Meet

We were lucky to catch up with Sylvia Shanahan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sylvia, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

As someone who is retired from business and now furthering my fine art career, I found this topic amusing. I had always wanted to be a fine artist as I was encouraged by winning several national awards in high school. One of the awards I received was a scholarship to an art school that eventually became the Cleveland Institute of Art. Unfortunately, my parents who were very Italian and very Catholic, did not approve of me living away from home and the scholarship was forfeited. Kent State, five miles from my home, was my second choice and there I majored in Graphic Design and Illustration. I took most of my electives in painting, though, and in the 70s these classes were taught be abstract expressionist wannabes. (I’ll never forget my first collegiate painting critique where the professor told me to “paint cosmic.”]

Fast forward to what my career actually became and I enjoyed an amazing journey in advertising, marketing, product development and sales for several North East Ohio name brand companies. My degree in Graphic Design prepared me for this somewhat, but my love of art whether studying it, doing it or keeping aware of it, had far more influence. You see, I feel believe that artists are the ultimate problem solvers–they think outside the box, reach into the depths of possibilities and create new realities.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always been an adventurer. As a child I never had the discipline to sit still and draw. I could consistently be found outside seeking new trees to climb, fields to discover and unspoiled nature to look for treasures the outdoors offered.

In my later years, after retiring from a successful career in marketing and advertising, that same spirit came through while I explored new territory in color and technique. Although I have experienced some success in landscapes, my work has increasingly evolved into abstract and expressionism. It’s where I find total freedom in developing my “brand”, so to speak. To me, branding is creating emotion. When you watch a Publix commercial, there are no food or grocery store images. Their ads are sometimes sappy, sometimes schmaltzy but with few exceptions, leave you with a good feeling and a positive vibe towards the chain of stores. That’s branding. Publix knows how to tap into sentiment and that there’s something to be said about what you feel.

In my work, I strive to evoke emotion whether in representational art or abstract through color, intensity, texture, and juxtaposition of shapes. It involves a sensitivity that reaches beyond the hues and the threads of a canvas and outward expressions. It’s what you don’t see that creates the energy –the “hook” that reaches out and plucks empathy from the viewer.

My approach to painting has always been tinged with studies in metaphysics. Thin layers of paint overlap, merge, combine, morph…and develop into a work of art. It’s my vision of how ‘reality’ works—overlapping energies merge, combine, morph…and create what we see. And then it’s manipulated by our brain, personal histories, higher self or whatever you call your inner being.

An extension of those beliefs can be found in my lasted series [“Rip Tide”, “When I Met You” and “Thoughtful Drifting”]. In these works I build rivers of energies that meander through color, shape and intensity. The result? Something is conjured in the viewer. Good, bad or indifferent, I’ve triggered a feeling whether consciously or unconsciously.

It’s been said that the space between thoughts connects us to the collective. In my opinion, that’s what art should do—catch you off guard before a thought appears, reach deep into the bowels of the soul and link to a timeless universe.

What am I most proud of? Two thoughts come to mind: 1. My painting “Ophelia’s Pond” was selected and is currently on the Samsung Frame TV. 2. As part of a group called “Faces not Numbers” I contributed over forty portraits of Covid victims to provide awareness of the pandemic and also help to ease the grief of their loved ones.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Unless an artist becomes famous in their lifetime or teaches, it’s damn hard to make a living as an artist. I’ve always admired those that do and try to connect the dots on how it happened.

So many view artists as “out there” (and usually we are) but what the general public doesn’t know is that the creative thinker is needed to propel society into the future. Think about fashion, industrial designers, architects, photographers, writers…not to mention musicians, dancers, etc. It’s the creatives that shape culture, products, inventions and lifestyles that keep us from going backwards into the cave.

How can society help? Keep art education in schools. In our brain and brawn, STEM society, we’ve forgotten that the creative child needs to know that the way they think is appreciated and encouraged.

More emphasis and money needs to go towards art grants on all levels, from cities, states and nationally. If we can spend billions on defense we can invest in the creative thinkers that usher in our next chapter.

On a smaller scale society as a whole needs to take the term “starving artist” out of their mindset. We are an integral part of the giant hamster wheel that churns out paths for posterity. We provide the fun, the entertainment, the exciting programs, web pages, packaging, music,….that inspires humanity to march on.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I think they are ridiculous and put them in the same category as bitcoin. Why would I or anyone else want to buy something that really doesn’t exist except it does because a bunch of people say it does?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sylviashanahan1.com/
• Instagram: instagram.com/sashanah
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sylvia.shanahan1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviahaupt/