepts.
What cultural figures most influenced you as a child?
I was influenced by artists that were writing music that had value beyond entertainment. Like Stevie Wonder who wrote about being “born in hard time Mississippi”. His social commentary stood out to me, and the way in which he used rhythms and harmonies was interesting and novel. He was very much an architect in music.
During my student days at Oberlin College, I saw Gil Scott-Heron in concert. He was the anti-entertainment industry artist. It was clear, a few bars in, this dude writes about what he wants to say. He was not concerned about being commercial. I’ve come to realize how deeply moving that is. That’s part of what has inspired me to leverage the power of music and the Arts for social good – the mission of my company NEWorks – and the hallmark of the collaborative work we’ve been doing for 21 years with countless artists and arts organizations.
Like Wonder and Scott-Heron, I create and produce art to help shape the world I want to see. I’m hopeful enough to believe music has the power to reach at least one person and that, when it does, it touches the heart.
Who are you most inspired by today?
By this emerging generation of young creatives, many of whom are not household names but are creating art boldly. They are more open to ideas that are different. They are open to collaboration and not hung up by the -isms that most often divide us. With our recent project, Freedom Advances, we are inviting young creatives around the country to manipulate and sample two of our civic anthems, creating new ways to reach their peer groups. We’re calling it our “Rise Up Song Challenge”. We have already received numerous submissions showing how gifted, smart, savvy and creative these young artists are in using technology that is compelling as well as entertaining. I draw inspiration from them.
Would you ever write a modern opera?
It’s funny you should ask that. I have given some thought to the idea. I am open to it. When I traveled to the Met to see Fire Shut Up In My Bones written by Terence Blanchard, who is amazing, I thought, opera is something I’d consider writing.
When you’re composing a piece, at what point does the full orchestration come to you?
It depends. Sometimes ideas will just start to take shape. Other times it’s on the back end. I also love collaborating on my orchestrations because I love how my circle of colleagues help to refine ideas.
How can viewers find your PSA videos? How are they promoted?
My company www.NEWorks.us is the best place. Also, we have a great team that pushes out our projects on the web. We rely on collaboration. We put out our work, then friends tell friends who tell friends. We also use grassroots means to reach people. Schools, regional theaters, artists and community organizations are sharing our videos. We’ve garnered millions of views.
I know you’ve collaborated with celebrity chef Carla Hall on several projects, but what are your favorite foods and favorite local restaurants?
First, I love Carla—she is an amazing friend and supporter.
I like salmon. In our region my favorite version is the blackened salmon at Busboys and Poets www.BusboysandPoets.com although right now, Lydia On H www.LydiaOnHDC.com is my jam. Their Caribbean food is amazing!
Who would you most like to collaborate with on your next project?
It’s a long shot and a dream, but working with Stevie Wonder would be amazing.
And if I’m really dreaming, I’d love to work with Shonda Rhimes because I love her inventiveness – the way in which her concepts and productions showcase her love of the culture, the universality of her work’s appeal, and her standard of excellence.
What haven’t we touched on that you’d like to talk about?
Our “Rise Up & Fight” civic anthem and the commemoration of ‘Freedom Summer’. It’s so important that we focus on the history and significance of that event, especially in this election year.
Sixty years ago, three young civil rights workers – James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner – gathered with other volunteers in Mississippi to do important work in a state that was riddled with the plagues of racism and hatred. These volunteers had the courage to go into rural counties and register African American voters and to launch freedom schools that provided supplemental educational opportunities for children. But Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner were arrested on trumped up charges and then released into the hands of the KKK, who abducted and murdered them.
The “Rise Up & Fight” anthem honors these three men and the sacrifices they made with their lives. And it’s a reminder that those of us who believe in freedom must be relentless in our efforts to advance it. We must be engaged in the voting process.
This interview has been condensed and lightly edited.
Interview with Monica Saigal
Jordan Wright
February 24, 2024
 Author Monica Saigal As two Northern Virginia residents with careers in food writing, Monica Saigal and I met through the local food world over a decade ago. Over those many years, I have enjoyed witnessing her transition, or should I say blossoming, from successful cookbook author into novelist of international renown. Saigal’s books garner not only extensive, top-tier media coverage but also excellent reviews. As an award-winning writer, accomplished literary coach, gifted poet, storyteller, keynote speaker and educator, her cookbooks and novels have enjoyed universal appeal.
