Shannon Amidon is an adventurous nature girl who doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty, especially when it comes to art. So it’s no surprise that while traveling through Northern Thailand, she jumped at the chance to make paper from elephant dung. She likes to explore and discover, which comes through in her artwork. That sense of adventure is revealed in the variety of complex processes that her artwork undergoes on its way to completion.

Though a self-described late bloomer as an artist, Shannon wasted no time getting up to speed. “I didn’t even start seriously making art ‘til I was about twenty-two or twenty-three years old. I was always creative, but I didn’t really know what art was when I was younger. I can’t draw or paint, and that is what I thought artwork and being an artist were. So when I discovered photography, I went wild. I absolutely loved it.”

When Shannon met her husband, Bobb Amidon (an Apple test engineer, photographer, and music aficionado), he encouraged her to take photography classes. So, off she went to class and to the library. Shannon consumed and was consumed by the genre of art photography. She read everything she could get her hands on and, better still, her hubby came equipped with a variety of top-quality cameras and great lenses to fuel her passion. These sparks ignited a fire for Shannon, and her fiery fuchsia hair is proof that it doesn’t show signs of burning out.

You certainly won’t find traditional photography in Shannon’s repertoire—no wedding or family portraits. “As I was taking my photography classes,” she explains, “I discovered a book on alternative photographic processes and antiquated processes. I fell in love with that kind of look and feel.” At times, she will use a digital camera to take a picture, then expose the negative onto a piece of watercolor paper in the sun. This creates a piece with a contemporary feel but a nostalgic look. Some of her other photographic manipulations include portrait puzzle boxes and photo weaving.

Nature is the focus of Shannon’s artwork. Her love of the natural world was cultivated in her younger years. Her eyes fill with a childlike wonder as she describes her girlhood home. “I grew up in nature, on a little old dairy farm in South San Jose. [We] had creeks, so I would go and get tadpoles, slide down the hills on cardboard, and stuff like that. I think that really influenced me as an artist, just to be able to go out and play until the sun went down. And I had an uncle who owned a horse stable; I started working there when I was about eleven or twelve. Again, that put me out in nature and outdoors.”

Beyond photographic manipulation, Shannon also works with found natural objects—resurrecting and repurposing her beloved nature. In Shannon’s hands, dead natural objects find new life as art or a piece of jewelry through an extensive process of copper electroforming (covering non-metallic objects with layers of copper). Sporting the skull of a nutria around her neck is proof that Shannon breathes new life into what others would just as soon discard. These rodents overpopulate the southern states, and a market for them has developed in natural history stores where they are available for purchase.

Not only does Shannon work with rodents and lizards, she also has a thing for bullet casings. “It was a happy accident. To be honest, I saw a bullet necklace [that] was about $6,000 and I thought, ‘You know, I can do that.’ I had some bullet casings because I like to collect lots of odd things from antique stores and flea markets. So I made a couple of the necklaces. I started out with some semi-precious stones. People really liked it, and I really liked it. It just kind of took off from there.” Now there are bullet casings paired with feathers as well as animal teeth and horns. The jewelry has been a success that generates a steady income, and Shannon is proud of that. She has found a way to stay true to her passion and the natural history aesthetic that defines her work.

With everything else that Shannon has going on, she makes time to give back to the community. “Every waking hour is devoted to art, or the community, or teaching, or creating.” She has taught soap making to young children, demonstrated her artistic processes at community events, and donated her artwork to a variety of local galleries and benefit events. Shannon also has a strong belief in fostering young and up-and-coming artists, most of the time in an informal manner. She gives access to her studio, sharing space and supplies.

So what’s next for this vibrant nature enthusiast turned artist? An artist’s residency in Iceland should afford Shannon some volcanic treasures and the chance to brave thirty-degree weather in search of the northern lights. There she will have the opportunity to create without interference from television or the telephone. But in 2011, you can find her work exhibited locally at the Saratoga Library in September and October, as well as at the Phantom Galleries from November through the end of December. And for a face-to-face meeting, you can usually find her in the SoFa district for San Jose’s own South First Fridays’ Artwalk.

shannonamidon.com
Instagram: shannonamidon

Artwork:
1. Tansy, 36 x24
2. The Turning Sea – 24” x 24”
3. Red Wall Project (Mural) in Portland, OR