Show up.Make something.Take it home.
Hands-on art classes in Chicago for total beginners. Cutting board pyrography, paint night, and more, taught step by step.
- FounderEmpowART Foundation, a healthcare nonprofit.
- TEDx speakerA talk on creating social impact with your hobbies.
- First placeCongressional Art Competition. Displayed in the Capitol Building.
- Award-winning artistScholastic Gold and Silver Keys. Picasso International Art Contest star artist.
Upcoming classes
Both classes are first-timer friendly. More classes are coming soon.
Inside a class
Photos and video from past cutting board pyrography classes.
Meet your host
Hi, I’m Niha! My love for art started one summer when I was 13, watching Bob Ross and trying to follow along. Since then, painting, drawing, and making things by hand have brought me so much joy, and I’ve always wanted to share that feeling with others.
That’s what led me to found EmpowART, a healthcare nonprofit where step-by-step painting workshops bring youth volunteers and older adults together, building friendships and supporting rehabilitation through creativity. Seeing how something we often do alone could become such a powerful way to create community shaped how I wanted to keep sharing my art.
That’s still what motivates me today. Through the group art events I host, I want to give people a reason to gather, get creative, and surprise themselves with what they can make. I hope you leave with something you’re proud of and a lovely memory of making it together.
Experience
Awards, community work, speaking, exhibitions, and publications.
Awards
- First placeCongressional Art Competition. Displayed in the Capitol Building.
- Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable MentionScholastic Art Awards
- Star artistPicasso International Art Contest, one of 35 chosen out of 1300
- Lily Maxwell Award for CreativityMystic Museum of Art
Community
- Founder, EmpowART FoundationA healthcare nonprofit. Paints with older adults in healthcare settings.
- Thirst ProjectPaintings sold to fundraise for the cause
Speaking
- TEDxFergusonLibrary: “How to Make Volunteering Fun?”A TEDx talk about creating social impact with your hobbies.
Exhibited and published
- Juried showLyme Art Association Gallery
- DisplayedLyme Academy College of Fine Arts
- Celebrating Art AnthologyTwo paintings published, plus High Merit (top 5%)
EmpowART Foundation
Before these classes, I founded EmpowART: a healthcare nonprofit that brings painting workshops to older adults.
Social isolation takes a real toll on older adults. EmpowART volunteers lead step-by-step painting sessions in healthcare settings, so seniors can try something new, connect with younger people, and leave with a painting they made.
EmpowART is a federally incorporated nonprofit in Canada. Its volunteers are not licensed art therapists.
My art
Oil, acrylic, and graphite. Select a piece to read the story behind it.
Want to make something of your own?
Book a classBring a class to your group.
Cutting board pyrography and paint night are available on demand for groups. Pick a date that works for you and I’ll send a quote.
- Your date, no fixed schedule
- Birthdays and celebrations
- Team building and community events
- Bridal showers and girls’ nights
- At a venue I arrange or at your location