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Casey Shannon BFA, MS
Artist and Instructor
Artist Biography
Thank you for visiting my website. Creating and building this site has been a labor of passion and joy for me.
So now, I'd like to tell you a little bit about my path as an artist and instructor.
My artistic journey began, like many artists, in grammar school and continued through
high school. I seemed to be happiest and closest to my spirit with pen and brush in my hand. After graduating high school,
I found myself enrolled in Chouinard Art Institute in downtown Los Angeles, which is now California Institute of the Arts
in Valencia, CA. In Art College, I bloomed as an artist learning techniques and then learning to break all the rules, eventually
beginning to develop my own style.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) degree. I was a fashion
designer in the garment district in downtown LA for a short while. I even owned and operated a small boutique in North Hollywood.
I soon realized this was not the career for me. I returned to college and went to California State University, Los Angeles
and earned my Teaching Credential. I taught art in public high school in Santa Ana for over 10 years. I had found my calling.
My teaching specialty was drawing and painting. Students enjoyed my art classes and frequently won local art contests. During
this time, I was a free lance artist exhibiting and selling my artwork locally along the Southern California coast.
You never really know what life has in store for you. Several years ago, I encountered an event that would change my life
forever. I experienced a massive left hemisphere brain-stem stroke four days after my 36th birthday. In an instant, I was
paralyzed. I could not breathe, speak, walk, and I lost the use of my dominant right hand. Needless to explain, this was very
devastating and the prognosis for my recovery was bleak. I worked very hard in rehabilitation (years actually) and slowly
learned to talk again and walk as well, eventually obtaining added assistance with my licensed service dog, Gabe.
However, I did not recover the use of my dominant right
arm and hand. So, I taught myself to draw with my left hand and used this activity and my drawings as an integral part of
my stroke recovery. As soon as I could sit up in a wheel chair, I began drawing with a vengeance. I just intuitively knew
art would save my life. There is something about the creative process that is absolute healing. I knew this deep inside myself
and worked toward recovery with art as healing.
I eventually recovered enough to head back to college attending
California State University, Long Beach. I earned a Master of Science (MS) in Counseling and shortly after graduation moved
to Santa Cruz, CA., where I began teaching and counseling at Cabrillo College in Aptos. Twenty years later, I am still teaching
at Cabrillo College and loving every minute of it. However, I no longer live in Santa Cruz. I have moved to the beautiful
and majestic Carmel Valley.
Carmel Valley is a magical place and is very inspiring to the artist's eye. I
have been so at peace here nestled under the Oak Trees. I enjoy watching the many Carmel Valley critters and birds in their
daily activities. There is a time of day, just at dusk, when the valley mountains, turn shades of purple colors that are unbelievably
spectacular. Carmel Valley is a perfect spot for any artist to live and create. Hence, the creation and development of Casey
Shannon Studio. I am a contemporary Sumi-e artist
reaching beyond the limits of traditional ink painting and creating the ‘sound of one hand’. My
paintings one would not generally call traditional sumi-e. However, I adhere to the traditional sumi-e principles and
philosophies, as well as, the traditional preparation before beginning a sumi-e painting. Sumi-e expresses
the character and soul of the artist. It is a meditative process and spiritually personal. Understanding this concept
has been at the center of my art. Click Here to read about my amazing journey of healing through the creative process and my Victory over Stroke to 'The
Sound of One Hand'.
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| Graduate HCI Team Casey and Gabe ~ Click pix to see a slide show of graduate teams. You'll cry! |
Organizations
Featured Artist Director North American Branch ________________
Casey Shannon Art Studio
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| Working at Cabrillo College |
Casey Shannon and
Service Dog, Gabe
Partial List of Artistic Accomplishments
Southern California
Walt
Disney Studios, Burbank
Exhibit
1st Place Watercolor-Professional Division
Manhattan Beach Art Association
Juried Exhibit
Orange County Art Educators Association
Workshop Presenter and Exhibit
Huntington
Beach Art Association
Juried Exhibit
California State University, Long Beach
One Woman Exhibit-Art
Gallery
Northern California
Cabrillo College Stroke Center,
Santa Cruz
One Woman Exhibit-Pre and Post Stroke Art
Open Studios, Santa Cruz
Studio Exhibit
Santa Cruz Art League
Exhibit
ARTitude Workshops, Santa
Cruz, San Jose, Modesto
Designer, Creator, and Presenter
Lauryn Taylor Fine Art Gallery, Carmel-by-the-Sea
Juried Exhibit
Napa Valley Art Museum
Exhibit Cabrillo Art Gallery
Juried Exhibit Valley Girls Art Gallery
Juried
Exhibit
International
Moss, Norway
Exhibit Oncology Magazine of Canada - Cover Art
Tokyo, Japan - Exhibit by Invitation Only
Descartes,
France - Exhibit
China
Museum of An Shan City, LaioNing Province - Exhibit
Toronto, Canada - Art for Cancer Foundation Exhibit
I am honored to be an invited Artist and Counselor to the International
Chinese Calligraphic Art and Ink Painting Artist Institute in Tokyo Japan headed by Master Sumi-e painter Ransui Yakata. I
serve as the Director of the North American branch of the society.
Resources
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You may be interested in ...
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| Order from Amazon. Click the photo. |
This is a great reference. It is a book for stroke survivors, their friends and
family, their caregivers, and health care professionals. This book has many contributors. I wrote a chapter in this book called,
'Aha, There is a Reason'. My chapter starts on page 161. You can read an excerpt of my contribution by Clicking Here Search Casey Shannon.
Click Here to learn more about my Service Dog Gabe and his wonderful trainers.
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