This week’s Geek of the Week Katherine is no stranger to the local geek crowd! You can find her set up and selling her geeky wares at many of the local events, conventions and art shows under the guise of That Nerdy Mom~

1) Let’s start with the basics – My name is Katherine and I go by That Nerdy Mom on social media because I’m an artist who’s trying to enjoy my nerdy passions while being the best mommy I can be! My favorite fandoms are often the inspiration for my art, and for a long time, I did art solely for myself, but I’m working more now than ever to share my creations with others who enjoy the same things as I do. I create paintings, art prints, logo designs, and even illustrated four children’s books. I’m also a dietitian who works in the medical field, but fantasy and sci-fi have always been my escape.

My art doesn’t stop there- I love to dabble in cosplay creations, entertaining, and celebrating with a nerdy twist. You can follow my adventures on https://thatnerdymom.wordpress.com/

2) What do you geek out on? There are so many fandoms I enjoy from comics to video games and anime to TV series. My friends tend to associate me with Sailor Moon, Harry Potter, Spider-Man and Chrono Trigger if that tells you anything about my preferences and each one is associated with some memory to my childhood.

Overwatch is my current obsession and I love binge watching fantasy/adventure series with the hubby (Firefly, Game of Thrones, The Magicians, The Shannara Chronicles).

I think what I Geek out about the most are events that bring fellow nerds together in a big celebration- especially if cosplay is involved. My favorite event of the year is GAAM: Games Art and Music which allows me to donate my art to charity and dress is cosplay to party the night away! For the family, we look forward to the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire in Gainesville, FL. I’ve been going for the past seven years and now take my daughter who dresses up with me.

3) Marvel or DC? and Why? Marvel for sure. I’m not sure how old I was when I found my older brother’s comic books, but I remember admiring the book covers and actions scenes. I was fascinated how a story could be told in pictures. My favorite were the Spider Man comics and I’m excited to see every new transformation of Spider-Man to this day. I was so infatuated with the character, that at about the age of 10, I made my mother a Spider-Man card for Mother’s Day. I admire his optimism, human imperfections and snarky humor.

Even though Marvel has my favorite characters, I will admit I’m drawn to the powerful women of DC. Their female character designs are more appealing.

4) Star Wars or Star Trek? and Why? I’d have to say Star Wars! I took my husband to Star Wars weekend at Disney for his birthday when we were dating. Seeing all the characters come to life was really magical, and we got to sit in on a talk with Warwick Davis who was in Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Willow- we were star struck. It was one of our favorite memories together!

5) Were you a geeky kid or did you come into it later in life? I grew up watching Spider-Man and Batman Saturday mornings, watched all the anime offered by Toonami daily after school, and collected manga like Sailor Moon and Ranma ½. My brother, who I really bonded with over video games, influenced my interest in gaming, especially good RPGs like Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series

I think it really started with mythology though because father is Greek and my bookshelf was full of books on Greek mythology. I read them cover to cover and admired the illustrations, especially the elegant designs of the goddesses. Then I became infatuated with Egyptian mythology and the extravagant clothes and temples they created which probably explains why I admire things a little out of the ordinary. I think that’s really what opened the door for my fascination with nerdy culture.

6) Are your kids into the geek stuff too? My four year old, adventurous Zoe is probably undecided. I think at this time, she may enjoy my interests but can’t really call her a geek. It might be because her generation will be a lot more open for a girl to like playing video games or have a favorite super hero who isn’t a female. We recently took her to watch Spider-Man into the Spiderverse and she loved Spider Gwen.

For now though, she loves My Little Pony and She-Ra (the new series is ADORABLE). There are some AMAZING shows out there for fans of animation and children to enjoy together. My top two being Mune: Guardian of the Moon and Song of the Sea. We watch those on repeat and I can’t complain because the art is gorgeous and stories are heartfelt. I think she’s on a good path.

7) Are you working on anything right now you’d like to share? I’m working on marketing my art more and more. This year was the year of Art Shows. There really was a lot to more I had to learn besides just making pretty pictures. Each show taught me more with trial and error and I hope to be an art vendor more throughout 2019 to meet people, share my art, and take on new challenges.

I have started teaching at-home painting parties. Many people think they aren’t talented enough to paint but the truth is they haven’t tried enough. I love encouraging people to find their inner artist with a little instruction. I’m hoping to grow this at a local art studio located in Fernandina this coming 2019.

You can find my art and upcoming events on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThatNerdyMom/ and follow my Instagram for nerdy art and interests at https://www.instagram.com/thatnerdymom24/

Thank you Katherine for answering these seven geeky questions! Are you a geeky mom interested in being featured? If so, please contact me!