Jennifer Shada (b. 1988) is a Bay Area visual artist living in Santa Rosa, California. After spending the summer studying at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in 2010, Shada received her BFA at Sonoma State University in 2011. She continued her education at California College of the Arts and earned her MFA in 2016. Shada has exhibited both locally and nationally including The Vast Lab in Los Angeles and the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana. She is currently represented by Hang Art in San Francisco.
Shada works with Sterling Graphics Vinyl Company in San Francisco. At the beginning of 2015, Shada co-founded the artist collective ONE + ONE + TWO, which aims to bridge the gap between individual artists with resources in the Bay Area such as residency, critique and exhibition opportunities. She has worked as a studio assistant for artists Mario Pires Cordeiro and Nellie King Solomon, as well as assisted Barbara Stauffacher Solomon with her painting her “Supergraphics”. Since the pandemic, Shada has moved her studio from the American Industrial Building in San Francisco to her home in Santa Rosa.
Shada works with Sterling Graphics Vinyl Company in San Francisco. At the beginning of 2015, Shada co-founded the artist collective ONE + ONE + TWO, which aims to bridge the gap between individual artists with resources in the Bay Area such as residency, critique and exhibition opportunities. She has worked as a studio assistant for artists Mario Pires Cordeiro and Nellie King Solomon, as well as assisted Barbara Stauffacher Solomon with her painting her “Supergraphics”. Since the pandemic, Shada has moved her studio from the American Industrial Building in San Francisco to her home in Santa Rosa.
Published on March 23rd, 2022. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
To be honest, the last few months I have been very uninspired to be in the studio. I can't tell if it's the come-down from working exclusively for an exhibition I had in August of this year, or perhaps just a continued overall feeling of crumminess from the pandemic and all of it's eternal side effects. Perhaps it's both; perhaps it doesn't matter.
When I look back at my life and career as an artist, there's one thing that does excite me: I know that I will never stop making art. It seems healthy to take a break, to take some time to get out of the studio and find out what else in the world inspires and excites me. It's all related and connected to each other anyway- life and art and art and life, and that's very exciting.
Things I want to do: Travel outside of the U.S.; Travel within the U.S.; Explore fibers, weaving and embroidery; Paint watercolor on raw linen; Snuggle my new cat, Melvin; Reorganize my studio; Make Christmas gifts; Hug my sister; Get hired to teach art courses at a college; Take my mom hiking in Sedona; Paint without self-criticism.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
The beginning of the pandemic was, at least for me, an artist's dream. When the "world shut down" and all we were forced to do was stay at home, I couldn't have been happier to be in the studio all day long! It felt liberating knowing that there was nowhere I had to be, expected to be, or nothing I needed to do other than to be home and in my studio. It got even better when I moved home from San Francisco to Santa Rosa and built a new studio space. Everything was great, and then it felt awful.
I think this year clearly showed me how much balance of studio and outside the studio time I really need in order to have a productive studio session. Everything is somehow an inspiration whether it's music, nature, community, cooking, watching movies, drinking margaritas, being with friends and family or just driving somewhere. That was the biggest challenge; not being able to do all of the things that keep me inspired and sane to have that healthy balance.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
The days I am not working at my day job of installing vinyl graphics at the major art museums in SF, I am working in my studio. Usually, I wake up, do my stretches, make coffee and breakfast, fill my water bottle and then head down the driveway to the barn in which I built my studio space.
When I am working on projects where I don't need a lot of brain power, I listen to podcasts. My favorite one for the last few years has been Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, where they interview different actors, writers, scientists and talk about their expertise. They also have a side series called Armchaired and Dangerous, where they breakdown and talk about the different conspiracy theories from Bigfoot all the way to things like lizard people, JFK and things like that. They're pretty entertaining and seem to keep me focused on producing a bunch of work at a time.
I am also pretty snack-driven in the studio. My favorite snacks for the studio are cold, red bell pepper slices, salami and cheese, sparkling waters, gummy bears, cashews, dried apricots and usually anything chocolate.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
When I teach my students, I always share with them the website gyst-ink.com (Getting Your Shit Together). There's a ton of examples and guidelines on things like writing cover letters, how to write a resume, CV, letter of intent, etc. I also share with them Art21.org and how there is a huge benefit to watching those videos. There, you get go into the studios of different working artists, learn about their practice, their studios and also hear about what drives and inspires their art-making. I love watching those videos- I always feel inspired to try something new.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
It's hard to say what to look forward to in the upcoming year, not just in my art career, but in life in general. The unknown of the pandemic and the turns that it takes is very unsettling and hard to navigate with making plans. I guess for now I just want to concentrate on making more work, exploring new materials or methods of art making. I want to test the boundaries of watercolor and see what else I can paint on. I want to apply to another residency, perhaps somewhere on the east coast, or back in the desert. And I really hope to get hired to teach again- that is by far my biggest long term career goal, and I know it'll happen, I just have to be patient.