Last month Saigal, whose full-time gig is Social Media Strategist for a tech company, launched her latest love story/mystery “A Kiss in Kashmir” at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center Hotel. Over a hundred fans including media were treated to a sumptuous assortment of Indian-centric hors d’oeuvres and desserts designed by the hotel’s Executive Chef Rajeev Sethi. Kashmiri ingredients including cardamom, almonds, saffron and cinnamon were incorporated into these delicacies and a Kashmiri Kahwa tea service was offered as well. The ever-popular local radio celebrity, Kojo Nnamdi, conducted the interview with the two dear friends seated on a lavishly decorated stage befitting an Indian wedding scene.
 Book launch event at the Hilton
 Desserts served at the book launch I spoke with Saigal after the event.
Jordan Wright – Are all your novels set in India?
Monica Saigal – “The Devil in Us” was set in the U.S, “The Soul Catcher” is magical realism, and “Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken” was set in Delhi.
JW – Your latest novel “A Kiss in Kashmir” tells a beautiful story of an older couple finding love against all odds. It is a deeply human story filled with romantic emotion. What was your inspiration?
MS – It was very selfish. I wrote the book I wanted to read. I found that most of the books I read weren’t for older people. I wanted to write a story for an older demographic that was realistic and very forward thinking. We sometimes tend to bypass the older generations in our narratives and I think that needs to change. I think people are looking for these stories.
JW – Your novels provide close-ups into the lives, environments, and emotions of many diverse Indian castes as well as those from other cultures. You gift them with intimate emotions and romantic interactions. How do you source these descriptions? Do they come from outside your circle of friends? Are they fantasies or do you draw from stories friends tell you?
MS – When I create a character, I sketch out the psychological profile of the character. Then I ask around to friends to find someone who fits the description and is willing to talk to me. Then I can fill out my profile because I don’t think I can claim to know each individual characters’ personalities. When Kojo read the book, he called me right away because, as an older widower, he identified with that profile. “I would have reacted the same way George [the hero in “A Kiss in Kashmir”] reacted,” he told me.
JW – I know you conduct writing classes for budding authors. How can locals find your schedule?
MS – On weekends I’ll be conducting classes on Healing Modalities. I have a series coming up soon. The classes will be followed by making jewelry, yoga, painting and sound healing. The schedules are posted on my website www.MonicaSaigal.com
JW – Your dialogue shows a vibrancy which contributes to the authenticity of conversations between characters. Do you record conversations while you are out and about? Or do you carry a notebook to jot down quips and quotes?
MS – I learned from many of my novelist friends how to listen and how people speak. It’s active listening. I feel people are looking for insight where there is dialogue. I used to write as if it were theoretical. Now I listen when I go to restaurants. I don’t spy on people! I want to hear how they start a sentence and how they stop a sentence.
JW – Does living in Northern Virginia influence your writing?
MS – I find a lot of serenity where I live. It is beautiful here in Virginia. I’ve lived here for over 20 years and love walking around Meadow Lark Gardens and other local parks. The Japanese have a saying, “Go and bathe in the forest.” That is what Virginia affords me.
JW – In your early writing it was your cookbooks that established your writing career with your reputation for approachable Indian cooking. Can you find all the ingredients you need to prepare your dishes?
MS – Very easily. We used to get ingredients sent from India. Nowadays I can go to the Ashburn area where Patel Brothers has everything including freshly made rotis and pickles.
Jordan Wright
March 6, 2019
Photo credit – Jordan Wright
Last October Jonathan Till arrived at Del Ray’s Evening Star to take over as Executive Chef in a restaurant that has been successful serving a mostly local clientele for over two decades and seen its share of chefs. It’s also seen its ups and downs.
 Evening Star Executive Chef Jonathan Till Till brought with him a wealth of experience from his education at the New England Culinary Institute and an internship at L’Espalier in Boston, where he trained under James Beard Award winning chef, Frank McClelland. From there he received an Associates’ Degree in Culinary Arts in 2008 and learned pastry under Certified Master Pastry Chef, Frank Vollkommer, at the Saratoga National Golf Course.
