About Rebekah Nicholas

watercolor painting by Rebekah Nicholas — Beach scene with shell and rock with hole in the center.

Biography

Rebekah Nicholas is a watercolor painter and functional potter. She graduated from UW- Milwaukee with a bachelors in Visual Art and Design in 2011. Her studios are within her historic home in Milwaukee, WI.

Painting

Rebekah Nicholas makes watercolor paintings that involve nature, and geometric shapes. Her work is often very colorful and involves patterns and repetition. She is inspired by nature’s small vignettes like moss and pebbles by a tree stump. Also, Rebekah has an interest in patterns from arabesque architecture to art noveau wallpapers to tessellations. These interests are juxtaposed in the painting creating a ying and yang of natural and manmade.

Pottery

Rebekah Nicholas makes functional porcelain pottery for use in daily life. She uses the wheel and an electric kiln to make her dishes and serving ware. Her glazes are handmade and tweaked to meet the demands of modern life and aesthetics. Rebekah’s watercolor paintings influence how the glaze is applied, and she adds washes and brushstrokes and splatters to pieces. Plates and bowls may be commonplace items, but they are used in the intimate setting of communal dining. She believes artwork in this setting can bring people together.