Shawna Mann

There is a fascination I have with the process of “becoming”. I see the evolutionary nature of it as something exciting.

I will always be who I inherently am– charismatic, sentimental, comedic, and artistic.

Yet, I continue to stun myself in the ways I grow and the thoughtful observation I take of the world around me.

As an artist, I find a sense of freedom and entrapment in this mind of mine. There is duality, yet it is a world of my own.

Curated. Curious. Creative.

I’d say these words are the aspiration I have for this site of my works and thoughts.

It can be very easy, as a creator, to be consumed by metrics and reactions and allowing that to be the sole inspiration to keep going.

Somewhere along the way I became that person. And it always made me feel empty.

If not one person sees this, I can still have peace, because my mindset’s changed.

Art as an expression is what I’m falling back into.

It’s where it all started. I didn’t realize it as a child, but I was discovering my own autonomy.

Creating has always allowed me that. My world was coming to life in a physical and emotional way.

In my drawings, photographs, piano lessons, choir and musical theatre performances, art shows, and even the videos I edited on my Mom’s iPad.

Everything was and is forming. An evolutionary process.

When I feel like I’m not where I want to be, I remember that I won’t be stuck here, and that nothing is wasted.

The world we inhabit may have it’s limits, but the one’s we create know no bounds.

My senior quote in high school was from the Broadway musical Newsies, if that says anything about me.

“For a dreamer, night’s the only time of day,” – Santa Fe

Though we are all attached to the existence of reality, I’ve still lived in my own world.

Dreaming big dreams. Creating a new world, when I outgrow the one I’m in. It’s the idealist in me.

More is more is more. And I’ve known that for a long time.