Rebecca Shapiro
“I have always embraced a green heart; the eco-movement is a global expression of my personal blueprint. My art stands as an example of what it means to be a sustainable artist seeking kinship between art, nature and the human experience. It offers hope so we may remember the interconnectedness of life.”
~Rebecca Shapiro
Rebecca was born an artist and at the age of five her first major art installation was a dress designed for Montessori school. Fashioned from a bonafide flour sack, her mother banned the dress from being worn in public.
She learned graphic design and medical illustration at the University of Texas Medical School. Rebecca went on to study illustration, printmaking and photography, graduating in 1986 Smith College where she worked with such noted artists as Gary Niswonger, Dwight Pogue, Carl Chiarenza and James Rosenquist’s printer. Rebecca has enjoyed over 25 painting exhibitions with works hanging in private and public collections in the United States and New Zealand. Rebecca’s artwork has been greatly influenced by personal studies with Ted Katz. She also works with beads and fibers, has taught painting, drawing, jewelry and knitting classes.
“My artwork has profoundly influenced my connection with people and nature. My art explores those relationships and how their bonds or dissonance form beauty in the world. I look to the human form, shells, plants, flowers, rocks for inspiration.” Thanks to an informed childhood in the Pacific Northwest, she strives for sustainable practices in her studio and chooses earth friendly materials that express her love of nature.
Rebecca has served as the CEO of a non-profit healthcare organization, Art Director for a national music magazine and worked with museums. She has launched several successful businesses including an online arts and crafts store and an internet consulting firm. Her current endeavors include studies in entrepreneurship, socially and environmentally conscious business, haiku poetry and writing. She is also the Portland leader for Ladies Who Launch, a social network that supports women embracing creativity and entrepreneurship as a lifestyle.
“My son once asked me, ‘Mom, what if there was an antiseptic for the soul?’ It really made me think and I decided that giving back was that balm. Since I paint in encaustic (molten beeswax), I donate to Heifer.org. Bees from Heifer International help struggling families earn income through the sale of honey, beeswax and pollen. I also believe in giving back in little ways bringing a pot of split pea soup to a neighbor, saying thank you with intention to a grocery store clerk or making sure that I recycle or compost (even when I’m feeling lazy). There are many ways to give back and all are viable…even the little, tiny ones.
Who is your hero?
My mother, Karmen. She was the first woman in her family to go to college and become a doctor. She taught me to look for the wonder and magic in the world. The first time I cued into this was when I was about five. We were at the Oregon Coast and she showed me a gumboot chiton. It was the coolest, most prehistoric creature I had ever seen (I was very into dinosaurs at the time). She never stopped showing me cool stuff from all the bones that grew in my hands to how to make a mean blackberry pie. She will always be my heroine!
What is your favorite quote?
“Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling.” – Vincent Van Gogh
If you were a pair of shoes, what kind would you be and why?
A pair of eco-friendly, chartreuse colored, John Fluevog heels with a mary jane strap. They’re creative, wacky and a little naughty librarian.
What keeps you flourishing?
My wonderful husband, Joe, my two children, Tobiahs and Natania, my friends. community, nature, creativity and art. I’m pretty lucky because all of these touch me at least once a day.
What’s next? I can’t wait to…
Go to Dubai. I have a dream of attending and showing in the Dubai Art fair. They are spending over $52 billion dollars on an eco-community (not sure how that’s going to work in the middle of the desert but I’m open). I want to start the dialogue about what it means to be a sustainable fine artist and why people should be collecting earth friendly art.
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