I’ve been at NIAD for about 30 years and I want to go down in NIAD history. NIAD is a nice quiet place to work at and you can choose your materials and teachers. You can focus on your art. Andres Cisneros-Galindo is like a father at NIAD. Andres is a cool teacher who asks me to do prints in his class. Me and him know about history at NIAD.
I think I am a painter and a drawer. I love all materials but pencils and crayons are my favorites. I love putting flowers and suns in the background of my drawings.
Wrestling and Seth Rollins are a big influence for me. In wrestling you can see about their clothes and their style which I like. I like all kinds of jewelry too. I love how you can make it, wear it on your wrist or your neck. I just love jewelry. I used to make hanging pieces in fiber arts way back at NIAD, years ago.
I love printmaking because you can do all different kinds of colors and it’s fun to work with different teachers. I love getting my hands dirty in clay and doing my wrestling sculptures. When you have your break you can go outside and sit in the garden at NIAD.
// Deatra’s available work //
exhibition history
Crossover: Cedars of Marin + NIAD // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // November 2022
Told Through A Line, organized by Risa Lenore // NIAD Online Exhibition // September 2022
I Wanna See All My Friends At Once, organized by Cone Shape Top // NIAD Online Exhibition // August 2022
With You In Mind/Contigo En Mente, organized by Saïf Azzuz // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // August 2022
A Little Bit of Everything: Fashion & Fiber at NIAD // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // July 2022
Color as Energy Field, organized by Chinzalée Sonami // NIAD Online Exhibition // June 2022
Saves Nine, organized by Megan Kiskaddon // NIAD Online Exhibition // May 2022
Many Happy Returns, organized by Liam Golden and Bill Zindel // ODC Theater, SF // April 2022
Can’t Be Shook, organized by Alex Gartelmann // NIAD Online Exhibition // April 2022
Connect the Dots // SAIC Wellness Center, Chicago, IL // March 2022
WIN WIN 10 Silent Auction Preview Exhibition // NIAD Gallery Exhibition // February 2022
Voice Inside, organized by Sunila Bajracharya // NIAD Online Exhibition // January 2022
A Year Through the Windows // A Retrospective of NIAD’s 2021 Windows Exhibitions // December 2021
Faces in the Crowd, selected by Elizabeth Lalley // NIAD Online Exhibition // December 2020
Through My Eyes// organized By Scott Hewicker and Cliff Hengst NIAD Art Center 2020
Championship Belt // organized by Deatra Colbert and Ann Meade Mule Gallery San Francisco 2019
Hailing From Parts Unknown // organized By Curtis Turner May 2019
Books, Man // organized by Mike Monteiro NIAD Art Center 2019
Redefining Contemporary Art // organized by Courtney Eldridge Depot Steamboat Springs 2019
Disability Changemakers // (traveling exhibition) San Mateo, San Francisco and San Jose County public libraries 2019-2020
Collective Memory: NIAD // organized by Hannah Mode February 2019
Together // organized by Laurie Reid NIAD Art Center December 2018
Talking Heads: Figuration From Northern California Ceramicists // Curated organized by Susan Alexander and NIAD Art Center Museum of Northern California Art (monca) Chico 2018
Exquisite Corpse: CG x CE x NIAD // NIAD Art Center November 2018
Give A Little Take A Little: Real Time & Space at NIAD // organized By Lexa Walsh NIAD Art Center 2018
The Witnesses // organized by Cliff Hengst and Scott Hewicker NIAD Art Center 2017
Affinity // organized by Tim Buckwalter Museum of Northern California Art Chico 2017
The Fourth Dimension, organized by Marja Galpin van der Loo // NIAD Art Center 2017
Handbills // NIAD Art Center 2017
Word Play // organized by Kate Klingbeil NIAD Art Center 2017
Transformation // Walt Disney Family Museum San Francisco 2016
Can You Dig It: The Drawings Of Deatra Colbert // NIAD Art Center 2015
Absence of Deliberate Silence // organized by Lacey Haslam NIAD Art Center 2015
Telling It Slant // organized by Courtney Eldridge Richmond Art Center 2015
The Wild Bunch // NIAD Art Center 2014
Ebony + Ivory // organized by Katie Johnson NIAD Art Center 2014
Yes To The Dress Pop-Up Shop // organized by Peter Gravener NIAD Art Center 2013
Spring Training // NIAD Art Center 2013