featured maker: Shannon Thomas
Shannon Thomas is a creative entrepreneur and multidisciplinary artist based in New Orleans, Louisiana…
How did you get started as a creative?
I have always been creative but only recently started to identify as “a creative”. It was like making art was a little secret I always kept hidden and close to my heart. I felt lonely as a kid and drawing was a way to express all the weird stuff going on in my insides! I turned to creating because it calmed me down and was a way to self reflect and interact with the world around me. It is only in the last year or two I am comfy calling myself an artist.
What are you currently listening to?
Khruangbin’s Mordechai has been on repeat for me. Had a solo drive back from Atlanta last weekend and blasted OutKast's Aquemini which is just so good forever. Noname, Lianne La Havas, Toro y Moi, Frank Ocean, Fiona Apple, Solange, Tierra Whack… the list goes on! My favorite podcast is Design Matters (Debbie Milman is a goddess). I also listen to audiobooks all the time - I love a cheesy mystery or something sci fi. I love painting while listening to music or words.
What advice would you give first time art buyers?
OOoo I love this question. If you know me, you know how much I love to buy art. I wanted to buy a house because I wanted to put holes all over the walls and cover them with art. There is something so special about getting to know an artist and connecting with something they have created. It’s intimate! We have art ALL OVER our house. My advice is: don’t listen to anyone's advice and collect whatever you are drawn to.
Artists who inspire you?
Oh my goodness… there are so many. Gavin Jones is number one. Some visual artists I love include Ines Longevial, Cassi A. Namoda, Hilma Klint, RC Hagans, Chloe Wise, Rachel Loyacono, Ronald Jackson, Emma Amos… I could absolutely go on and on and on. I am kinda inspired by anyone who is willing to put themselves out there. It takes a lot of bravery to say “Hey, I am making something from my own heart and putting it out into the world whether you like it or throw tomatoes at it.”
The pandemic has forced every industry to change/adapt , what has been the most exciting development?
For me - walking. I somehow only just discovered the true joy and mindfulness one can find in a walk. Walking just to go on a walk and be present - no destination. I have been walking once or twice a day during quarantine and it has been so calming, wondrous and beautiful.
If you could spend one day with any artist/designer/musician living or dead etc who would it be? What would y’all do?
These are hard questions. Two ideas - 1. I would hang and dance and drink tea and go on an adventure with adrienne marie brown and just laugh and be. Or 2. I would walk through the woods with Mary Oliver as we write and draw in our lil notebooks and take snack breaks and observe the tiny ecosystems all around us.
