CLEVELAND, Ohio — Lakewood-based artist , whose work is now on view in a Cleveland exhibition and who evolved from making paintings to creating NFTs, or non-fungible tokens in recent years, died Tuesday at age 45 after a long battle with cancer. Proffer was in hospice care after her condition worsened over the past week, said Mindy Tousely, executive director of the Artists Archive of the Western Reserve, where Proffer’s paintings and other works are on view through June 29. Tousely, who said she was speaking for the artist’s family, said that a gathering in celebration of Proffer would be announced at a future date.

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1978, Proffer spent much of her career in the Los Angeles area after earning a bachelor of fine arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts. She moved to Cleveland in 2004 in search of affordable housing and studio space. “Arabella moved in all circles and befriended everyone from academics, executives, socialites, blue collar laborers, and of course every manner of artist,” states an posted on dignitymemorial.

com. “She was as comfortable in a 5-star hotel cocktail lounge as the dive bars she frequented.” The obituary said Proffer “designed gig posters, made comics, video art, and later photography.

Sure, there were grants and residencies, but a bartender buying her a round in exchange for a sketch or art card is what really made her feel on the level of Picasso.” In an interview with and The Plain Deale.