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A Bay Area native Shada earned her B.F.A. from Sonoma State University in 2011. She continued her education receiving her M.F.A. in 2016 from California College of the Arts. Shada has exhibited both locally and nationally, including Temple Contemporary Gallery in Philadelphia, The Vast Lab in Los Angeles and in a “high altitude” exhibition in the Garment District of New York City. In January 2015, Shada co-founded 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. Shada lives and works in both Santa Rosa and San Francisco.
Published January 20th, 2020, Interview responses collected in the months prior
What projects are you working on right now?
I am working on a series of watercolor paintings ranging in size from 8x10 inch to 48x84 inch works on paper. I paint images of draped pieces of fabric; examining the textiles based on their inherent marking on culture, style or personal narrative. Through this work I investigate concepts related to home, loss and time. In between painting, I am starting to experiment with materials such as yarn, fabric and other fibers, mixing them with other paper, metal and vinyl to create wall hangings and weavings. Since working so closely with fabric as I paint from life, I have formed a desire to create textiles of my own and have built a makeshift loom. Mixing traditional weaving patterns with my own made up techniques, I am investigating the materiality of each item and how it relates to the material next to it. Outside of my fine art practice, I am also heavily involved with a social practice that I co-founded with three other colleagues; an artist collective called ONE+ONE+TWO. We began project in the spring of 2016 and offer services such as residency and critique group. We are brainstorming what other programs we want to offer artists.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
I do a wide range of things to keep myself accountable in my practice. For starters, I know I need at least 16 hours of studio time per week and I schedule those hours like I would a job. Because my job is flexible and my days off are different each week, I adjust the time to spend in my studio to make sure that it at least adds up to 16 hours- whether that's two full days of studio, or 3-4 hours everyday after work. I include hours spent on writing, research and filling out applications as part of these studio hours and not only time spent putting paint to paper. I also am very goal oriented. I set goals for myself revolving around how many paintings I want to get done in a month, or how many residency/publication/grant opptounities I want to apply to each month. Often times I am able to achieve these goals, which then propels me to continue on forward.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
There's something in me that doesn't ever turn off- a curiosity, an urge to keep making, the necessity to keep in motion. It's something that I can't ever get away from, and nor do I want to. I feel truly responsible for my art practice- because it wouldn't exist without my drive. It is completely up to me to keep going, and if I'd stop, I wouldn't know where else to go. In addition, the advancement of technology has made it near impossible to distance yourself from seeing what others are up to; What people are discovering, what they're writing about, what they're experimenting with, what they are creating. That in itself motivates me to want to be a part of that ever-evolving and pioneering community.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
Ten years from now, I hope to sustain a healthy, happy and balanced life between my studio work, my teaching, my relationship and my family. I hope to continue to grow and strengthen my art practice; learning and always asking questions. Within these ten years, I hope to have had a few solo exhibitions, as well as included in some international shows. I hope to be making a big part of my living off my work, although not entirely- I believe it can put too much pressure on the work to solely live of it's income. I hope to never be stagnant in my work and to find new parallels to my life both inside and outside of my practice.
What projects are you working on right now?
I am working on a series of watercolor paintings ranging in size from 8x10 inch to 48x84 inch works on paper. I paint images of draped pieces of fabric; examining the textiles based on their inherent marking on culture, style or personal narrative. Through this work I investigate concepts related to home, loss and time. In between painting, I am starting to experiment with materials such as yarn, fabric and other fibers, mixing them with other paper, metal and vinyl to create wall hangings and weavings. Since working so closely with fabric as I paint from life, I have formed a desire to create textiles of my own and have built a makeshift loom. Mixing traditional weaving patterns with my own made up techniques, I am investigating the materiality of each item and how it relates to the material next to it. Outside of my fine art practice, I am also heavily involved with a social practice that I co-founded with three other colleagues; an artist collective called ONE+ONE+TWO. We began project in the spring of 2016 and offer services such as residency and critique group. We are brainstorming what other programs we want to offer artists.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
I do a wide range of things to keep myself accountable in my practice. For starters, I know I need at least 16 hours of studio time per week and I schedule those hours like I would a job. Because my job is flexible and my days off are different each week, I adjust the time to spend in my studio to make sure that it at least adds up to 16 hours- whether that's two full days of studio, or 3-4 hours everyday after work. I include hours spent on writing, research and filling out applications as part of these studio hours and not only time spent putting paint to paper. I also am very goal oriented. I set goals for myself revolving around how many paintings I want to get done in a month, or how many residency/publication/grant opptounities I want to apply to each month. Often times I am able to achieve these goals, which then propels me to continue on forward.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
There's something in me that doesn't ever turn off- a curiosity, an urge to keep making, the necessity to keep in motion. It's something that I can't ever get away from, and nor do I want to. I feel truly responsible for my art practice- because it wouldn't exist without my drive. It is completely up to me to keep going, and if I'd stop, I wouldn't know where else to go. In addition, the advancement of technology has made it near impossible to distance yourself from seeing what others are up to; What people are discovering, what they're writing about, what they're experimenting with, what they are creating. That in itself motivates me to want to be a part of that ever-evolving and pioneering community.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
Ten years from now, I hope to sustain a healthy, happy and balanced life between my studio work, my teaching, my relationship and my family. I hope to continue to grow and strengthen my art practice; learning and always asking questions. Within these ten years, I hope to have had a few solo exhibitions, as well as included in some international shows. I hope to be making a big part of my living off my work, although not entirely- I believe it can put too much pressure on the work to solely live of it's income. I hope to never be stagnant in my work and to find new parallels to my life both inside and outside of my practice.
Find Jennifer Shada on Instagram
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