What are you currently excited about in your art practice?
To be honest, the last few months I have been very uninspired to be in the studio. I can't tell if it's the come-down from working exclusively for an exhibition I had in August of this year, or perhaps just a continued overall feeling of crumminess from the pandemic and all of it's eternal side effects. Perhaps it's both; perhaps it doesn't matter.
When I look back at my life and career as an artist, there's one thing that does excite me: I know that I will never stop making art. It seems healthy to take a break, to take some time to get out of the studio and find out what else in the world inspires and excites me. It's all related and connected to each other anyway- life and art and art and life, and that's very exciting.
Things I want to do: Travel outside of the U.S.; Travel within the U.S.; Explore fibers, weaving and embroidery; Paint watercolor on raw linen; Snuggle my new cat, Melvin; Reorganize my studio; Make Christmas gifts; Hug my sister; Get hired to teach art courses at a college; Take my mom hiking in Sedona; Paint without self-criticism.
What were some of the challenges you faced last year as an artist? Was your work/ art practice affected by the pandemic this year, if so how?
The beginning of the pandemic was, at least for me, an artist's dream. When the "world shut down" and all we were forced to do was stay at home, I couldn't have been happier to be in the studio all day long! It felt liberating knowing that there was nowhere I had to be, expected to be, or nothing I needed to do other than to be home and in my studio. It got even better when I moved home from San Francisco to Santa Rosa and built a new studio space. Everything was great, and then it felt awful.
I think this year clearly showed me how much balance of studio and outside the studio time I really need in order to have a productive studio session. Everything is somehow an inspiration whether it's music, nature, community, cooking, watching movies, drinking margaritas, being with friends and family or just driving somewhere. That was the biggest challenge; not being able to do all of the things that keep me inspired and sane to have that healthy balance.
What does a typical day in the studio (or wherever you're making work) look like for you these days? What time of day are you at your studio, what are your studio must haves (ex: music, coffee, tools, etc), and what does your creative space look like?
The days I am not working at my day job of installing vinyl graphics at the major art museums in SF, I am working in my studio. Usually, I wake up, do my stretches, make coffee and breakfast, fill my water bottle and then head down the driveway to the barn in which I built my studio space.
When I am working on projects where I don't need a lot of brain power, I listen to podcasts. My favorite one for the last few years has been Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, where they interview different actors, writers, scientists and talk about their expertise. They also have a side series called Armchaired and Dangerous, where they breakdown and talk about the different conspiracy theories from Bigfoot all the way to things like lizard people, JFK and things like that. They're pretty entertaining and seem to keep me focused on producing a bunch of work at a time.
I am also pretty snack-driven in the studio. My favorite snacks for the studio are cold, red bell pepper slices, salami and cheese, sparkling waters, gummy bears, cashews, dried apricots and usually anything chocolate.
What resources for artists have you found helpful that may be helpful for other artists?
When I teach my students, I always share with them the website gyst-ink.com (Getting Your Shit Together). There's a ton of examples and guidelines on things like writing cover letters, how to write a resume, CV, letter of intent, etc. I also share with them Art21.org and how there is a huge benefit to watching those videos. There, you get go into the studios of different working artists, learn about their practice, their studios and also hear about what drives and inspires their art-making. I love watching those videos- I always feel inspired to try something new.
What in your art career are you looking forward to in the upcoming year? Do you have any specific goals or projects in mind?
It's hard to say what to look forward to in the upcoming year, not just in my art career, but in life in general. The unknown of the pandemic and the turns that it takes is very unsettling and hard to navigate with making plans. I guess for now I just want to concentrate on making more work, exploring new materials or methods of art making. I want to test the boundaries of watercolor and see what else I can paint on. I want to apply to another residency, perhaps somewhere on the east coast, or back in the desert. And I really hope to get hired to teach again- that is by far my biggest long term career goal, and I know it'll happen, I just have to be patient.
Find Jennifer Shada on Instagram