||| FROM B.J. ARNOLD for ORCAS ISLAND ARTWORKS |||
Shawna Marie Franklin’s journey, both as a professional kayaker and a celebrated artist, is an inspiring reminder that creativity and nature are inextricably linked, each informing and enriching the other. Her work at The Orcas Island Artworks is a continuation of this journey, where her passion for the world around her shines through in every piece she creates.
Artist Statement:
I am a painter and a printmaker, and I am trained in both design and biology. Working somewhere between abstraction and realism, I am seeking to embody the vantage point of a non-human ‘other’. My most recent and largest body of work to date, ‘Being with Kelp’, a collection of large format oil paintings and monoprints communicates the vibrance and importance of a keystone species that is a harbinger of deteriorating ocean health. Bull Kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, is both a personal metaphor of my intimate relationship with the ocean, and a representative of a wider ecosystem worthy of our full attention.
Artist Bio:
Shawna Marie Franklin was born in 1965 in Utah and raised in Minnesota. Earning a Bachelor of Science in Apparel Design, and working in London furthered her understanding of creativity and commerce. Five additional university years studying Biology led to work as a field biologist which honed her observational skills and cemented her connection to nature. A love of the ocean and her kayaking skill led her to the West Coast where she become a professional kayaker and co-owner of the award winning paddlesports school, Body Boat Blade International.
Shawna became the first woman to circumnavigate Iceland by sea kayak. Shawna has attended Gage Academy in Seattle, and mentorships include work under artists Professor Terry L. Johnson and Seattle based artist Klara Glosova. Shawna earned a Diploma with credit from the London based Society of Botanical Art Society. Shawna has had solo shows in Port Townsend, WA, and Orcas Island, WA. She has participated in group shows in California, Oregon, and in Colorado. Shawna is a member of The Artworks Gallery on Orcas Island, WA where she currently resides.
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There once was a woman named Shawna… a woman that I was in awe of.