Shaunté Ledger shares her Creative Journey
Author of sToRyDrOpS Blog, collage artist, Tarot reader and card maker
I was so pleased to host
as the third guest of my interview series regarding creative processes, the health of it, and the necessity of it.
As a child Shaunté was much more interested in play acting than art making. Collage was something she fell into about 20 years ago, originally as analog - cutting and pasting. Today she creates amazing collages via digital processes. Shaunté references bouts of imposter syndrome in her art making, and even has battled in her mind if she was even in fact a real artist (something I think many creatives struggle with from time to time.) But one day when she was struggling with this identity, feeling insecure, she asked herself, “Am I really an artist?” And the voice in her head answered back with another question, “ Can you imagine not being one?” Her dramatic answer was: “NO!” After this episode she didn’t question this identity ever again. Please watch our entire interview. Shaunté has so much to share and has such an interesting craft, I hope you enjoy the entire video interview:
Here are some highlights and quotes from my interview with Shaunté:
“Creativity and art is in everything you do…Creativity is in every decision you make”.
“You’ve got to make a lot of art to find your own style. And make a lot of bad art. Give yourself permission to make bad art, because you are going to make a lot of it.”
“If you are failing in making a certain image, just shelve it until you’re ready”
“Tarot (cards) is a practice…Tarot is like a mirror, it helps you to see the path that you are on and what can potentially happen if you stay on that path”
“Everyone is creative, it’s a matter if you’re tapping into it (or not)…if you’re nurturing it or not. Creativity is how I make sense of the world, it’s how I can interpret the world. It’s how I can give back.”
“I created sToRyDrOpS because I wanted to be a lighthouse for other creatives and artists who feel isolated. I want to be there to support other artists (because our society doesn’t necessarily do that)"
“Creativity is how I see, think and feel”
Tarot cards are one of her favorite projects and she is currently working on an entire deck. At the age of 17 as a self described “Goth Girl” she got her first deck and she was obsessed with them. She would spend hours and hours going through the deck of cards on her bed. Tarot helped her figure out and navigate her teenage years. At that time in her life, she found it a soothing way to navigate certain situations that she was going through.
Shaunté explains that Tarot was originally a card game in the 15th century. Now it is used for reflection and insight. Tarot does not predict the future. She explains that Tarot can provide us with potentials for how our life might go and bring a greater awareness of that.
Shaunté is leading an upcoming creative workshop on making your very own Tarot cards in August via the Creative Mornings website. I look forward to participating and will let you all know when she has the date for this event for some healthy colorful creative collage fun!
Also please follow Shaunté on Instagram, LinkedIn, and her website is also included below:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storydrops/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunteledger/
Website: Shaunté Ledger
Thanks so much for sharing your story with us here on the Sketchbook Diaries of an Evolving Art Therapist. Please read a favorite recent entry on “sToRyDrOpS” Shaunté’s Substack blog :
Next week, I will be releasing an interview with Transformational Life & Business Coach/Consultant Msc. EMCC, ICF, Chef, Celebrant, and Bestselling Author,
! Not to be missed!! Thanks so much for joining me here. Until next time,Ciao! Arrivederci and Namaste
Laurie
Love it! 🥰
Looking forward to reading and listening along! X