Meet the Team
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ODESSA KAUFMAN
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / LEAD MURALIST 
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ARLO JAMES
SUPPORT STAFF/DOG 
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Odessa is a northwest native (Alaska, Oregon, Idaho) and lifelong creator.
As a child, it was finger-paintings and portraits of moons drawn with Mr. Sketch markers. If you were sold one of these she would be happy to authenticate it as a collectors item! (This applies only to her mother and uncle, the two primary commissioners of these works). In highschool on the Oregon Coast she fell under the guidance of Dwight Clark, a gem of a small town art teacher. He adopted a small group of students that showed a particular interest in art and helped nurture their skills. At 16, Odessa was published in the Rockford Writers Guild, curated her first community art show, began selling paintings and was commissioned to paint the art-wing at Neah-Kah-Nie Jr/Sr High. At Whitman College she studied under Keiko Hara;. Through her she learned to approach art as an embodiment of motion and emotion. Throughout college and later residency in New York, she curated small art shows, designed sets for The Castillo Theatre and focused on photography, mixed media and sculpture. In 2006 she partnered in SHOK, a design duo from Portland, Oregon specialized in canvas and mural production. In 2009 she moved to Idaho, shifting focus to family and by 2018 was again in a position to pursue art as a career. During this time she designed sets for a Alpine Playhouse, small wall murals for residences and menu boards for a prominent resort. In 2016 Odessa met a dashing man with an aptitude for law, rugby and scaffolding. This brought her out of the mountains and into Boise where she is now the sole proprietor and lead artist at chalk & cloud, specializing in murals for homes, businesses and window splash for all seasons. Beyond painting, her interests lay in travel, photography and exploration. She has lived in many places, among them Alaska, Manhattan, New Orleans and in a tiny sailboat in Bodega Bay. Her international travels have taken her to Japan, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Belgium, Amsterdam and France. Arlo is a dog, and a very good one at that. |
The fella in New Orleans at the George Rodrigue Gallery
The streets of Kinosaki Onsen in Japan
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