β€œ[My work] isn’t about business for me. It’s about giving women their dignity back.”
β€”Stacie Becker

β€œI never thought my decisions would lead to this,” Becker says of her unlikely path. β€œThe reward … I can’t really put it into words.”

Becker’s enthusiasm is not all her own. It’s a reflection from her clients at Empower Tattoos in Altamonte Springs, where breast cancer survivors look in a mirror after maybe two hours under Becker’s magical talent and see what they thought had been lost forever: completeness.

From the most basic business standpoint, Becker is filling a need that previously had few real answers. Reconstructive surgeons can build breasts back up for women who have undergone mastectomies. They can even attempt an additional procedure to construct areolas, which means more cutting, folding and stitching. But that final step does not usually restore a realistic appearance long-term. It’s like a flower stem without the petals, leaving patients with constant reminders of what has been lost.

Or those surgeons can send patients to the tattoo parlor, where Becker uses less invasive instruments to create 3D tattoos that restore the shape and pigmentation of areolas. It’s easier and cheaper than surgery and, plainly speaking, she makes nipples look as close as possible to the way they did before surgery.

β€œWhen a woman gets her cherries back,” as Becker puts it, β€œit changes her quality of life immediately. I’ve seen how much it means.”

What you hear in Becker’s message isn’t sales or marketing. She’s only worked with the medical community since late 2018 and officially launched Empower in the spring of 2019, so even she is still surprised to be discussing how tattoos impact the lives of breast cancer survivors.

β€œThis isn’t at all what I once thought I was supposed to do,” she says. Like a priceless piece of art, her purpose has been woven together across four winding decades.

Finding Her Calling

Of the hundreds of pictures Becker drew as a child, she remembers the fountain. Actually, she remembers her grandmother drawing Becker drawing the fountain. β€œWe had a cool bond,” she says. Art became the core of her memories and of her passion, but it wouldn’t be her major β€” first at the University of Miami and then for a semester at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ nearly 20 years ago. The adults knew better, of course: art’s a great hobby, but how will you make a living at it?

So Becker studied business while working at a bank.

β€œSomething was completely missing,” she says.

Becker’s husband, Mike, saw some of the pieces she’d been painting on the side and suggested she apprentice as a tattoo artist. Together, they opened their own shop in 2009. Occasionally, she’d use her expertise to help a client cover up a scar. But the nexus happened in November 2018 when she designed a pink ribbon on the neck of a breast-cancer survivor. The woman’s plastic surgeon, Edgar Sosa, saw the clean lines of the tattoo and contacted Becker to see if she could put the finishing touches on his patients by creating nipples. That’s when she did a little research and found:

• More than 100,000 breast-cancer patients undergo some form of mastectomy every year in the U.S.
• One in eight women will be affected at some point in their lives.
• requires most types of health insurance carriers to cover all stages of reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy for breast cancer patients.

The more she studied, the more Becker realized tattoos would be a simple way to finish the difficult journey for breast cancer patients. No more surgery. No more poking and prodding. And no huge medical bill.

β€œIt isn’t about business for me,” Becker says. β€œIt’s about giving women their dignity back.”

Only it hasn’t been quite so simple. There’s still the stigma of tattoos in the medical community. Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, insurance companies are more likely to reimburse for costly and painful surgical restoration of areolas rather than preferred alternatives β€” like tattoos. This despite the fact that many surgeons like Sosa and Charles Newman (another Orlando-area specialist who now refers patients to Empower) admit that the tattoo nipple is more authentic.

Becker has become relentless, reaching out to government officials, insurance coalitions, surgeons and the American Cancer Society. β€œI’m willing to work with everyone because too many people need this,” she says. β€œI’m not slowing down.”

Her client stories provide the fuel. Like her first breast-cancer patient after launching Empower. A retired kindergarten teacher who didn’t want more surgery, she just wanted to feel like herself again. Becker consulted with the woman, then went to work on the tattoos. Two hours later, Becker took a picture of the woman looking in the mirror β€” the way her grandmother once painted a picture of Becker painting a fountain.

β€œI’ll never forget the look on her face,” says Becker. β€œAt that moment, it dawned on her β€” and on me β€” what it meant to have her breasts complete.”

