ABOUT SHANNON: Shannon Bueker has been a Pittsboro resident for 28 years, but she was born in Spain in 1963. Her father was stationed at the Seville AFB, and she and her family lived there and other places — Massachusetts, Hawaii and Texas — before coming to Pittsboro. She went to high school in San Antonio and has a college degree from the University of Texas in Austin. She studied art (sculpture, painting and drawing) and has been working as a full-time artist since moving to Chatham County in 1992. She makes paintings she sells from her studio, online, and through galleries. Cards from photographs of her paintings are available at her studio, at the Joyful Jewel in Pittsboro, at Womancraft Handmade Gifts in Carrboro, at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh and at the Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery. She participates in the annual Open Studio Tour, now in its 27th year, organized by the Chatham Artists Guild.
“I also have open studio events of my own in the spring and fall,” Beuker said. “Another self-employed artist friend and I joke that we are Employee of the Month every month at our businesses because we do everything! Other self-employed folks know what I’m talking about, I’m sure.” Beuker is also a part-time yoga teacher through the YMCA in Pittsboro and the Chatham County Council on Aging. She has been married to her “computer guy,” Rick, for 32 years.
What was your first paying job, and what did it teach you?
My first paying job was waitressing. I learned about food service and how to be an efficient server. It taught me a lot about staying ahead on tasks (refilling the coffee machine, etc, prepping ahead of time ) so things are done before it gets hectic. I also learned how good it is to get paid for work and have my own money.
What’s the most difficult job you’ve ever had?
The most difficult job I’ve ever had was working as an editor, right out of college. I worked for a contractor in the NASA community, so the work was editing technical documents. I had the writing and English background, but I had never worked an 8-to-5 job, with the hours requirements and the limits on personal/vacation/sick time. I had to adjust to the structure and learn the skills for the job at the same time. I also had to adjust to being with the same group of people day in and day out
What advice would you give someone considering doing the same line of work as you?
I tell other self-employed artists what I learned from other artists and from my own experience and that is to be very patient with the process of building your career, work habits, audience and income. I was told 10-15 years before really getting all those elements growing well. Some artists find it sooner, but for me, it was goo to have that advice early on. It helped me adjust my expectations. Oh, and it’s not real money until it’s in your bank account!
What’s your work superpower?
I think of the most important, useful (and apparently surprising) skills I learned in my job as an editor was creating a production calendar. I still use a paper calendar, notebook style, and if I have a show coming up or have to produce an announcement card, I turn to the page in the calendar and mark the deadline — for example, the day the I hang the show or the day I want the announcement card in my hand. From there I fill in the calendar “backwards.” Using the announcement card example — that is, when does the information need to be at the printers, then back from that is the date for the photograph/er, back from that is finishing the art, back from that is starting it, etc. It’s surprising how quickly it structures the days and weeks.
Who is your personal hero?
I have some artist heroes — Frida Kahlo, Franz Marc, Susan Rothenberg, Mary Oliver, Joan Mitchell — just a few people whose work I admire and who I continue to learn from. I have some personal heroes who acted as “trail guides” for me at some health crisis points in my life. They gave me info that I didn’t even know I needed, which helped me get through some difficult passages.
Which do you like better: starting or finishing?
I like elements of both starting and finishing. Starting because there’s all that white space (in terms of painting or drawing) and all that possibility. I like finishing because often it’s like a very satisfying puzzle has been solved with that last stroke, the last piece is placed. Sometimes, thought, finishing aa painting can be slow, unclear and far less obvious. Sometimes the solution shows up months or years after starting a piece.
Dogs or cats?
We’ve shared our home with several dogs over the years. If it were up to me, there would have been cats, too. My husband is very allergic to cats, though. I get my dog-time in on the weekends, walking with my neighbors and their dogs.
Favorite N.C. celebrity?
I don’t think I have a favorite, but there are plenty I admire. I love Tift Merritt’s music. I’m a fan of Clyde Edgerton’s writing. Reynolds Price’s book, “A Whole New Life,” has been a good friend. David Sedaris is hilarious. I’ve been lucky enough to cross paths with potter Mark Hewitt often and have learned a lot from seeing his work over the years. I could spend a lot of time with this question!
What makes your home special?
Our home is filled with color. There are some white or cream walls, but most of our walls are different colors. A fun tidbit we were told about the house when we first were looking at buying it was that it was built on the floor plan of the Ponderosa from the TV show “Bonanza.” That isn’t what sold us on the house but close.
Who was the best teacher (in school or at work) you ever had and why?
Oh, there are many, many teachers that I still look back to with gratitude. I don’t have just one. From 5th grade all the way up to the present, there are people whose lives taught me things or whose teachings deeply affected me. I have favorite elementary school teachers who I appreciate more now, at 55, from this vantage point in my life than I had a clue about as a kid. I am amazed at what they managed to accomplish with our young, wild minds. There are teachers in middle school and high school whose lessons or life stories have stuck with me. I have lots of art teachers along the way who helped me see things or develop my skills. Now I find that all around me, the teachers show up, often in people just talking about their lives or going through something hard. their stories end up being lessons.
What was the last thing you did that really made your boss proud of you?
Ha! Well, I’m my own boss as a self-employed person. This summer, we had to move all my paintings out of my Basement Gallery space at my house so that new flooring could go down. In that process, I looked at, rediscovered, saw again, almost every painting I have created int he past 20-plus years. It made me so happy to see each and every one of them! I feel proud of the work I’ve done and how my painting and drawing has grown and changed over the years.
The book you’re currently reading:
I am part of a book club. We have been reading and meeting together since 2001, I think! The book we just met about but I am still finishing is “Overstory” by Richard Powers. It’s about the wonder of trees, how they are intertwined with each other and our lives with their lives. It’s a novel following several different people who come together to save a stand of old growth trees in Oregon. It’s way more complicated than that simple description and a really good read
The credo or motto you like to try to live by:
Be useful, be kind, do no harm
What was your dream job when you were a child?
Many visitors to my studio have heard this answer before, but looking at my childhood sketchbooks, it’s pretty clear that I was dreaming about being zookeeper or an artist who paints animals. I guess I am doing what I love.
If you were given $5,000 to donate to a non-profit organization, which would you pick — and why?
I would split the money between Doctors Without Borders and an organization fighting for the Earth. I think humans hurt each other in enormous ways. We hurt the Earth and out fellow creatures, too.
What’s your cell phone ringtone?
Kung Fu Fighting
Favorite dessert?
Tiramisu
Do you have bumper stickers of any kind on your car?
My truck cap is covered with stickers! I love stickers! Lots are images or souvenirs from places I’ve visited, but a few are stickers with statements. I have two more sides of empty truck cap to fill, so I’m always on the lookout for cool stickers. I can even get my own paintings printed onto stickers, so that may be my next thing.
What’s the most important thing your job has taught you?
Both of my jobs, artist and yoga teacher, have taught me that me that everyone has a story. I have learned (try to) to watch my assumptions of people based on their appearance or car or stuff, because it’s often wrong or just one tiny layer of that person’s life and history. Most everyone has lots of life experiences, often tragic or sad, so I try to listen.