Vicki Todd
Author Biography
Vicki Todd, Ed.D, was living a double life. She taught public relations for 17 years at the university level, but her dirty little secret was that really she was an artist at heart. So, she put her octogenarian mother into shock by resigning from her tenured professor position to follow her bliss of art.
Since taking the leap, Todd has written three books. Inner Beauty Blooming: A (Somewhat) True Fairytale of an Artist Heroine’s Journey to Self incorporates 22 of her body print artworks and was the kindling that ignited her one-woman show, Shine Happy Shine! Todd also wrote a visual memoir, Unstuck: One Heroine’s Journey of Art and the Courage to Live on Purpose,” which a reviewer with high acclaim calls a “unique angle on the realizing-your-purpose genre…,” as well as Voices: 14 + 1 Artist Heroines Speak Their Creative Journeys.
Todd hosted an hour-long show called Unstuck JOY! The Art of Living on Purpose, which was broadcast via Facebook Live for TransformationTalkRadio.com and converted to YouTube video. During the show, Todd interviewed guests while creating an art journal page. She offered viewers instructions on her website, vickiworldart.com, of how to create their own art journal creations at home, allowing them to discover new ways to live their purpose with joy.
In 2013, Todd designed vickiworldart.com to showcase her memoir portraits and the stories describing the life circumstance behind each piece. The next year, she had an epiphany while soaking in her nightly bubble bath: “Why couldn’t the stories be brought to stage, similar to The Vagina Monologues, but with art!” Fast forward to 2020 when Todd wrote the script for her one-woman stage show Shine Happy Shine!, which features a magical, evolving art exhibit of her vivid body print artworks and larger-than-life fairytale mask sculptures. Todd performed this spirited show at The Lab Theatre in Santa Fe, New Mexico in February 2022. She recently wrote a second play, Does This Make Me Delusional?, which she hopes will hit the stage in the near future.
Todd currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Author Statement
As a memoir artist and storyteller, I create powerfully vivid body print artworks that accompany the written/spoken word.
For the body print works, my nude body is the vehicle to print the foundation of each piece. Using my body as a monoprint plate, I smear acrylic paint onto my chest, torso, or back. I then lie down on a canvas or watercolor sheet to create an image of my body and intuitively add female or animal faces, wings, flowering vines, cow skulls, etc. to tell a story.
My body print artworks serve as expressive dance partners throughout the 1-woman stage show I authored: Shine Happy Shine! This spirited stage performance invites the audience on a journey to my hometown of Happy, Texas (the Town Without a Frown), into a fairytale realm inhabited by the radiant body print creatures and larger-than-life sculpted masks, and among my maternal ancestors who illuminate the path. I use the play format as a magical, evolving art exhibit that urges viewers to follow their heart’s whispers into a life embodying their creative core, rather than following society’s shouts of conforming to the “norm.” I debuted Shine Happy Shine! in February 2022 at The Lab Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
I recently wrote a second play titled Does This Make Me Delusional? The plot includes Ancestor Bleachers where dead relatives watch the action on stage as if they’re watching a tennis match. These deceased family members live vicariously through the living who carry out the ancestors’ cut-short aspirations. Ultimately, Does This Make Me Delusional? explores the fine line between receiving guidance from ancestors living in the Sweet By and By and hearing darker voices conjured from delusional dementia.
Having stage performance experience, along with creating stage art props, strengthens my writing because I can visualize the emotive dialogue, movement, and artistic visuals on stage. Engaging in improvisational classes and performances allows me to be present in the moment and discover fresh, raw ways to capture the story and its characters.
Artist & Author Resume
VickiWorldArt 