Other works by Shawn Halperin-Mixed Media and Carvings

I have always enjoyed making things. When our family lived in England back in the 70's I made little rock mice with my nail polish and pipe cleaners. My parents let me set up a little table in our yard and they all sold. How cool! I was hooked.

I was fortunate to have had great art teachers and mentors throughout my childhood and teen years. I continued on at the college level, eventually getting a BFA in Fine Art at Syracuse University. They had a great sculpture department and studio spaces for students. I was able to weld, carve, work in cast plastics along with taking core art classes like drawing and painting and art history.

I find that nature and anything associated with it gives me the most inspiration.  I have worked in many mediums over these past 30 years. I did woodblock prints for a time and then switched to mixed media pieces. In 2012 I started getting back into sculptural work. I thought 'I am living here in the Adirondacks surrounded by all this wood and not using it in my work.' That is when I started my bird and other animal carvings in cedar and eventually birch. At the same time I worked on mixed media wall pieces in combinations of oil on canvas, birchbark, sometimes beadwork and felt. I would usually work in one medium for a few months then switch to another. I found that this kept my creativity fresh and I would get ideas from each process that would carry over to another.

As of now, I am working primarily on the jewelry collection. The jewelry work started back in 2017 when I made one of my sisters a necklace piece. She loved it and it inspired me to keep making jewelry. Wearable Art! Plus it is mixed media at a small scale. Nice combination of elements given that I am not in the shape I used to be for larger scale carving. The birch hearts that I carve for the pendants are the smallest carving I have ever done.

I love selling my work at Craft Shows and Farmers Markets. It is interesting to meet the people that purchase my work. It also allows flexibility in my schedule and gives me the winter months to just work in my studio (and time for skiing)

Making art is my therapy. I put my heart into making it. I think this produces something special that will have good karma that passes on for others to enjoy.

Blessings,

-Shawn