Shanice Figeroux is a mural artist extraordinaire working out of NYC. She is an animator with practical expertise in multiple aspects of visual and graphic arts. Born and raised in Jamaica Queens NYC she's always been encouraged to stand out and speak for herself and others through her art with which she expresses and reflects on the past, present and future. Adept in clothing design, acrylic & spray painting, she has completed 12 murals for local businesses within the 5 boroughs since 2016. Her works has been recognized via a variety of grants and awards, including the Artist Corps Grant, the Artbridge Commission & the Japan Day Award in 2021.

You can keep up with her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook ... but her site is where I always end up.

Ping, thank you so much for letting us share your art with our readers. Okay, let's keep things simple to start, pen, pencil, or phone, which one do you reach for when you need to write something down?

I prefer to phone, it’s very convenient. But I have always believed in the charm of handwritten letters. So I do this for some important people, like families.

What advice would you give someone who is just starting to send their work out to journals?

I would recommend read art history and learn from masters. Also be open to any form of art, learn as much as you can. Then go back to yourself, try to dig out your own story. You can’t mimic anyone forever. Last thing is keep working, feel the world.

Rachael Peckham's piece 'Upon Reading Your Ex-Boyfriend’s Obituary' messed with the questioning theme inside the Summer 2021 with a kind of perfection that made us pause here and wonder about our own lives and the things we've collectively forgotten over the years.

Rachael was kind enough to give us a bit of her time recently, and yes, you know exactly how we got things started ... 

The Summer 2021 issue was all about questioning and Jesse Mardian got that going with his story 'Communion' in a way that left us smiling but with something to think about. Jesse was kind enough to give us a bit of time for a little Q & A, and of course you know how we got that started ...

Working with George is always a thrill for us here at NUNUM, so when the chance came to feature his work on the cover of the Spring 2021 issue some people around here checked the calendar to see if they'd somehow forgotten it was their birthday.

Despite the craziness in the world these days, we were able to get a little bit of George's free time, on top of his wonderful photography, and by now you know how we got it going.

George, what was the first book you remember picking up and reading all by yourself?