Jan. 1 – Β After ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ completed their first perfect football season and a 34-27 defeat over Auburn at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ linebackerΒ Shaquem Griffin ’16Β admires the championship trophy. Shaquem made history in April when he became the first one-handed player to be drafted in the NFL, joining his brotherΒ Shaquill Griffin ’16Β on the Seattle Seahawks’ team.

Jan. 21 – A student takes some time between classes to stretch out on Memory Mall.

Feb. 23 – Engineering graduate student Estefania Bohorquez ’17 shows off her aerial acrobatic skills.

March 14 – Studio art major John Currie ’18 works on a special portrait of John C. Hitt to honor his 26 years of service as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s fourth president.

April 5 – Singer Jesse McCartney performs at CFE Arena during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½estival’s concert night.

April 7 – This year, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ raised more than $1.5 million for Knight-Thon, an annual dance marathon that benefits Children’s Miracle Network.

April 13 – Director of jazz studies and Pegasus Professor Jeff Rupert conducts a performance during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Celebrates the Arts.

May 1 – After a six-month closure, a cute pup takes a dip in the newly renovated Reflecting Pond, which now has a new foundation and color-changing LED lights. *Note: Dogs are not allowed in the water, so don’t try this on your own.

May 3 – During his final commencement ceremonies, former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President John C. Hitt conferred degrees to more than 8,100 students. In October of last year,Β Hitt announced he would be stepping down from the presidency on June 30, 2018. Former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ provost Dale Whittaker became the university’s fifth president on July 1.

June 5 – Senior studio art major Jenna Chastain works with clay during an art class in the Visual Arts building.

June 5 – Β While in a lab, aΒ student works on a project involving display screens and motorcycle helmets.

June 20 – Two students raced to the top of the Climbing Tower located in the .

June 29 – Construction on the new ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Downtown campus is underway and on schedule to open Fall 2019.

Aug. 2 – After partnering with two other institutions to manage the Arecibo Observatory earlier this year, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President Dale Whittaker traveled to Puerto Rico for a visit to the facility.

July 27 – An instructor at the demonstrates how to put out a fire during a cooking class.

Aug. 21 – Afternoon Florida storm clouds cover campus as students make their return during the first week of fall classes.

Sept. 5 – The sun rises over the Charging Knight statue outside ofΒ Spectrum Stadium.

Sept. 5 – Campus on a quiet morning.

Sept. 19 – After more than a year of waiting, popular local taco spot Gringos Locos opened its ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ location in Knights Plaza.

Sept. 21 – The get ready to perform on the football field during half-time at the game against Florida Atlantic University.

Sept. 29 – Knightro and the cheer team entertain a packed stadium during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s game against Pittsburg, which ended in a 45 – 14 win for the Knights.

Oct. 2 – During the evening, the Pegasus on the lights up the building.

Oct. 3 – After serving as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s interim provost since April, Elizabeth A. Dooley has become the university’s provost and vice president for .

Oct. 30 – In August, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ partnered with the Nemours Children Hospital to create PEDS Academy, a program that provides specialized STEM education to children hospitalized at the facility.

Nov. 8 – Students light up CFE Arena during Homecoming 2018‘s Concert Knight, which featured performances from rapper A$AP Ferg and singer Ella Mai.

Nov. 9 – Students show off their excitement as they prepare to take part in ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s biggest Homecoming tradition – .

Nov. 9 – During this year’s Spirit Splash, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President Dale Whittaker jumped into the Reflecting Pond alongside students. He promised take part in the tradition if 50,000 students would attend the first five home football games of the 2018 season – more than 55,000 students took on the challenge.

Dec. 1 – Β After joining Knight Nation this football season, makes an appearance at the American Athletic Conference Championship game, during which fans wore leis to show their support for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Athletics gave out 40,000 leis to fans in the spirit of #10hana, a movement that started in the local community and on social media.

Dec. 1 – During theΒ American Athletic Conference title game against Memphis,Β 45,176 fans packed the stands as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ secured a 56 -41 victory, extending their undefeated streak to 25 games and advancing them to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2019.

More than 1,000 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ students and faculty members will participate in the festival of performing and visual arts that will showcase studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film. This is the first time all the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ artistic endeavors can be experienced in one place, and all activities are free and open to the public.

The week also will provide invited high school music and theater students unique access to workshops led by ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ faculty members and an opportunity to showcase their talents during select performances at a state-of-the-art venue.

