Here's a new piece that was out yesterday in The Washington Post for the Sunday Outlook section about the problem behind calling abortion a difficult decision. Thanks a bunch to Chris and Emmet for working with me on this one.

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Here's a new one in today's New York Times about patients being readmitted to hospitals. The symmetry reinforces the idea of institution. I am realizing my sketches are getting more and more cartoony and ridiculous. Hope the art directors out there don't mind. It's the idea that counts, right? Haha. Thanks again to Peter for the assignment.

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 Here's a recent piece for The New York Times letters about pay scale discrepancies in the medical industry. Thanks to Nathan Huang on this one.

 

 

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 Here's a piece for the New York Times letters section about criminal deportations. This was a quick one, as it was already worked out nicely in the sketch. Thanks a bunch to my old Art Center chum, and talented artist in her own right, Sarah Williamson for giving me the assignment. It was great working together!

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 Last week I did an illustration for The New York Times Well Blog about cholesterol lowering drugs and the varied effects between men and women. The idea of a playing card makes one think of risk and chance and the hearts are a link to heart disease which can be a symptom for women. This was a fun one. Thanks again to Peter for continuing to throw awesome assignments my way!

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I have three new collage pieces on display at Phone Booth Gallery in Long Beach for the 6''x6'' Show. I am exploring the idea of space, emptiness, longing, and dimensions seen and unseen. I am really interested in caves and secret passageways which come together in "Cavern." The "Green Room" pieces are really about emptiness and ghosts of something that once was. For these pieces I meticulously eliminated the furniture from idyllic home decorating catalogs. This would have been much easier using Photoshop, but somehow the labor and struggle to cut away and replace empty space is equally part of the work. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a new series. Each piece is collage on panel and can be purchased online here.

"Cavern"

"Green Room"

"Green Room (Cream Corn)"

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I recently worked on a piece for one of my favorite magazines, Nautilus. It's such a well designed and smart magazine that I was overjoyed to get the assignment. It's about the healing powers of light boxes for mood disorders. I really love how it turned out and can't wait to work again with awesome AD Len Small!

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Here's a recent piece I did for the New York Times Op-Ed about genetically modified human babies. It was tempting to get weird and gross with this theme, but I think ultimately it was better to go more subtle and creepy. The sketch was pretty close to the final, just added more displaced elements. Thanks once again to Matt Dorfman and his willingness to go outside the box and traditional page format...it's always fun to do one of these!

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Here's a recent piece for The New York Times Well blog about menopause and how to manage the side effects. I enjoyed making her look really uncomfortable. Thanks again to Peter Morance for the gig.

The sketch:

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 Here's a piece I worked on a few weeks ago that came out this past Sunday for The New York Times Sunday Review. The article is about the failure of imagination on the part of civilians in responding to veteran's experiences. I like this graphic approach and the double vision dreamlike portraits. The strong colors imply trauma and strong emotions. Thanks to Erich Nagler and Aviva Michaelov for another fun assignment.

Here's my comp. The hat was too old fashioned, so I ended up changing it to a helmet.

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Here's a commission I finished recently for a pilot. It's all cut paper collage and ink...no digital manipulation on this one. The plane is made from sliced images of the ground and landscape as seen from above, which connects the plane to the earth and gives it weight. I'm always amazed that these heavy tin cans always get off the ground! The various sky and clouds are a link to the different types of weather one encounters in the sky, and make visible invisible elements like heat and wind that push and pull on airplanes. The golden ink lines make one think of maps, travel, and flight plans.

 

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 A couple weeks ago I did a piece for the NYT Well blog about the importance of palliative care. Thanks once again to Peter Morance for the assignment. I hope you all have a great holiday season! Cheers!

 

©shannon freshwater

Here are a few Post-Its for Giant Robot's big Post It Show 9. It is always fun to get a low pressure opportunity to experiment on these small pieces. There were over 250 artists and over 2500 pieces of art and I submitted a whopping 31 pieces! Below are a sampling of my favorites. The opening was last weekend (with people lining up and camping out in the cold and rain a full 24 hours before doors opened) but there are plenty of great works still available. Stop by or purchases artwork online! Thanks to Mark and Esther for continuing to invite me to participate and Eric Nakamura for continuing to put on the show. Also check out this great interview and write up about the show.

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 Here's today's piece for the New York Times Letters section about JFK's assassination and it's 50 year anniversary. Thanks to Alexandra for working with me on this, it turned out great!

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I've been neglecting my blog this summer but not to worry, there will be more posts soon.

For now here's a piece from today's Washington Post about training officers to look for signs of mental distress before resorting to lethal force. Thanks to AD Marianne Seregi.

 

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