The Artsy Aunty

06/13/2025

I know I said the Artsy Aunty was on pause but Reo is cancer free and we have some artwork to finish!
Look at this girls smile! She is such a little ray of sunshine.
Today we discussed her being a “big sister” when I get Artsy Aunty up and running.
She is exactly what other kids going through treatment need, someone who can relate and encourage them through her own experience.
Hopeful that I’m being guided on the path to helping the little lights in our world when they feel dimmed.

03/23/2025

The Artsy Aunty (On Pause, But Still Covered in Paint)

If you’ve been around, you know my art career has kept me busy
but one of the most meaningful parts of my journey has been creating with my niece, Violet.
She has SYNGAP1, a rare genetic disorder that causes developmental delays, epilepsy, and nonverbal autism. Lately, her seizures have made communication even harder, leading to frustration and meltdowns. Imagine wanting to express yourself but not having the words. Wanting to dance but your muscles give out and you fall. Wanting to feed yourself but having seizures and by the time the fork gets to your mouth the food was sent falling to the floor when you had a seizure.

As much as she loves me, she clings to her mom—her safety. And while that bond is beautiful, it’s also exhausting for a single parent navigating some heavy metal moments in life.

But then, there are moments like today—where art becomes the bridge between frustration and expression.
We danced to When I’m Small by Phantogram, painted, laughed, and embraced the mess. (Well, except for the meltdown when I said she couldn’t eat the yellow paint. Just like aunty frustration and tears are extra texture on the canvas.)

For now, “The Artsy Aunty” is on hold while I build my art career, so I can financially support myself and then volunteer my time to this dream.
Violet teaches me every time we’re together to listen beyond words, to feel with my whole heart, and to be fully present. Every second counts. If you know someone raising a child with nonverbal autism, epilepsy, or other special needs, offer them grace, patience, and support. The journey is hard, but it’s also filled with beauty.

09/10/2024

🎨 do you follow my Vavrosky Art page??
Or Sound Conservatory
Or Art On The Bend ?
What about The Rust Belt or Midwest Ale Works ?
Swing by. Support local.

Exciting news!
🎹 I’m standing next to the piano I’ll be painting for the Keys of Unity program, commissioned by Sound Conservatory.
In my Musician series, my very first muse was the Piano Man 🎶.

In the second photo, you’ll see me with Andrzej Kozlowski, the visionary behind Sound Conservatory. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to bring music and art together. (He is also a pianist)

🎨 Want to see the magic happen? You’re invited to watch me paint the piano live all week at Art on the Bend
open during Midwest Ale Works’ business hours: 🕒 M-F: 2pm-10pm 🕛 Fri-Sat: 12pm-12am 🕛 Sun: 12pm-9pm

🌟 Mark your calendars! My art show is coming up on September 20th, from 6-9pm. I’d love to see you there!

08/30/2024

I’m hanging my art up this weekend.

My actual ART SHOW is Sept 20 6-9pm
BUT I’m going to be there hanging out

on Sept 1st from noon-3pm having coffee.
If you want to swing in and see the artwork I’m displaying.

The Musicians and others will be on display ALL MONTH but I hope you can

save the date on Sept.20th 6-9pm

08/29/2024

08/23/2024

A lot of you have reached out and asked how Violet is doing.
First we want to say THANK YOU for all the love, prayers, and support.
I haven’t found the right words to express my gratitude and how much I have felt like our community really loves Violet Rayne.

They have a washer and dryer now!!! So Violet and her Mommy are super happy to be able to stay home and do the laundry.

I know I had gotten a little overly excited while we were in the healing phase.
I had posted how much better she was doing than expected.
We had been told things like, she likely won’t be able to clap or coordinate across body (left and right side)
She might not recognize us (this was so scary for me to think of because she’s nonverbal. So how would we know)
She may not be able to walk (we had a little scare and she showed us the next day how strong and determined she was to get out of the hospital)
So, we are BEYOND happy that things went smoothly during the operation and the hospital stay.
She didn’t have ANY seizures while we had her on the steroids. She had started to seem like she wanted to talk more. It was so amazing to watch her eat and play without any seizures at all.

So, I haven’t updated because it’s hard for me to talk about without getting a little emotional. Her drop seizures haven’t surfaced and we are estimating that those are 90% gone, it’s hard to tell with spatial seizures since those are like blank stares, her seizures when she eats have returned, she is also still having some (aprox 50-60%) seizures.
They have started her on a medication to see how it works now that she is having fewer seizures.

