Art

When Emida Roller says that art is in her blood, it’s not a figure of speech. She had the good fortune to be mentored by her father, the renowned Nigerian artist Solomon Irein Wangboje.

Emida remembers sitting at her father’s feet as a very young girl, watching him create his masterpieces in his studio. She never considered any path other than following in his footsteps, and developed her own unique style along the way.

After high school, Emida received her formal training at the University of Benin, Nigeria, in Fine and Applied Arts. Always the adventurous one, she left her home country and family behind to complete her studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, obtaining her Masters of Fine Art (MFA) and a Masters of Art (MA).

In 2004 Emida started her mural painting business, Wall Designs by Emida, LLC. The buzz about her work spread quickly, and every year since then Emida has painted homes in the Madison Area Builders Association Parade of Homes, as well as for many other individual and commercial clients. Check out her work at www.walldesignsbyemida.com.

It’s her teaching, however, that she finds the most rewarding. Emida taught last year in Verona at New Century Charter School, and infused her classroom with her trademark enthusiasm. She also brought in artistic elements from her native Nigeria and travels to such diverse places as Istanbul, Buenos Aires and Paris. Emida’s classroom is truly a global one.

She resides in Verona with her husband and four kids.

As a popular local teacher and artist, we are glad to have Emida on staff here at Rhapsody.