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June 8, 2008 - July 6, 2008

Colors of Nature
Watercolors by Nadia Merzliakow

Nadia Merzliakow was born in Paris, France, to Russian émigré parents and lived in Germany for seven years before emigrating to the U.S., where she graduated from Hunter College and then studied at Harvard, Columbia, and New York University. She received a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Pratt Institute, where she was Director of International Students for many years. She is fluent in Russian, French, German, and English.

Currently retired, this longtime resident of Clinton Hill volunteers at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, where she takes classes in watercolor painting. She has exhibited her work there and at the Tinicum Arts Festival in Pennsylvania.

Of this new chapter in her life, she writes: "When I was a child, I liked to paint flowers, and anyone who saw them oohed and aahed - with the exception of my parents. Of Russian nobility, my parents lost everything in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and wanted me to have a stable profession. Moreover, my mother's sister, a very talented artist, was an eccentric. With horror in their voices, they would look at my work and say, 'Oh, just like Aunt Olga.' Though I was always interested in art growing up, and attended museums, I did not paint.

I was at Pratt for over 30 years and never took an art class. My work with the international students was demanding and intense. When I retired ten years ago, I became a volunteer at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and took the free watercolor classes there. Remembering my childhood passion for painting flowers, I looked at the offerings and said, why not? Watercolor has changed my vision of the world, particularly that of flowers. When I look now at flowers, my mind absorbs their colors and shapes through an artistic process."

Opening Reception: Wednesday, 6/11 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.



July 14th - August 16th, 2008

Rural Haiti Art Project

The Rural Haiti Project is a U.S. based youth leadership organization that aims to empower children to become leaders and builders of their communities by conducting programs for low-income, at-risk children in rural areas of Haiti. The project fosters children's civic, social and intellectual development and promotes community engagement and development.

The Project explores creative ways to engage children at an early age to create and understand their own visions, to identify the positive aspects of their communities as well as recognizing the problems that their country faces. The Rural Haiti Project started in 2006 with a summer workshop entitled "Imagine your Environment" in Sibert, Plaine du Cul de Sac. Local horticulturists, teachers and specialist on reforestation were invited to share their expertise.

James-Herve Sabin has a Bachelor of Architecture from New York Institute of Technology and a Master of Architecture From Pratt Institute. He attended planning courses on infrastructure of cities in developing countries at Columbia University. James-Herve has worked with the NYC HPD developing housing prototypes, housing research and urban design.

For more information, visit www.ruralhaitiproject.org.







Tillie's Community Mural

Tillie's of Brooklyn is proud to announce our community mural on the Vanderbilt Avenue side of the store. For more information about the project, click here.



Since its inception Tillie’s has shown the work of a different visual artist every month, most of them from the area, including: Sameeh Alderazi, Eric Araujo, C Bangs (in collaboration with Gregory Matloff and Les Johnson), Rebecca Boccio, Tobias Brill, Nan Carey, Ricardo Cortes, Matthew Cramer, Donna DeCesare, Anthony DeSimone, Gwynne Duncan, Cynthia Edorh, Christine Finley, The Fort Greene Photography Club, Robert Goldstrom, Joe Greenstein, Erica Harris, Natasha Harsh, Kathleen Hayek, Daina Higgins, E.F. Higgins, Robyn Holl, Doug Madill, Robert Matson, Nell McClister, Mascha Oehlmann, Empress Modupe Olufunmi-Diop, Thomas Patrick O’Connell, Parker "Woody" Pantilla, Keith Pavia, Patricia Peticolas, Sean Qualls, Laurie Sermos, Thanut Singhasuvich, Angie Smith, David Sokosh, Leah Stubbs, Harvey Wilson, The Zimbabwe Artists Project, and Young Printmakers from Pratt Institute. Every May we also feature an exhibition of the work of our vastly overqualified staff.