Locally, Till spent two years at William Jeffery’s Tavern, a neighborhood joint featuring pub food, followed by two years as a corporate chef for the Barteca Restaurant Group before they were bought out by Del Frisco’s for a cool $325M.
Before all that, he’d taken a turn or two in fine dining (two months spent picking shells out of crabmeat in a dark room at The Dabney was not to his liking) and farm-to-table. As it turns out, connecting with farmers and growers seemed to suit him far better. At the casual Beekman Street Bistro in Saratoga Springs, New York’s tony arts district he’d enjoyed relationships with local Mennonite farmers, and at the five-star Hermitage Hotel in Nashville he was able to source many of his ingredients from their historic vegetable gardens and private cattle farm.
Till’s curiosity peaked when right out of culinary school he met an old trapper and farmer who taught him how to forage in the wild. He’d come from generations of home canners and wanted to preserve the bounty he culled from the fields and forests. After that auspicious meeting, he began making his own charcuterie and experimenting with wildcrafting and homesteading techniques including learning the pleasures of tapping maple syrup. When I spoke to Till this March, he had just returned from ice fishing in Canada. This week he’ll present Evening Star’s new Spring menu incorporating wild-foraged stinging nettles, garlic mustard greens, and spring garlic. Ramps will appear on the menu in a few weeks. All in due time.
Having seen the Spring menu there are a lot of dishes I’m looking forward to – duck with Virginia buckwheat honey, foraged greens, glazed black soybeans and wild garlic and an inspired dish of American snapper with fava beans, asparagus, morels and uszka dumplings. A planned dessert, Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette with lightly churned cream, sounds positively irresistible.
Who inspired your interest in cooking?
My grandmother was my mentor. She is a third-generation chef in the family who had four or five restaurants. Other family members worked in restaurants too – uncles and aunts – and my mom was a café owner at one time, so my path was pretty much set for me.
Will you be involved in the local farming community?
I’ve been working with Pam Hess the Executive Director at Arcadia [Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture] where I’m learning about what’s grown in Virginia. Next year we will set out a foraging walk to tie into permaculture. I’m very passionate about teaching and educating people and hope to make an impact.
What’s different about the food at Evening Star [ES] since you’ve been there?
Neighborhood Restaurant Group as a whole is going through an overhaul and there are big changes at their other restaurants, like Vermillion and Hazel. The company reviewed their image and went out to pick some of the best chefs they could find.
Describe your style.
How I cook for Evening Star is how I eat home. I want warm, comforting dishes and some lighter things too. When I was approached by ES I was out picking mushrooms. I had just returned from a trip to Europe where I was eating my way around the Continent with my wife and foraging for mushrooms in the Czech Republic.
 Till’s favorite hori hori knife for wildcrafting Foraging is a huge part of what I do. I go into the woods and get it for free. This summer I established relationships with local farmers and developed a good connection with them. Since I am new to the area, I had to find spots to go foraging. ES has a rooftop garden, but it only has six inches of soil. We have to get the soil up there using ropes and a bucket. It’s very intense. This winter I set up some grow lights in the basement and started growing microgreens when a supplier wanted to charge me $100 a flat!
I’m using heirloom seeds from Monticello [Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville is a World Heritage Site] where they have a program called the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants. They will be using 800 acres of their property just for heirloom crops.
What ingredients have you foraged recently?
I found spring garlic while foraging last week and caught lake trout while ice fishing in Canada.
Are you cautious not to overharvest?
I only harvest one third of what I find. I learned my lesson years ago when I picked all the chanterelles from one patch and it took five years for them to come back!
What’s the most popular dish you can’t take off the menu?
Acorn pasta made with flour from acorns I foraged, has been really popular. Unfortunately, I’m out of the acorns for now. Also, guests seem to not get enough of chicory – brined and seared with black pepper and served with a side of kombucha squash and sage. The pork chop schnitzel and gumbo are favorites now too, and the sea bass served with clams and broccolini.
 Sea bass with clams and broccolini at Evening Star I had the sea bass the other night and it was perfectly prepared with a crisped skin and tender flesh.
It’s important to understand what goes into raising or catching food. I have raised animals and farmed before and it bothers me when people don’t respect the protein.
What do you see as the future of Evening Star?
