• “One Love Dream Free”

  mixed media word art (acrylic, paper, found objects)

• “Learning to Fly”

  mixed media collage word art

artist bio

Nikki Lynn Janzen (aka Darlin Nikki) is an award winning spoken word slam artist, poet, social justice educator, mentor, ghost writer, mixed media artist and founder of OneLovePoetics; she uses art to inspire diversity and healing, Nikki Lynn's philosophy is simple, yet powerful: writing and art is both an outlet and escape from the emotions created through the vast scopes of socio-economics and racial tensions that have engulfed and shaped her character. She has been featured in the Shepard Express, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; featured on LTYM Milwaukee, CrossHatxh Poetry Series, published in Red Reads First: Haiku Anthology, Humming Bird Press, Still Water Collective Press; she is a 2 time Grand Slam Champion of Milwaukee, 2008 WOW Haiku Slam Winner, 2007 teacher of the Year, 2008 BET Regional Slam Contest MKE Winner, she has self published 3 Chap Books and 2 Poetry Albums Unstitch the Sun and Healing Broken, Countless Anthologies of Youth Poetry and youth videos, and she continues to work in colleges, schools, nonprofits, churches while performing in and out of her hometown, Milwaukee, WI

artist statement

As a child, I was labeled "white trash" so I have recycled my image,
Created my own word art, gifted by immigrant survival stories,
Generous blue collared joy, skewed by mental illness and domestic violence,
while being both Embraced and Distrusted by Black culture-
shifts of acceptance in self-esteem and social Circles
have always been an off beat dance.

Magical poetry has been a saving grace, to grow and stretch humanity within myself;
I have come to believe, it is the art that will heal the human us,
after all the pain has bled and all the riches squandered,
our hearts will melt a wax dipped bird, love song.

Spoken word allows me to 'bridge the gap' between the cultures that divide,
as I hope to lead others to heal themselves by finding their own voice
to find the shine of the beautiful darkness,
to recover the warmth of our relationships,
to break out of the stereo-type boxes,
trying not to be caught in the crossfires of oppression,
depression and colonization
We CAN highlight the beauty, in schools, businesses, streets and free it from jails,
Mold into the most magnificent forms of ourselves and each other.

proficiencies