An acrylic artist debuted her work at Aurora’s October First Fridays -- something she never imagined would happen.
Cynthia Wood, executive director of Design 360 Network, said she had surgery over the summer and the time off inspired her to come up with a unique technique where she fuses acrylic paint designs between glass and a stretched canvas.
“It was coming off the canvas and just talking to me,” she explained. "And then I started showing it to people that I knew and friends, and people in the interior design industry. And everybody was loving it. And I was like ‘Really?’”
Wood said the Design 360 Network visited the Wyckwood House in Aurora for an event where she met owner Shannon Gutierrez. She showed her some pictures.
“I was telling the story about my post-surgery recovery, inspiration, whatever. And she said, ‘Well, would you like to come and do a pop-up on a First Friday?’ And so, the last 60 days has been a whirlwind for me.”
Wood said this was her first time at First Fridays. She shared that she’d never had the intention to do an art show, but now she’s inspired to do more.
- Yvonne Boose is a 2020 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
