We recently connected with Cher Shaffer and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cher thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I am a self-taught artist. I grew up on a small Georgia farm, with parents who knew how to grow, and preserve food., and survive on not much money. We used what we had, found joy in discovering the land and critters around us, and learned to see the value in simple things.

I had a burning desire to express what I felt and saw, from an early age. I learned to read at 6, and became interested in telling stories through writing poems, and short stories. I was not learned enough to spell some of the words that I wanted to use, so I would ask my grade school teacher, in the first and second grade, how to spell them. She was a wise, and creative woman, that had traveled, and saw things she would tell her classes about. We were mystified by her, and her stories. She even brought us an avocado to try. We were little country kids, and that was like something from another planet.
The kindness of my teachers, set me on a path of having helpers from the seen and always the unseen to give me the guidance that I asked for. I have always had someone that was willing to take the time to instruct me in what I needed. I learned to ask, listen, and then try., and always to be grateful.

My siblings and I played in the woods , and helped our parents with the many chores that living on a small farm involved.. Hard work, and responsibility were a big part of my learning as a child. I am thankful, because that set the stage for me to be able to work as an independent self-taught artist. Work is always involved when you are on the pathway of being a creative, Being present ,and taking the time to see, really see, and feel the world around you .Nothing creative comes from looking for dimness, but comes from seeking the shine, and being there, when it shows up.
You can expect to climb lots of mountains , fall off a few, but pick yourself up, and be thankful that you survived the fall. Nothing in life, that is as full of highs and lows as being a creative .What you create becomes a part of you. You learn from your mistakes just as much as from your victories, maybe more.
I have always had others that were able to help me with learning about a medium, just when I needed to know. I also feel strongly, that my helpers and teachers are not always physical. My mother was Cherokee, and Mulengeon. My father was German , and had Cherokee ancestors.
. I learn from the natural world,. It inspires and informs me every day.
My guidance in art, as in life is a gift my ancestors passed on to me. My heritage is a very important part of who I am, and what I do. I know that I was pushed forward by the hands of those that watch over, and help me. I am thankful that I can create, every day, and give voice to the things that need to be felt, and heard.

Cher, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began to create in my early 20’s. I had always been creative as a child, making little dolls, and things from sticks, and natural things that I found in the woods. I would hold something until I saw what it was wanting to become… I learned how to listen to the things that I found, until I could hear, or see their shine….

I worked and learned, and married my second husband, .We lived in a small town in West Virginia. We had three children,. I was a wife, and mother, and all the time, I kept creating. I would work when my children were napping, or sleeping at night. I worked because I loved doing what I did. . I was passionate about telling my stories, and the stories of the things I wanted to be remembered.

I won a best of show at a local art center exhibit, in West Virginia, and did not even know how to react to that. Eventually, I learned to enter my paintings in national juried exhibits, having, no fear, or trepidation. my Innocence, and ignorance served to make me fearless….

I painted and created doll like figures. The dolls became a very important connection to my spiritual side., and my heritage.

Eventually, I met two people, who wrote a book, about Appalachian artist, Ramona, and Millard Lampell. I was included in that book, O’Appalachia . It was published in 1989. There was an exhibit that traveled the country with work of the artist that were featured in the book. Those art works were eventually installed in museums across the US.

I now live in the mountains of North Carolina, up a dirt hollow road, remote, and isolated ,with my husband, three cats, and a dog. M y husband photographs, and does a lot of the business end of things .I create every day, and realize the creations are not just for me. They are connected to the Appalachian land that I descend from, and the people that I come from. I am in a way telling their stories through my art work.

My art is in over 18 different public collections and museum collections. It is collected by many celebrities, and famous people. I have been a working artist for over 55 years. I am grateful for the talent, and inspiration that has been entrusted to me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 1993, my husband , the father of my three children, decided he wanted a change of life, and wife. He did this without any warnings. I fell into a deep and dark place. My three children, and their welfare were my biggest concern, I made them my reason to live.. I had not had to earn a living from the sale of my art for many of the years of being a wife and mother. Suddenly, I was faced with a complete change of my world. There was nothing that could have prepared me for that. I was the only one who could figure it out, so I set about doing that. After much anger, and bad thoughts. I had to come to the realization, I am the only one who can work though this. In a way, creativity, was the thing that saved me from the abyss of my situation. I relied on my ability to look at what was in front of me, and find things that I could do something with. I took money from my divorce settlement, and bought a farm ..I set aside my painting,, restrung my life, fought like a warrior, accepted what I could not change, and moved forward. I began again. I grew and gathered food, and sold what I could. There were years of struggle, and denying my spirit the comfort of being as creative in the way that I once had been. I. was going through a type of restriction to recreate me.. I soon had a new husband , number three,,
The thing that made my spirit strong again, was learning about how the ancients did things. I found a clay deposit in the creek that flowed through my new farm. I dug and learned how to create using it.
I made clay pots ,and fired them in a pit, and burned away a lot of sadness, and anger,
Those pots became dolls, and then the paintings came back. I had not let anybody into my tight and guarded circle to see what I was doing. I sold my new creations at pow wows. As I let my creations be seen, the grace of the ones who appreciated and supported me by collecting my work gave me new purpose and confidence. I began to wake up from the trance of what had been, to the reality of new possibilities. I took a new view on life, and tht began when I began to paint again. The new work reflected my catharsis, and was appealing to some of the people who purchased, and kept me moving through this new stage of life. TI survived, and grew.

The harshness of life will ask us to give ourselves and our places of refuge over, to be wasted,. If we do not push through to the shine in the darkness., we will never know our own value, or the value we bring through our creations. Being an artist saved me..

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist, is the feeling and rush of pure energy delight and satisfaction that I get when I finish something that is totally alive, and speaks to my spirit..

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @chershaffer
• Facebook: Cher Shaffer
• Other: my e-mail address is [email protected] this is a good way to get in touch with me.

Image Credits
Dennis Connolly