I am GRATEFUL that the surgery has helped. Our family is so grateful that everything went well and we had no complications AND SHE IS HAVING LESS SEIZURES.
I’m terrified that we will be doing it again. Mayo Clinic is great. They were amazing but EVERYTIME they go in and use the lasers to remove more, I’m going to be holding my breath and violets going to have to go through all of that again.

So, thank you EVERYONE, I ran into A LOT of you at Alternating Curants. So so so many people recognize me as Violets Aunty and that’s my favorite roll.
Please feel free to ask me and my family how she is still when you see us. It really reminds us that we aren’t alone.
Violet has her first day of kindergarten today and she can’t wait to see you all out and about at the farmers markets and dancing to live music.
All of our love and gratitude,
Violet & Family

08/14/2024

www.vavroskyart.com

I am VERY SLOWLY adding old artwork to my portfolio. My website is pretty far behind 😅
It is up and running again. I do have some merch up again.
Hopefully I’ll have it caught up and post some new merch soon!

Available originals Please E-mail me with any questions. All of my work is intuitive. Shop Portfolio Miranda Vavrosky’s portfolio View Shop Here today, gone tomorrow. Nothing in my shop will be there forever. Things will come and go through the seasons. Shop Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up wit...

08/13/2024

COLAB TIME!!
Art on the Bend is having me (Vavrosky Art) have an art show in September!
While my artwork is on display (all month) Sound Conservatory will be commissioning me to paint a piano.
I will be posting a schedule of when I’ll be there working on the piano and you can come have a beer at Midwest Ale Works and watch me paint!

06/25/2024

Pay it forward.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Trust me.
I’ve been trying hard to be there for the people around me and when you are doing good and impacting others lives it’s easy to forget to take care of you. Then when you are the one who needs help…. People show up.

I can’t even tell you how many amazing people I’ve met through asking for help for my niece. How many people have shown their beautiful spirits and kind nature.
How many strangers, friends, and friends of friends have shown up for her and my family.

We haven’t raised enough for a service dog (yet) but we raised enough to help Violets journey through the surgery and into healing.
We will be getting them a washer and dryer (which will help a lot since Violet has accidents)
They will be fed and not have to stress about their water/electric a/c etc. Which will help them stay comfortable during this hot summer.

Most importantly Violet is WALKING, LAUGHING, EATING, BREATHING, and RECOGNIZING her family. Her memory seems strong as she still likes the same songs and knows who LLAMA and Corn the unicorn are.
I TRULY believe that she healed so fast because she had no fear and so much dancing, laughing, high fives, bubbles, and love before her surgery. Her mind and body were happy and I think that helped her get back on her feet quickly.

Thank you. Everyone. Our quad cities community AND BEYOND (violet likes buzz light year) has truly made me believe in humanity again.
Sometimes our darkest and hardest times are when our faith is restored.

I’ve been guilty of not meditating, journaling, praying and practicing gratitude. I was doing really great with it before I hit hard times and I plan to get back into the practice of daily gratitude and prayers.

Thank you for your love and prayers. Thank you for your kindness and being our strength when we were shaking and scared.
I feel loved. My family feels loved and supported. We know we aren’t alone and it’s because of you.

06/24/2024

06/05/2024

IF YOU ORDER BEFORE 11AM on Friday, you can pick your order up at the event.
You can also have it shipped to you but you won’t have it in time for the event.
We will not have on site printing sorry.

06/03/2024

You're not gonna want to miss this event.
Good vibes for Violet
Art auction with paintings from:
Vavrosky art,
Tony Cavallo,
Regan Hatfield.
Tattoo artists vouchers from:
The Happy Cat Tattoo and Aimee Ford
gift cards and baskets from SO MANY local businesses.
ukulele from Sound Conservatory,
Heads In Motion - a Talking Heads tribute will be playing live music and
Collin J Krause formerly in the Waydown Wanderers is going to grace us with a SOLO SET!
BAKE SALE!!!!! (Also accepting baked good donations. Reach out to Vickie Kenney or Melissa L. Sadler to schedule drop off)

TSHIRTS on site with some fun designs!
Tag some friends in the comments for a chance to win a free tshirt!!! (See design in comments)
Share for an extra entry. Winner announced on Saturday!