If you’ve been to Second Fridays, you know just how fun Ornella’s studio on the second floor is! 🎨 🎊 🖌️ Ornella is a visual artist from Kigali, Rwanda, who moved to the U.S. as a teen. She studied environmental engineering at Yale, and after moving to Chicago, she reunited with her first love: art. Her atmospheric portraits, often painted on metal, play with memory through sketch lines and a “work-in-progress” feel, and each piece reflects her experience as an engineer, immigrant, woman, storyteller, and more. She also hosts Spirits in the Studios, a regular soiree focused on art and community. She collaborates with other creatives for these events, fostering truly fun, imaginative nights! Visit her at Second Fridays and learn more about her art and events at orniorne. Photos 1, 3, and 4 courtesy of the artist.