β€œWe’re presenting the depth and breadth of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s arts units to Orlando, taking them off campus and presenting them in one of the best spaces in the southeast,” said Jeff Moore, director of the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ School of Performing Arts and artistic director of the festival. β€œAlso, this shows how arts integration across all disciplines happens at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½. This creative environment is necessary to develop community outreach.”

Events are still being added to the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Celebrates the Arts schedule, but some of the highlights will feature:

* Β Icarus at the Edge of Time. The ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Symphony Orchestra will perform the music of composer Phillip Glass with an accompanying movie by Al & Al, based on a children’s book by Columbia University physicist Brian Greene about a boy traveling in outer space who challenges the power of a black hole. Friday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Kate Mulgrew, who portrayed Capt. Katharyn Janeway in the Star Trek: Voyager TV series, will provide live narration for the fable.

The Icarus presentation is part of a National Science Foundation project that seeks to broaden the participation of students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) research activities, and each year ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ organizes some STEM activities in an artistic way. This event will be an interdisciplinary arts-and-sciences collaboration involving the School of Performing Arts and the College of Sciences.Β β€œIt is an excellent example of the integration of science, literature, and the performing and visual arts,” said Debra Reinhart, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ assistant vice president for Research and Commercialization.

* Β Several musical collaborations are planned with ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ partners. The Flying Horse Big Band will perform a cabaret with the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, themed β€œShakespeare in Love” (Saturday, April 11, at 8 p.m.); ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Choirs will provide the vocals for the Orlando Repertory Theatre’s production of Civil War Voices, which uses diaries and letters to tell the true stories of people who lived through the war (several matinee productions throughout the week); and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a rehearsal for Tosca with an instructional class for voice students following.

* Β Theatre ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ performances will include scenes from Nine, Hair, class projects, alumni cameos, and scenes from students who have been nominated for Kennedy Center Irene Ryan Acting awards. The Theatre ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Dance showcase will feature a selection of dance pieces choreographed and performed by ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ students and faculty members.

* Β Music concerts will include performances from the Collide Percussion Music Festival, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Symphonic Band, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ choruses, and the chamber and wind ensembles.

* Β Students in the School of Visual Arts and Design will have works from digital media, film, animations, games and studio arts showcased on every floor at the Dr. Phillips Center. SVAD faculty will present lectures on the arts and will be available for portfolio reviews from high school students. A Game Jam will be held so patrons can watch games being developed during a 24-hour period.

* The Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy also will demonstrate the interactive development process of video-game design. Final products and artwork will be on display showcasing the works of students and professionals.

* Performances will be scheduled for select high school musicians. There also will be clinics and workshops for the participating musicians. Schools that would like to participate can contact Kelly Miller, coordinator of music education, at Kelly.Miller@ucf.edu.

Organizers of the festival hope to expand its length and scope in coming years.

β€œWe are using this opportunity to share the products and performances of our university students and faculty. We want the world to know that ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ invests in the arts, and this festival makes that statement,” Moore said. β€œThis celebration is a showcase for ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ to share the return on that investment with the city and the entire Central Florida region. We are looking forward to this inaugural event and sharing ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s arts activities,Β both on and off campus,Β with everyoneΒ for years to come.”

Visit Β for more information and updated scheduling. All events are free, but tickets are required for many of the programs. Tickets will be available on the websiteΒ later this month.

Verge Art Brooklyn is a highly competitive national art fair juried by a panel of distinguished arts professionals, curators and critics.

Hammond, a first-year student in the MFA Studio Art & the Computer program, applied to the exhibition for a midterm project in The Professional Practice in Art, a class taught by Elizabeth Brady Robinson, an associate professor in the School of Visual Arts and Design.

Hammond’s work wasexhibited to a large audience of collectors, curators, critics and arts patronsat Armory Week, one of the largest art fairs in the nation.

The Verge Art Brooklyn exhibition featured 70 gallery exhibitors and 40participants from international galleries and independent artists.

Hammond’s next project will be to curate a national exhibition titled β€œLooking Back, Trudging Forward” at B-Complex in Atlanta. The exhibition opens March 11.

Click here to view Hammond’s e-portfolio.

The installation, dubbed β€œCONNECTIONS,” is a 10-foot sphere illuminated by projections of images and videos about movement. It’s inspired by recent debates over creating alternative transportation in and around Central Florida, including the SunRail commuter train and Florida High Speed Rail.