I’m still getting used to the flow. Seeing how the summer is going to be when we open the patio. The balance is going to be interesting. I plan to be at the farm and continue foraging this summer. Next year I’ll know exactly what to expect.
This interview was lightly edited for clarity.
Jordan Wright
October 2018
 Photo credit: Jordan Wright Single malt whisky connoisseurs can rejoice at the news that some of the finest whiskies in the known world have reached our shores from Amrut Distilleries in India. Amrut “Fusion” has been rated “third best” whisky in the world by British whisky writer, Jim Murray, with 97 points from the Whisky Bible who at that time ranked it third in the world. They could also boast of the “Thumbs Up” award from Malt Maniacs and dozens more awards worldwide. A recipient of 92 points out of 4,800 entries by Whisky Advocate, they have consistently beat out the best-known Scottish whiskies in countless blind tastings. Its “Single Malt Peated Cask” has scored a coveted 92 points from the Whisky Bible. In 1987, and despite outsider prejudice, Amrut bravely put its product into these highly competitive Scottish tastings to prove it can compete with the best in its field. They are now the number one whisky in India, despite the country’s longtime preference for Johnny Walker Black, a holdover since the early days of British colonialism.
Last month I had the opportunity to taste all of Amrut’s products from their single malt through their entire gamut of whiskies and rums. I didn’t do a blind tasting, because frankly I would have planted my face in the floor, especially as it was a noon tasting and I hadn’t had breakfast. Managing to keep upright throughout, I settled in for a concentrated, thought-provoking experience that would both confound and alter my appreciation of whiskies outside the realm of the best-known brands.
 Photo credit ~ Amrut Made from select Indian malted barley grown in Punjab and Rajasthan, these spirits are distilled in the hot climes of India. They react to those conditions by coming to fruition far earlier than others of their ilk. Their flavors are modified by temperature, added ingredients (spices, citrus peel and the like), the wood used in the casks, Himalayan water from the Sutlej river, and the casks’ former use. These choices are made under the direction of Master Distiller Surrimar Kumar, a 33-year veteran of Amrut and award-winning whisky innovator, and veritable genius in drawing out the complexly crafted, unique personalities he is after. One of Kumar’s creations is Amrut “naraangi” that won “World’s Best Whisky 2018”. Aged three years in an ex-oloroso sherry cask, the single malt is then seasoned with wine and orange peel and aged for another three years.
Did you know that 60-70% of flavoring comes from the barrel? That’s how important the choice of wood is for determining the final profile. So, imagine for a moment using wood from five different species of trees to produce one whisky barrel. These specially designed barrels are used exclusively for their “Spectrum Single Malt Whisky” to be available in 2020. I’ve tasted whisky made in port barrels and sherry barrels (Amrut “Single Malt Whisky Intermediate Sherry” earned 96 points from the Whisky Bible), but this is an exciting new concept. A Special Limited Edition, Amrut “Madeira” aged in Madeira barrels, will be on the U. S. market in time for the holidays.
 Neel Jagdale – Chairman of Amrut ~ Photo credit: Amrut Next year, Ashok Chokalingam, who has been with the company for many years, will take the reins as Master Distiller and Whisky Innovator bringing his own imagination to the company’s growing range of whiskies and rums. At our first meeting he offered up this self-effacing quote. “We are a minnow coming from India,” he told me. Well, this minnow of a company has become a full-grown shark with a high demand for its products that’s currently five times what they can supply. But, no worries. The company’s newest plant will now be able to accommodate its rising popularity. Amrut is now in 45 countries and boasts $3M in annual sales. Surprisingly, the U. S. is the second largest market outside of Europe for “Amrut Single Malt Indian Whisky”.
 AMRUT – Photo credit: Jordan Wright Now I’m no expert in describing the varied flavor profiles of whisky, I rely on my palate and my years of experience tasting spirits from around the world. I leave it to the whisky mavens to create descriptors for these products. They’re the ones that can extrapolate the taste of honey, chocolate, ginger, licorice, chocolate-chip cookie dough, driftwood (?!!!), orange, smoked fish, pepper, barbecued meats, pears, coconut, cherries, plums, raisins, lemons, and on and on. It’s a probably good thing they don’t describe food.
