My Creative Life
I can't remember a time when I didn't create. It has been the driving force in my life. I enjoy working with many different materials including acrylics, paper, metal, beads, fabric and clay. Art for me is about exploration and sharing my joy with others. There are no hard and fast rules for me when I am creating other than doing what ever feels right in that moment. I am self taught and most definitely a hands on learner. I think playing is one of the most important tools an artist can use. There are days when I set no goals and just fall into playing with new materials.
Mixed media is my favorite...I love to use and combine material. I let my imagination lead and most of the time my best work comes from happy mistakes.
My process for painting typically begins with a blank canvas or a sheet mixed media paper. I then start adding layers of acrylic paint and collage elements. I may lay down 10 layers before I begin to start seeing an image or design emerge.
The process for me is the most important part of creating my art work. It is when I am going through the layers that I can just be present to let my work express how I am feeling at that moment in time. It is quite freeing!
Shannon Crandall is a graduate of the University Of Maryland. She has a Bachelors Degree in Art History and is also a New York State Licensed Skin Therapist. She currently runs her own Skin Care Therapy Business in upstate NY, and sells her art work and jewelry at several local galleries.
She is a self taught intuitive artist, who continually experiments with new materials to express her creativity. Shannon has traveled the East coast selling her art work at juried shows and enjoys teaching mixed media art classes a couple of times a year.
Several of Shannon Crandall’s lithograph prints were sold in the American Folk Art Museum in NYC and some of Shannon Crandall’s framed prints were sold through the “Sturbridge Yankee Catalog”, and “The Country House Catalog”. She lives with her husband and their teenage daughter in an 1890’s brick home that they are currently renovating.
Visit www.shannoncrandall.com to see more of her artworks.
