Artist Bio
Shawn McCrary Richards resides in Pearl, Mississippi and was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Throughout her life, Shawn has been a creator in more mediums than can be listed here. Since retiring from teaching in 2016, she has been focusing on watercolor painting and silhouette papercuttings, called Scherenschnitte. Regardless of the materials used, in Shawn's artworks are seen organic shapes and forms. Her watercolor paintings are composed with vivid yet blended colors for a soothing effect. Vignettes in her Scherenschnitte work reflect her life— mostly spent in the Deep South as a mother and school teacher— with silhouetted images of children, flora, and fauna. Lately, Shawn enjoys juxtaposing her papercuts with multi-hued watercolor wash backgrounds or paint in selected negative spaces.
After Shawn earned a Bachelor of Art in Art from the University of Southern Mississippi, she later obtained a Master of Art in Teaching in Elementary Education at Belhaven College. As a teacher for over 25 years, she continued her own art education through numerous local, state and national seminars and workshops. While living overseas and teaching at the International School of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, she learned Chinese Brush Painting and became adept in Javanese & Malay Batik techniques. Her love of traveling has taken her from areas of Southeast Asia to several European countries to see first hand many amazing and varied works of art. Shawn has also trained under watercolorists Don Andrews, Tim Oliver, Tom Francesconi, in addition to Mississippi watercolorists Wyatt Waters and Anthony Thaxton.
Shawn and her artwork have been publicly recognized through several venues. Her work is exhibited at Pacesetter Gallery, Flowood, MS and the Gallery of the Craftsmen's Guild of MS, Ridgeland, MS. In the media, she was the cover story of Today in Mississippi for the magazine’s article, "Art from a Thousand Cuts". Also, Mississippi Magazine featured Shawn’s Scherenschnitte in their, “Bit of Magnolia” section with an article called, "PaperSnipz." The magazine, Magnolia, had an article and video interview through the Clarion-Ledger called, "From Heart to Hand". As a teaching member of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, she was interviewed for TV by the local news while sharing a class in Scherenschnitte at the MS Craft Center. In annual exhibitions, her pieces were shown & sold at Art on the Rez at St. Peter’s-by-the-Lake, Brandon, MS; AmFed Art Exhibit at Waller Craft Center, Ridgeland, MS; Places in Paper with the Guild of American Papercutters at Arlington, VA. In addition to MAG, Shawn is also affiliated with the following art organizations: Jackson Watercolor Group; Craftsmen’s Guild of MS; MS Art Educators; Guild of American Papercutters.