 [Color Wheel Credit] ~ Courtesy of Whisky magazine Because India is the world’s second largest producer of sugar in the world, Amrut made the decision to produce rum, and it is sensational. Ashok explained that rum existed since 320 BC – long before rum was produced in the Caribbean in the 17 th century. Amrut offers two types of rum – “ Two Indies Rum”, made with leftover sugar cane from Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. It is made with five rums that have been aged together. The “ Old Port Deluxe Matured” has a lovely hint of coconut from the jaggery sugar used in the process. Jaggery is a by-product of sugar cane grown in India.
 Two Indics Rum ~ Photo credit: Amrut If you’re looking to impress a whisky connoisseur with the whiskies that everyone is talking about, you can do no better than some of these winning spirits.
Imported by Glass Revolution Imports you can find many of these whiskies and rums in our area at Jack Rose Dining Saloon, Pappe, Bombay Club, Rasika, Karma, Chaplin’s and Chloe by Haidar Karoum.
For more information visit Amrut Distilleries and Amrut Whisky UK Office.
Jordan Wright
July 16, 2018
for the Alexandria Times
When Forensic Sketch Artist Kelli Schollard-Sincock, who holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Art from the University of Washington and completed the BFA program in Printmaking from George Mason, was thinking about how she could make an impact in her community, she recalled a casual comment a friend made during a lecture at Lorton the two women attended. The talk featured prisoners’ art the guards had collected either through barter or outright payment and she was duly impressed by the caliber of the work. Her friend said, “You should do that,” meaning teach art within the prisons. The offhand remark didn’t really register with her until she read a report that the new administration planned to cut funding for the arts. She felt it was a call to action.
Taking the bull by the horns, she approached Lt. Marybeth Plaskus at the Alexandria Detention Center and asked if they had a need for a prison arts program. Plaskus gave her the nod, and the first class was held in February 2017. “We started from scratch with one classroom that was immediately filled with about 25 male students. That was such positive reinforcement for me. They were always thankful I was there,” she says. Since its inception the program has not only been hugely popular, but it has grown rapidly and now includes classes for women at the Fairfax facility.
Piggybacking on her success at the Alexandria prison, she then reached out to the Fairfax County Detention Center and began her arts program there in August 2017. She now teaches there twice a week plus one day a week in Alexandria. Yet there is still more demand. Schollard-Sincock’s goal is to hire more teachers to fill the many requests for additional classes.
 Kelli Schollard-Sincock teaching at the Fairfax County Detention Center Initially the challenge was to find art supplies which are not funded by state or local counties. She had to get creative. Well, that’s what artists do. Right? In a stroke of good fortune, she discovered the ‘Buy Nothing Project’, an online sharing organization for free items that operates locally through Facebook. There she put out a call for art supplies and had such a positive response that for four weeks she drove all over the county gathering an immense amount of materials.
 Photo from Alexandria County Detention Center Prison Art Program courtesy of Kelli Schollard-Sincock Del Ray Artisans heard about her classes and thought they could help. The gallery’s Fundraising Director Joe T. Franklin, Jr. and Acting President Drew Cariaso wanted to learn about the program and have her give a talk to their members. Member artists were so impressed with her outreach program that they held a fundraiser including an in-house drive for materials. “People have really taken ownership of the program,” she adds. Subsequently the gallery has been instrumental in helping her set up a non-profit to be called ‘Inspiration Matterz’ which will allow her to expand the program with the help of additional art teachers. She credits Program Directors Lenora Murphy and Latanya Ervin at the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center with keeping her program ongoing and her husband Austin and son Gregory for their support and encouragement.
 Photo from Fairfax County Detention Center Prison Art Program courtesy of Kelli Schollard-Sincock Schollard-Sincock chooses the subjects that are executed in a variety of mediums. “Men and women respond totally differently to the programs. My intention is to teach tangible skills not just doing crafts. My very first student was an older gentleman. He told me, “I don’t know what I’m doing here. The best you’re going to get out of me are stick figures.” She says he really clicked when he started painting and is now painting photorealistic drawings. “He is like the case study of why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
Over the past year she has seen a huge change in their attitude. “It’s empowering to learn that you have developed a skill. The biggest thing in these classes is getting them to trust me and not give up.”
