Greetings! United Divas is an organization that empowers women to become artistic leaders, professionals, innovators, and role models for both aspiring and practicing artists.You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for the newsletter through our website, you are friends or acquaintances with one of the members of United Divas, or you met one of us at a social or business gathering of some sort.

Congratulations to Holly Williams, of Los Angeles for being elected as "Diva of the Month" for December 2002!

Holly Williams is a landscape painter, photographer, draftsman and muralist working in Los Angeles. Her current paintings are based upon the LA landscape, incorporating elements of photorealism, abstraction and science fiction.. You may see samples of her work by visiting her gallery...

Dont forget to read Holly's interview!

We are always searching to find our next diva of the month. Each month we recognize a multi-disciplined female artist as diva of the month.
If you are chosen to be a diva, you will get:

- Your own "gallery" in our artists' section where you can post music, video, photos, and more web friendly formats of your work. You can send us new information, and we will update it once a month for as long as you like.
- An email interview that will be archived in your gallery section.
- A link, with a photo, to your gallery and your interview from the home page of our website for your first Month.
- Inclusion in our events listings & monthly newsletter announcements, as long as you provide updated information for us to use.
- Inclusion in our referrals pool. When someone contacts us for something that you might be able to do, you will automatically be included in our referrals. You are not required to be exclusive to United Divas. We are not an agency, just a group of artists sharing resources.
- To participate in our annual event that showcases the multiple talents of our divas. Proceeds from this annual event will be used to start a scholarship fund for single mothers and mothers from low-income households to further their education in the arts. You are not required to participate in this event, but you will have first choice for involvement and planning.

ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO EXCELS IN YOUR ARTISTIC PROFESSION? DO YOU UTILIZE MANY TYPES OF SKILLS TO CREATE YOUR WORK? SEND US LINKS TO YOUR WORK, OR EMAIL US AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO!

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS SUPER-TALENTED? SEND US LINKS TO THEIR WORK, OR EMAIL US AND TELL US ABOUT WHAT THEY DO AND HOW WE CAN EXPERIENCE SOME OF THEIR CREATIONS!

Tell us about a diva! referrals@uniteddivas.com

Meg Cranston (December Diva of the Month 2002)
Meg's exhibition "Recent Works" at Happy Lion has ended. If you were unable to see the show, you may view photos here: http://www.uniteddivas.com/megrecentworks.html

::AN INTEREST IN LIFE:: Feb. 5-March 8, 2003
Apexart curatorial and residency program,
291 church Street, New York City 212-431-5270

***Meg will be co-curating a show with John Baldessari, called "An Interest in Life" featuring works by Jennifer Nelson, DOEtte Nogel, Erin Cosgrove, Jen Liu, and Brienne Arrington. The exhibition title, "An Interest in Life", originates from a short story by Grace Paley of the same name, in which it is stated, "All that is really necessary for survival of the fittest, it seems, is an interest in life, good, bad, or peculiar, " Here we find art that is hopeful with an energetIc sense of the absurd. Several female artists encourage understanding through their plain spoken nature.

::FUTURE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS::
***Meg's work will be traveling to Galerie Michael Janssen, in Koln, Germany for the month of September.

Mahina Yuki Terauchi (November Diva 2002)
::NEWS ON THE WEB::
*Check out the 1st official O.h.m. forum now fully functional
*http://140.99.26.53/messageboard/forumdisplay.php?fid=5
O.h.m. is a featured artist at Xact | Radio, which features the best of indie metal, rock, & hardcore: http://www.xactrecords.com/
**Also check out the heated debate at Not Rated Magazine online
http://notrated.com/php-bin/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22&sid=2c311f136aa59874883014a665ccacb6

::OTHER NEWS::
::Tune into your local college radio station for the Mountain Dew “Amp Energy Drink 6-Pack” radio broadcast of O.h.m. (with music and commentary by the band) It will air on college radio nation wide in February.
::You can now purchase the O.H.M. EP “TUBODA” with a credit card on the newly re-designed CD PALACE web site or leave a review and let others know what your thoughts are on the CD!
http://www.cdpalace.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=28

Tyler Stone aka Ms T (September Diva 2002)
Be sure to check San Francisco Bay area listings for performances from Tyler's new band Sutro. Visit http://www.wanderlustmusic.com for weekly listings where you can catch Tyler singing or djaying.

Darcey Kearney aka DRC (August Diva 2002)
'So much, so fast, yet it?s taken so long to reach this place.
Though still under construction,
I continue to seek a greater balance in myself.
Through my experience in living,
Circumstance is no longer an excuse for situation. ...'
::Read the full poem by Darcey here: http://www.uniteddivas.com/drcpoem01.html
::Next Level Promotions DJ competition:: The audio file for DRC's mix is up! Check it out. Vote for your favorite DJ DRC. It will only take a few minutes. The contest has just been extended until March 2003, but the competition is fierce, so don't wait to get your vote in! http://www.nlpro.net/drc We thank you for your time and support.
::UDM 001 "SEEKER" to be re-released this Spring
::"UNDEFINED" the mixed Album by DRC in the works!
FOR BOOKINGS CONTACT: stephanie.l@theagencygroup.com
Undefined Musik inc.
328 W. 11th st. 1C New York, NY 10014
info@undefinedmusik.net
http://www.undefinedmusik.net/

Kathy Lajvardi (Co-founder)
Kathy has updated her demo reel! She recently finished a freelance project with Brass Knuckles for the 2003 Toy Fair in New York City. See her new montage here: http://www.uniteddivas.com/kathyreel.html

Sara Cembalisty (Co-founder)
Sara has updated the video section of her gallery to include recordings of her live VJ sets.
*** View videos here
*** To view her resume please visit: http://www.uniteddivas.com/sara.html

Jan Tompkins aka Lady Jay (Founder)
:: Saturday, February 22nd: Lady Jay will be djaying at the Whump! Turbo Sound 5 Year Anniversary event at Club Mobius. This will be a special midnight set, to start her 25th birthday off properly (February 23rd). Be sure to join the celebration of 5 years of Whump! Turbo Sound and 25 years of Jan Tompkins...Visit our events page to find out more details:
http://www.uniteddivas.com/events.html
::Jan is leading the redesign of the United Divas website, as well as the launch of the Mystik Alchemy Productions website. Mystik Alchemy, founded by Michele Novembre Bass, creates environments for all occasions.
You can view Jan's work by visiting her gallery: http://www.uniteddivas.com/jan.html
If you are interested in contacting Jan for freelance design work, please send her an email at: ladyjay@uniteddivas.com.

Located in the store formerly known as Global Grooves, Green Sector has expanded, opening a Santa Monica Store. Not only did they expand their vinyl selection to include all types of house, breaks, IDM, downtempo, hip-hop, drum-n-bass, progressive, & psychedelic trance, but they also have expanded their merchandise selection by offering CD's, skateboards, clothing for men & women, needles & cartridges, as well as headphones. As if that's not enough, they also carry United Divas T-Shirts. Stop by on Saturdays to visit Tree or Lady Jay. They specialize in breaks of all forms.

Location: 2400 Main St., just north of Ocean Park
Store Hours: Tue 12-8pm / Wed 12-9pm / Thur-Sat: 12-8pm /
Sun. 12-7pm

"When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system."
- Kalpana Chawla (1961-2003), Astronaut, Space Shuttle Columbia
(Courtesy of Lih Russell of Los Angeles)