Artist Profile: Shanon Schneider

Finding Work-Life Balance

By Heike Hellmann-Brown

As practice administrator of three busy OB/GYN offices in the Atlanta area, Shanon Schneiders life is filled with stress and responsibility. She cherishes the quiet time she can spend at her easel. Creating art is the exact opposite of my demanding day job, Schneider says. I work in a high-paced setting, and art lets me unwind. Painting is so unstructured. When I paint, time flies by. Its introspective, almost surreal. Maybe that is why I prefer a more impressionistic approach. While I usually start my works with an idea of my color palette, at that point I am not sure where I will end up. The process is very evolutionary, without a tangible reference, but rather from the interaction of paint on canvas and the emotion that occurs within the creative process.

Apart from colorful impressionistic landscapes, Schneiders work is comprised of figurative works, contemporary still-lifes, and cubism-inspired pieces. I enjoy changing up creations, she explains. Landscapes are a subject matter that especially connects with me as an artist. They are designed to take me and viewers to a physical space of serenity and calm.  

Born in Florida with a dad who was in the Air Force, Schneider spent most of her childhood in Syracuse, N.Y. Even as a young child she was very interested in art. My dad was a good draftsman himself, but he never cultivated it, she says, noting that he was an inspiration. Although she took art classes at university, she majored in biology, worked as a systems administrator in the medical field, and focused on raising her three sons.

It was after her move to Georgia in 2002 that Schneider made room for painting in her life again. She began taking classes and workshops. In 2007, she opened Two Doors Art, a co-op art studio and gallery with a group of local artists, which later transitioned into Synergy Fine Art Gallery in Roswell, where she has her studio and is displaying her work. I work up to 60 hours a week in an office setting, but as soon as I enter Synergy, art has priority, Schneider says. I paint on site, manage (along with Synergys co-owner, Barbara Rush) the other artists within our gallery, and am very involved in the Roswell art scene. For a long time the art community here was fragmented. Now, along with the other local galleries, we have re-established and re-energized the Roswell Art District.

Interaction is key to Shanon Schneiders approach as an artist. Everybody, no matter who and what you are, should have some part of your life that is creative, she says. Creativity is so rewarding. It provides us with peace and enjoyment. As an artist, I am creating something that has not existed before, and now it brings pleasure to someone else. This is the most fulfilling feeling.

ShanonSchneider.com