Director of the Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Leslie Mounaime, reached out to her and offered their site for a show. On Friday, July 20th, Del Ray Artisans will host the opening night reception for “Off The Grid” in the Torpedo Factory’s Site 2 Community Gallery showcasing 49 framed drawings from Schollard-Sincock’s prison art program. The opening reception is from 7-9pm. The show runs through August 31st.
Kelli Schollard-Sincock’s own work can be found on her website www.KelliSincock.com.
Jordan Wright
December 16, 2017
Special to The Alexandria Times
 Melanie Bikowski Alexandria artist Melanie Bikowski is a mom first – at least that’s how she’d prefer you to think of her. Mother to two-year old Cayce, she is relatively new to the art world, yet in a few short years she has developed quite a following for her colorful acrylics. Originally from Hampton Roads in Southeastern Virginia, Bikowski grew up in Norfolk, moving to Alexandria five years ago. After getting dual bachelors’ degrees in Psychology and Creative Writing, she continues to seek her major in psychology at Old Dominion University. Her thesis is on ‘Mom’s Art’, a term that’s been used to describe the work of Canadian artist Ruth Oosterman, who also found inspiration collaborating with her toddler. Bikowski explains, “A lot of my work is bright, amorphous, abstract modern art and I wanted to incorporate my mom life into my work.” In the spirit of honoring a child’s drawings that most parents merely tack onto the refrigerator, Bikowski says, “I feel like that’s the reality of our home décor. Other people live in your home and they leave their work there too.”
 Abstract works with daughter Cayce While pregnant with Cayce, Bikowski had begun to have dreams of painting canvasses with her daughter. “We’ve been doing pure creation together while building our relationship. She has now become my muse.” Defining her paintings as spur-of-the-moment, intuitive, emotional art, she believes if an artist “flows the best of their emotions are at their highest.” She feels her daughter’s limitless sense of wonderment, childlike experimentation and freedom of expression inspire her, leading her to incorporate Cayce’s coloring pieces, drawings and stickers into her paintings. The toddler’s current fantasy playworld is heavily influenced by the Powerpuff Girls and My Little Pony.
“When I moved here my biggest dream was to be an artist. People were telling me that doesn’t exist,” Bikowski says. One day, while at her first job in Alexandria at the Robinson Terminal, fate drew her to the nearby Torpedo Factory where she found a gallery filled with dozens of artists. “I was stoked to see what was going on there and went every weekday after that. Watching the artists and hearing how excited they were – that just really saved me,” she says.
 “Home” Melanie Bikowski 2016 In January of 2014 her mother convinced her to take a course in abstract art at Alexandria’s famed The Art League with instructor, Beverly Ryan. Through Ryan, whom she considers her mentor, she took on an art challenge to complete one painting a day for a year. That massive effort turned into 466 paintings, of which she sold over 100. Over 80 of her paintings have Cayce’s work in them. During the same period, she discovered the Del Ray Artisans Gallery on Mount Vernon Avenue. Now celebrating its 25th year promoting art and artists in Alexandria, the gallery hosts monthly members’ shows open to the public. There she found a welcoming art scene with members helping each other find alternative submission opportunities.
That led her to collaborate on a show earlier this year with local artist, Lotus Heartsong, at the The Village Gallery in Old Town Fairfax. Featured in the Washington Post’s Going Out Guide, the women were thrilled to welcome over 300 people to their opening. As a result of the show’s huge success, she received a residency at Olly Olly, an alternative art space and gallery in Fairfax where she shares working space with four other artists and is able to show at their exhibitions.
 “A Call for Courage” Melanie Bikowski 2017 This January Bikowski will co-curate Sensorium with fellow DRA member Betsy Mead. The exhibit is described as the using the part of the brain that, “evokes emotional feelings of sympathy, appreciation or gratitude, or something that is moving, heartbreaking or tender”, and honors “how artists interpret the impact of our human journey through evoking the five senses.” The show’s cover art is Bikowski’s evocative painting, “Home”.
Sensorium runs from January 5th – 28th 2018 at the Colasanto Center, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301. Gallery hours are Thursdays 12-6pm, Fridays 12-9pm, Saturdays 12-9pm, and Sundays 12-6pm. The gallery is free and handicap accessible. For more information on the show visit The Del Ray Artisans Gallery. To learn more about Melanie Bikowski visit her website.
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