New collection from Diddy Wheldon drops on Fabriik X

As her third collection launches on FabriikX, the curation-focused NFT marketplace experience, Diddy Wheldon, co-founder of Women of BSV, talks about the inspiration behind the collection and how she came to the world of NFTs.

Tell us a little more about the collection:

Landscapes is my third collection for FabriikX. My inspiration comes from one of my great loves – camping and the great outdoors. There are 11 images in the Landscape series all of which are inspired by the places I have visited and the colours of nature. I start with exploring colours and then the idea and shape of each piece comes from there. My first ever job was as a lighting and sound technician in the theatre – this is what started my fascination with light, colour, sound and frequencies, and how it can make you feel. Each of the 11 NFTs comes with a physical acrylic canvas board – they are all various sizes for this drop – and I also have a video of me painting every single one as proof of work (POW).

Have you always been an artist?

I don’t really think of myself as an artist – well, not when it comes to painting on canvas, I’m definitely a novice acrylic artist in my head. But I’m more established when it comes to digital art. My career morphed from technical theatre, into that of a model and an actress, but when I was a child, I would get books from the library and draw faces and parts of faces, but I haven’t studied art – I just enjoy drawing.

I had worked in Theatre for most of my career and across every department from lighting and sound to staging, production, building and painting of props and sets to costume and hair and makeup. I later went into teaching performing art courses at Bilborough College, Nottingham, and was the Course Administrator at Midland’s Academy of Dance and Drama (MADD) – we had some incredibly successful and famous students.

I was also Show Manager at the American Adventure theme park where I did some amazing stuff – all the lighting, pyrotechnics and show management. I later moved onto working on a Cruise Ship as a Production Manager with my own 500 seat Theatre. It was my dream job to run my own theatre, and it was and still is my favourite job ever.

I started drawing on the iPad after I saw a programme about David Hockney; he was the first acclaimed artist I had seen using an iPad. I started with portraits, but I haven’t sold these – they are more personal. My real passion, going back to childhood, is drawing Hollywood movie stars. And I have always loved drawing landscapes, from the camping trips I used to go on around the British Isles.

Having started on iPad I moved onto canvases, but it was initially only because the tech gave up on me! This is the first set of canvases that I have done and shared publicly.

What is different for you about drawing on canvas v iPad?

The iPad is extremely versatile in respect of it being portable – it makes a fantastic on-the-go canvas. But canvas, brushes, paints are very different things entirely. I can take an iPad anywhere not so easy with canvas, brushes, and paints. I must admit though nothing compares to getting messy with actual paints.

What have your previous FabriikX collections been about?

The last collection was called Mountain Aura. This was based on one original board canvas. The NFT of the original painting includes the physical canvas artwork with the NFT. The collection also features 10 colour variation NFTs, which come with a gallery-framed physical print.

I have been studying Metaphysic Sciences and recently completed my degree and my Masters, I am now studying for my PhD and my university is based near the mountains in Ecuador. The collection was inspired by a longing I have to travel to Ecuador and visit the mountains and just breathe in the freshness of the air. I have always wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands and see the Giant Tortoise (…I had a tortoise as a kid, I think they are really cute!)

What was the first FabriikX NFT you minted/sold?

It’s a collection called ‘X marks the spot’. There are 10 of each of these pieces with one original canvas which the NFTs are taken from. Then the others are digital colour variation NFTs which all include the physical artwork in a frame.

What led you to create an NFT collection? / Why NFTs?

The move to NFTs came about, like many changes of direction did, during the pandemic. Being in theatre there was no work around and I was already pretty knowledgeable about blockchain and BSV.

Because I was already into art and music, getting into NFTs just made sense but it took a while for me to get my work minted. I wanted to be sure about the security and legal side and ensure that my artwork was protected and couldn’t be plagiarised.

I heard about FabriikX from my contacts in the BSV community, plus I had a Fabriik Money Button account, so I was aware of the history of the company. I looked into it and did a bit of a test and it felt right for me so when they approached me, I jumped at the chance. I liked the curation and the fact that the artist or creator retains control. I am particularly excited about music NFTs – music is really my first love, then the countryside, and then art and acting! I have music NFTs too on Jamify.xyz. With art, there are already quite a few ways you can sell your work, such as art fairs or online galleries, but with music you’ve always got to upload to a platform, that takes a cut. Whereas NFTs allow you to get 100% of what you sell it for and with the resale/secondary market, which Fabriik X offers, I can always receive royalties from my work. So, if my work gets re-sold after a sale, I – as the artist – still earn a royalty for my work, pretty much like the music and film industry.

