Meet Nikki Swiderski | Illustrator & Surface Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nikki Swiderski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in a small town in northern New Jersey but my family is from Zakopane, Poland! When my parents moved to America they made it a point to keep language & culture a big part of my life. I have always been passionate about making art that represents me, my experiences, and my culture. A lot of my florals reference the beautiful shapes of Polish Folk Art, as well as my upbringing surrounded by lots of plants and pets. Whether it’s scavenging the woods for mushrooms & berries, hiking mountains out west, or picking flowers from my mom’s garden, I feel most at home in a room full of nature. My mom and dad are the most hardworking people I know, and they’ve influenced me to work hard but to also be kind and give to others.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
If I could describe my art in a few words it would be whimsical, colorful, and soft. I love butterflies, flowers, forest animals, bugs, you name it! A lot of my work stems from my Polish heritage, but also from the objects I surround myself with. I love frequenting thrift stores, finding things like antique teapots & intricate embroidery. I take a mix of all these things and try to create something new, whether that be a brighter color palette or a funky way of painting a flower. As I am still in school at the Savannah College of Art and Design, what most excites me is the endless possibilities that a career in art can provide. I’m most looking forward to creating work that makes people happy and that makes them feel good. That’s a reason why I love print and pattern, I can hand paint all these elements and lay them out in a repeated spread for someone to wear or drink their favorite warm beverage in. The possibilities are endless! Finding an in-house position to start off with will be a great challenge for me, but I am ready to work as hard as I can to make my name in the art world. I’ve learned that selling your art is much different than creating for yourself — but I am excited to take on the challenge.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Here in Savannah, GA I love bringing friends and family around to some of my favorite spots. An ideal day for me would be an iced matcha latte with a pump of lavender from Gallery Espresso, a picnic underneath the beautiful oaks that swoop down over Forsyth Park, and dinner at Green Truck Pub! I think that the best part about a city is the people that you surround yourself with — the best days I’ve had here in Savannah have happened under those huge moss-covered trees. The warm glow of the sun through the cracks of the leaves when you’re laying out in the park is unbeaten. Another spot I love to take people is E Shavers, a cozy bookstore that has a few cats napping and sunbathing in the windows.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would have to shout out my high school art teacher, Ms. Hoppe, who we also called Hopps! I went to a technical high school where we had ‘majors’ and mine was Commercial Art. As a kid, I always knew I wanted to create artwork for a living but I never knew how I would be able to do that. When I felt lost and depressed as a senior, she had always been there for me. I would spend whatever extra time I could in the classroom learning and helping out in any way I could! She inspired me to make the leap and go to a college far from home because she saw that although I was afraid, I had a passion that she didn’t want me to waste.

Website: https://www.nikkiswiderski.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkiwildflowers/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-swiderski/

Image Credits
All Images are my own