Iris Rosenhagen is an award-winning creative, who has been in love
                                          with the arts her whole life. Whether she is spending a summer day
                                         on her patio painting, or a rainy winter evening sketching or writing,
                                         she can be found filling every last drop of her free time with
                                         creativity. She is an avid reader and writer, with many projects
                                         ranging from a fantasy children's novel to a historic fictitious tale of
                                         adventure following the Adirondack Northway through 
                                         upstate New York. 

                                            Her art is often inspired by nature, as well as her eclectic spirituality and roots. Norse, Slavic, Celtic, and Mediterranian mythology is often a subject of her work and a great interest of hers. Living on Long Island, New York, she is surrounded by beauty, beaches, and unique ecosystems. found nowhere else in the world.

Iris is a prominent activist in her community for environmental causes. She is the co-founder of Beach Bucket Brigade, a community eco-outreach program that is dedicated to cleaning up the Island's beaches. She is the youngest board member of her local Audubon chapter. She is also a member of the Brookhaven Town Youth Board, where she works with a team of individuals to create town programs, such as the recent Pollution Prevention Passport Program. 

A 17-year-old high schooler, she is also enrolled in three colleges, she plans to receive her associate's degree by the time she graduates high school.

When she isn't studying, painting, or running her small business, she can be found spending time with friends and family (including her rabbit, Alice) she can be found enjoying her local beaches (beachcombing and doing yoga) hiking, and exploring with her camera. 

Her art has been selected by and shown in galleries across the northeastern coast of the US,. Beginning when she was 11, at the MASS Audubon Gallery. Her art has been featured in newspapers, coloring books, and other publications. 

She is a third-generation artist, with her grandmother Rhoda Angelier being a retired fashion illustrator from NYC, and her mother being a prominent and featured figure in the wildlife photography community.

While credits her learned skills to her roots, she believes that talent is simply a man-made construct.

Her greatest fear about a career in art is time. Picasso said "Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." She harnesses her inner
child when she creates, drawing inspiration from not just the world, but her own
"creative chaos". She idolizes her grandmother, as she has mastered not only
maintaining her creativity but letting it flourish with time.

For more, check out my Instagram here