What first got you interested in digital currencies and bitcoin?

I’ve been interested in it since around 2016. I watched The Theory of Bitcoin on YouTube twice and did lots of research around Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) and the history of Bitcoin. I just found it fascinating and really started researching it and reading a lot of Dr. Craig Wright’s work.

From there I became endorsed in an article by CoinGeek as a Female Leader in the space – there just aren’t that many women involved yet, although that is starting to change. I had been asked to get a group of women together for a show on the BitcoinSV Channel with Shem Booth-Spain, the CEO of Blarecast. This formed the start of what is now known as the Women of BSV. 

What is Women of BSV?

It is a group of females – 26 in total at the moment – in the BSV space that come together to exchange ideas and discuss matters of mutual interest.

Ruth Heasman (an amazing graphic artist) and I are the co-founders. We have a YouTube channel where we interview entrepreneurs about what they do and how they use or incorporate BSV into their business. All the members have different strengths, and we pool these together, to help promote BSV and the technology. We help guide, teach, and advise those who want to know more about BSV or just want a female perspective on things.

You can find all the interviews on our YouTube channel; we also have a website and merch store and we’ve had 2 NFT drops.

How do you feel about being a woman in tech?

Excited, blessed and sometimes a little mind blown at the sheer number of opportunities that are emerging and available. Blockchain has and is proving to be an extremely valuable resource for so many businesses, and it’s not just men who are behind the technology. Women have been, and are, an integral part of shaping the entire industry and, although it is still largely male dominated at the moment, I can only see the interest and involvement of women multiplying exponentially. It is so important for more women to be a part of the conversation, to lead it and to be involved in this new and evolving economy because they are, and will be creating value, as well as benefiting from its potential future growth. Women have been prominent in a number of tech start-ups; several have had female founders or women in their founding team. Some of those leading the way in BSV include Angela Holowaychuk, CMO at TAAL; Rae Brady, founder of Molly Match; Bitcoin Association for BSV ambassador Robin de Lisser; Eva Porras, Managing Director at SmartLedger and the author of Bitcoin and Ethics in a Technological Society; Laura Igwe Odii, inventor of +App who also has a Masters Degree in Bitcoin Cyber Security, Meike Krautscheid, COO of SmartLedger and Ticket Mint; and Osmin Callis, COO at Satoshi Block Dojo. 

How do you see tech evolving for women?

Women have long been pioneers in the fields of STEM, finance and computer programming, for example Ada Lovelace published the first ever computer programming language algorithm in 1883 for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine.

So, it’s no surprise that they are starting to create a movement in the world of blockchain technology with some vibrant new, fresh and exciting ideas. Numbers are rising but there is always room for improvement when it comes to gender equality. Some women may have at times felt a little overwhelmed or intimidated with all the tech talk or that blockchain just isn’t right for them; but I do feel that this is why it is really important and necessary that we all work together to ensure that there are many more female voices involved in the conversation, once you can see the potential in BSV Blockchain and how it could be of huge benefit to not only business but your day to day life, it’s very hard to ignore. I do feel that women do bring a more harmonious and heart centred approach to communication, which is actually also a very positive way of welcoming more women into bitcoin and blockchain, especially as we know the opportunities are immense.

About the artist

Diddy Wheldon is the co-founder of Women of BSV as well as being an artist, actress, model, and musician she is also the project manager for BetheBroadcast.com. She is based in the UK.

About FabriikX

FabriikX is a new kind of NFT marketplace built on the power of the BSV blockchain. It offers curated-focused, exclusive NFTs from top creators within arts, sports, and music, as well as content from the best creative minds in the digital collectibles’ community. To Fabriik, NFTs are much more than just digital collectibles; they are experiences that connect collectors with the creators and communities they care about most.

FabriikX offers a secondary marketplace so customers can buy, sell, and re-sell NFTs directly with other collectors and get paid instantly. Plus, there are no minting or transfer fees, and all data lives directly on-chain. 

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