In the world of urban contemporary art, Toofly has quickly become a grandmaster. Her unstoppable moves have helped push female graff artists to the forefront of the urban community. Here at M.I.S.S., we are proud to call Toofly a friend. Today, we kick off our Women Making History series with the spotlight on this humble artist.

Toofly’s journey into the world of art began with her commute to public school from her Corona, Queens neighborhood. Her trips were filled with adventurous sketches as she immersed herself in the myriad of graffiti tags, fill-ins, and outlines viewed on almost every surface along the way. It was precisely the rebellious artistic spirit of the 90’s street graffiti movement that drove Toofly to join its subculture ranks. Highly influenced by the calligraphy and illustration skills of some exceptional writers at the time, a teenage Toofly aspired to become the female version of what she most admired. She began to develop her own knack for “hand styles�? and her unique Toofly characters. Her work soon blossomed on various graffiti black books, allowing her skills to be recognized by writers across the five boroughs. (Get more of Toofly after the jump!)

Toofly Graff Art: Aside from solo pieces, in the Fall of 2005, Toofly was the sole female among the crew of graffiti writers the MOTUG company assembled for an exclusive line of t-shirts, sneakers, and toys bearing her signature character. Toofly has since collaborated on a city wide mural series for the crew alongside the likes of Ces, Doze, Ewok, Ghost, and NYC Lase.

Toofly on Canvas: Toofly’s constant and active role in the hip hop community allowed her to remain true to her roots, as she continued to draw raw feelings from the ever-changing and spontaneous public art world.

Toofly Illustration: By the time Toofly entered the School of Visual Arts (SVA), she had introduced her character to the walls of New York. At SVA, she applied her artistic skills to illustration and graphic design coursework. Finding inspiration in the New York urban landscape, this artist in the making began to juxtapose her “around the way girl” character against multi layered street imagery for various print and public art projects.

Toofly Customs:

Toofly Fashion: Her most recent projects include her independent fashion accessory, and stationary label made up of mini graffiti bags, limited edition t-shirts, and paper goods.

Toofly Jewelry:…it was only natural.

If all that solo stuff wasn’t enough for this busy queen bee, Toofly’s art and design work has appeared in magazines such as Mass Appeal, Juxtapoz, Kicksclusive, Fuego, Urban Latino, The Source, URB, and Honey. Her street art is currently on display at the Graffiti Hall of Fame, Hunts Point in the Bronx, and various walls throughout Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Show M.I.S.S. Toofly some direct love by checkin’ out the links below:

Main Site: Toofly NYC

Blog: Toofly NYC/Life

The Toofly Shop

Toofly NYC on MySpace

The Younity Female Art Collective

Younity on MySpace

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