Nervous Giraffe

Nervous Giraffe Professional Artist based in Michigan

What's a piece of art that changed the way you saw the world? 🎨One of my earliest memories is standing in the Bellagio C...
08/07/2026

What's a piece of art that changed the way you saw the world? 🎨
One of my earliest memories is standing in the Bellagio Conservatory in Las Vegas at four years old while my dad pointed up at giant glass flowers and explained that an artist had created them. I was completely mesmerized.
I didn't know it then, but the artist was Dale Chihuly.
Getting invited by Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park to experience Chihuly's work as a guest artist felt incredibly full circle. Walking through the Japanese Garden and seeing these vibrant glass installations woven into the landscape reminded me exactly why art can stay with us for a lifetime.
As someone who now makes art for a living, revisiting the work that first captured my imagination was both inspiring and deeply meaningful.
Thank you to Frederik Meijer Gardens for this partnership and for the opportunity to share this experience with my community. I'm so grateful to live in a city that values creativity and brings world-class art experiences to West Michigan.
Have you seen the Chihuly exhibition yet? What's the first artwork you remember falling in love with?

Honoring Jewish American Heritage Month with Art✡️Celebrating the creativity, resilience, storytelling, and community th...
05/23/2026

Honoring Jewish American Heritage Month with Art✡️

Celebrating the creativity, resilience, storytelling, and community that Jewish Americans have brought to every corner of art and culture, and feeling grateful to be part of that legacy.

I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunities this journey has brought me. From traveling to Tel Aviv with Jewish creatives from around the world on the Birthright Storytellers trip, to attending the content creator forum in NYC through Hillel, to now getting the chance to work for Michigan State University Hillel this fall. Baruch Hashem 🤍

Judaism is not necessarily the subject of all of my artwork, but it deeply influences the way I create and see the world. So much of my inspiration comes from Jewish storytelling, symbolism, color, tradition, resilience, and community. It finds its way into my work naturally.

I love being an artist and I love being Jewish. I’m excited for the path God has placed in front of me and for all the ways art and community continue to intertwine.

Am Yisrael Chai.

A little update on my wedding table decor… only a handful left! I’m so excited!! Which painting catches your eye? 👀🎨 ...
05/04/2026

A little update on my wedding table decor… only a handful left! I’m so excited!! Which painting catches your eye? 👀🎨

4,000 people are here. I don’t fully know how to hold that yet.When I made this account I was 17. It was kind of a secre...
04/12/2026

4,000 people are here. I don’t fully know how to hold that yet.
When I made this account I was 17. It was kind of a secret. I’d post little doodles from my sketchbook and assume no one would find it. I didn’t even use my real name. I called it “Nervous Giraffe” because I felt like an outsider all the time. My mom used to say I was a giraffe in the monkey habitat. I remember thinking maybe one day I’ll find the other giraffes.

I didn’t expect any of this.

I didn’t expect this to become my career. I didn’t expect my art to take me to other countries or introduce me to people I admire across the world. I didn’t expect to nearly sell out a show in one night. I didn’t even expect to become a painter. I hadn’t picked up a paintbrush until college and at the time I was a music major just trying to make enough to pay tuition and rent.

And now this is my life.

Lately things have been moving really fast and I just wanted to slow down for a second and say thank you for being here.
It really means something to me.
I want to give something back!

one winner will receive:
2 signed prints of your choosing
2 stickers
2 bookmarks
all Nervous Giraffe pieces of course!

to enter:
- US only
- follow 
- like this post
- tag 2 people
- share to your story for an extra entry!
I’ll randomly select a winner one week from now… I think I found the giraffes🦒🎨

Posting some cheeky doodles this week ;)
04/11/2026

Posting some cheeky doodles this week ;)

Posting some cheeky digital drawings this week ;)
04/11/2026

Posting some cheeky digital drawings this week ;)

Legitimately so excited for this commission!!! What do you guys think I’m making? 👀👀
04/09/2026

Legitimately so excited for this commission!!! What do you guys think I’m making? 👀👀

Holy s**t. This past week I hit 3,000 followers… and now I’m already on my way to 3,500, which feels absolutely unreal.W...
04/07/2026

Holy s**t. This past week I hit 3,000 followers… and now I’m already on my way to 3,500, which feels absolutely unreal.
When I was little, my mom used to say I was like a giraffe in the monkey habitat: awkward, anxious, a little out of place, and somehow still making it work.
So the fact that this many people have found their way to my art, my personal story, and my weird little corner of the internet means more to me than I can really put into words.
To my new friends: hi, I’m so happy you’re here.
And to the people who have supported me from the beginning: thank you for every comment, share, kind word, and bit of encouragement.
We’re just getting started. Turns out there are more giraffes here than I thought. 🦒🎨

Address

Grand Rapids, MI

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