My name is Shanna, but I go by the art name of S.R.Stott. I was born in Utah and I am 23 years old. I currently live in Wyoming with three dogs and one cat. I have been drawing since I could hold a pencil to paper. My imagination would perhaps not be as vibrant had I not experienced a 9 month residence on a 9000 acre ranch in Wyoming when I was only 8 years old. The thing that shaped me into the artist I have become was a love of nature, animals and the fact that while I stayed on this ranch I did not have the modern perks like other children my age, such as video games, television, radio, computers or fancy toys. You see, this ranch had no running water and no electricity, and my only release of boredom was running free with our pack of dogs in the woods, playing with the horses, and being barefoot and close to nature. In this huge developmental stage my mind had yet to be warped by modern existence or the strappings of staring at a screen or sitting inside for hours on end. I wanted to be close to nature, and grew to prefer playing inventive games and using a so little used tool (in recent times anyway)--my imagination. I began reading, and with that, my own fantasy world began to grow. Being the little artist I was, the fantasy world spilled onto paper in the form of art.
As the time on the ranch ended, my mom had to drag me kicking and screaming back to what we came to call "normal" life, near a city with all its amenities. As the neccessary changes in my life began to occur, I would often "escape" back to my roots on the ranch through my art by drawing deer with wings, horses with horns (unicorns) and dogs with tiger stripes. Art became a release if I felt uncomfortable, bored, or just plain creative. I didn't attend any art classes until I got into highschool, mostly because at that time I had free class-periods, and decided that in order to fill them up, I wanted to do something I enjoyed--ART. I had one really neat art teacher who appreciated my talents and imagination, and another who seemed utterly unimpressed--because often creatures created in my mind could not always have a reference photo to look at to create it, therefor he could not grade my "accuracy" or "rule of thirds"-something he was big on.
I have now been out of highschool for 5 years and my art is growing stronger and more impressive...and with vast amounts of practice I keep improving. I do not always have time to draw, but often I still use it to relieve tension when work goes bad, or if I have had a rough day. I have tried to branch out to other forms of art such as Photography, Writing, Poetry, computer art, as well as painting, pencil, colored pencil--just about any medium to expand my talents and scope of abilities. As of late I have grown to love what some may view as a "simple" tool of art--the Ball Point pen. I find that I can draw things with a pen that makes even my own jaw drop on occasion. I am always on the lookout for new techniques, and find inspiration in MANY things.
ONE of those inspirational "things"is the Gypsy Horse. I have always been a fan of the draft horses, especially Clydesdales and Shires. But at the same time I loved the apeal of paint horses. One day about 7 years ago I was playing around on the computer and just for giggles (and curiosity) I typed in the words--I remember them CLEARLY--"Paint color Shire horse" and consequently found the Gypsy Vanner (as they are often called). I sat for hours at a time gawking at these magnificent horses, with their thick manes, tails and feathering and couldn't help but see my favorite fantasy creature in them--the Unicorn. SO began my long lived infatuation with creating MY ideal image of the mythical Unicorn. It is said Unicorns are magestic, peaceful, loving and caring creatures. Their physical appearance is also often described as and animal with a lion-like mane and tail, with thick feathering on their legs--this small part of a varying image of the Unicorn always made me think of Shires and Clydesdales, and thus expanded to the Gypsy Horses.
A Unicorn to me is a creature of utmost beauty, and they have morphed from girly doodles in my notebook margin to what they are now. To me they represent the purest form of enchantment. To this day I believe I was visited by one in a dark time in my life, as if it were there to help bring me back into feeling like a whole person again. It came to me in a dream, surrounded by a pure aura of bright white and soothing green. It placed its blue white velvet muzzle in my palm and gently nudged my hand, then it bowed its head toward my heart and lightly touched my skin with its horn, at which moment I reached up and touched its horn. The horn appeared to be made of iridescent moonstone and felt like silk in rock form--which is the only way I know how to describe it--the horn glowed beneath my finger tips as I ran my had across it. The Unicorn spoke to me then, and reminded me that I had too many great things to accomplish in my life, and that what had happened to me was only to help me learn to be a better person, and that my time of strife was to end. My life has been on the up and up lately, and even though I was once stuck in a dark place, my optomism uplifted me out of it and has brought me further toward my goals in life. I loved Unicorns before, but after that I was an avid believer that they DO exist, if you know where to look, or believe enough.
If you would like to learn more about my work or if you are interested in custom work, please feel free to contact me at word_wolff@yahoo.com