Viewers of the installation are asked to respond to the question, β€œWhat moves you?” They answer by sending text messages that are projected onto the sphere.

β€œWe were inspired by the transformative potential of SunRail and Florida High Speed Rail to change the way Central Floridians move and engage with their communities and beyond,” says Dave Moran, one of three ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Digital Media and Studio Art master’s students who created the installation.

Ultimately, β€œCONNECTIONS” aims to encourage dialogue about mobility and community design in Central Florida through art, Moran says. The commuter and high-speed rails offer alternatives to Orlando’s auto-centric community design and have the potential to improve the quality of life for Central Floridians, he added.

Moran and fellow students Jillian Perez Dudziak and Gary Seymour Jr. created β€œCONNECTIONS” as part of a semester-long class project with Digital Media Associate Professor Phil Peters, and they began showcasing the exhibit at local cafes and markets in April.

β€œThe students were tasked with creating an innovative, interactive installation about our environment,” Peters said. β€œThis project is unique in the way that it engages the community to celebrate the relationship between art and urban policy and planning.”

The installation will continue to engage viewers beyond the classroom when β€œCONNECTIONS” is featured at Orlando’s Downtown Arts District 3rd Thursday Gallery Hop on Aug. 19.

The hop officially starts at 6 p.m. Moran says β€œCONNECTIONS” will be on display from 8 to 11 p.m. outside the CityArts Factory, located at 29 S. Orange Ave.

Third Thursday is a monthly event that invites attendees to celebrate art and culture during a β€œhop” through galleries, restaurants and boutiques in Orlando’s Downtown Arts District. The students’ art inspired this month’s theme, which explores the relationship between art and transportation through a series of installations and pieces designed by local artists.

β€œWe were thrilled when the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ students approached us to host ‘CONNECTIONS’ and were inspired by their energy and ideas,” said Shanon Larimer, executive director of the Downtown Arts District. β€œOur installation exhibition allows Central Floridians and visitors alike to consider all of their alternatives to travel and how they impact their wallets, conveniences, environment and the overall economy.”

The Downtown Development Board, the City of Orlando and Metroplan Orlando joined ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ and the CityArts Factory in supporting this month’s 3rd Thursday event. Airstar America donated the sphere used in the installation.

To learn more about β€œCONNECTIONS,” visit www.txtart.info, or become a fan of β€œCONNECTIONS” on Facebook.

She found her artistic voice when she was finally able to apply paint to canvas.

Two years later and with the guidance of Carla Poindexter, her mentoring professor and associate director of art at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½, senior Molly Bender will graduate this semester with a B.F.A. in studio art, specializing in painting.

After graduation, Bender wants to make a career out of painting.

Senior painting major, Jessica De Salvo said she respects the struggle in the paint strokes found in Bender’s paintings.

“What I mean by struggling in her strokes is that when an artist has made a stroke and decided she didn’t want it anymore, she goes back over it with another layer of paint,” De Salvo said. “It’s always good to see a struggle in a painting, because you know that the artist is putting a lot of thought in their piece of work.”

Poindexter said the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Art Department aims to get art students in a good graduate program, and help students develop a series of related work that shows skillful rendering and application.

“It’s really important to help students find their visual voice, and that is what Molly is attempting to do,” Poindexter said. “Plus, we try to prepare them professionally for the art world; to guide them in an understanding of contemporary issues, and we prepare them to speak and write about their work.”

Source: Central Florida Future. To continue reading visit , by Tina Russell; Published: Monday, January 18, 2010. Updated: Monday, January 18, 2010

Poindexter teaches Intermediate and Advanced Painting and another course in Graduate Studies, Book Arts or Drawing. In partnership with the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA), she has taught an advanced class in experimental Book Arts to upper level ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ art students on site at the OMA.

As the Director of Summer Study Abroad in Scotland for five years, she is the instructor of record and mentoring advisor for ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ art students who study at the Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland, for two weeks each summer.

Poindexter is a studio artist with over twenty-five year’s professional experience in painting and drawing. In the past ten years she has expanded her research into photography and book arts including a limited edition visual artist’s book entitled, The Devil at the Door. The visual book and a series of related hand colored etchings were funded by a 2002 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Professional Development Research Award.