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Shannon Hilson

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About Me


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My real name is Shannon, but I sometimes go by Cat. I'm an independent artist, writer, and musician originally from California, but currently living in Connecticut with my amazing fiancé who is a graphic designer, musician, and web developer. I spend most of my time freelancing and indulging my creativity. Music is kind of on the back burner for now, but I do work on my art and writing regularly and am slowly carving out a niche for myself, adding meaning to my life one painting at a time. Hopefully my work brings something to other people's lives as well. I hope so anyway.

I consider myself to be someone who sees self-improvement as one of the most important pursuits in life. I'm always looking for new ways to grow as a person and become smarter, wiser, healthier, more talented, and more varied than I already am. I don't believe that truly wise people ever get to a point where they stop and decide their journey of self-discovery, growth, and improvement is over. There is always something else to learn or a new direction to explore, and that's always been a huge source of motivation in my life.

Personality wise, I'm very quiet, reserved, and intellectual. I'm also a very independent spirit. I love tackling big projects on my own, and I definitely love a good challenge. I value the opinions, input, and company of people I consider to be peers or equals, but in general, other people's opinions of me don't really affect my self image either positively or negatively. I'm chronically allergic to advice or criticism that I didn't ask for, especially if it comes from someone that I don't feel is qualified to give it. I'm stubborn, opinionated, and probably pretty darn close to anti-social at times, however, once someone earns my love, loyalty, and respect, they have it for life.

Other random, seemingly unconnected things about me? I like to cook. I love snow, ice, rain, and thunder, but despise hot or overly sunny weather. I'm a major animal lover. I have a list of things I'd like to learn that could probably circle the earth. I like to read... especially the classics. One day I hope to have read all of the so-called "important" books. Other people often pick me out of the proverbial crowd and tend to have intense reactions to me, whether they're positive or negative. This confuses and mystifies me, since I'm really not an attention seeker and don't actively try to stand out. I blog a lot and have more web accounts than any one person should probably have. I like to think I'm interesting. Some people seem to agree, so that's a good thing for sure.


Edwina ~ © 2008 Shannon Hilson

About My Art:

As I mentioned above, I am -- among other things -- a digital artist. I specialize in fantasy, dark, and fairy tale oriented work. My method of choice these days is an amalgam of photomanipulation and digital paintwork, but I am also a skilled pencil artist and oil/acrylic/watercolor painter. To find out more about my work in general, including information in regards to commissions or licensing, please visit my website , read through the information pages, and contact me with any further questions you might have.

Like many artists, I work very hard at my craft and I am very dedicated to being the best I can be at what I do. I truly love making art, and I love sharing it with other people, knowing that I'm adding something positive and beautiful to the world by doing so. Even so, support is very important to independent artists in general, and receiving such support from people who enjoy my work means the world to me. If you do enjoy my art, please consider making a purchase now and then at either of my two on-line shops listed below. Every little bit helps, and every contribution is graciously appreciated.

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• Deviant Art : This is my main shop, and probably the first place you want to go if it's my art you're interested in. I offer high-quality glossy, matte, and lustre prints of each of my images in a wide variety of sizes. I also offer many additional products featuring my art, including mugs, mouse pads, magnets, canvases, and more.

• Lulu : This shop is going to be geared primarily toward my writing in the future. My art book Cabbages and Kings is available for sale now, as well as my 2008 calendar. Cabbages and Kings is a collector's book featuring not only the very best of my artwork so far, but selected poetry and excerpts from my personal writings as well. As they come out of editing, my novels will be put up for purchase or download at this shop also.


Hong Kong Garden ~ © 2008 Shannon Hilson

About My Stars:


Sun Sign: Pisces
Sun 23° Pisces 32' Pisces Horoscope
for today »
Moon Sign: Leo
Moon 23° Leo 46' Leo Horoscope
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Rising Sign: Sagittarius
Ascendant 2° Sagittarius 59' Sagittarius Horoscope
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Pisces Sun: Fish appear to be individuals, but have you ever seen a school of them swimming together? They act as one. Each is part of a greater whole. And you Pisces Fish are more aware of your interdependency than any other sign. It's as if you live in an ocean and the spirit that flows through you is like the one ocean that flows through all fishes. The symbol of the Fish is also the symbol of Christianity, the predominant religion during the past two thousand years -- also known to astrologers as the "Age of Pisces."

Leo Moon: Your emotions are powerful and often expressed dramatically. That's because feelings are meant to be shown and not held inside yourself. Sure, you don't want to expose all of your secrets, but generally putting them out in the open works best for you. It's part of the enthusiasm that you need to feel alive. Just getting by is not enough for you, which is why you don't always play it safe. But taking risks on a personal level gives you a sense of excitement that you absolutely need to be at your best. Sure, you can go overboard at times, but that's probably a better approach than sitting on the sidelines and going unnoticed. You're here to be seen, so there's no need to stay quiet or play it cool.

Sagittarius Ascending: You're a natural teacher, promoter or salesperson. With Sagittarius Rising you share what you know with high energy and enthusiasm like a preacher or a cheerleader. You tend to blow through the negativity others present by pushing forward your beliefs without showing any doubt. It's this obvious optimism that lifts you and those around you, bringing hope to the darkest of situations. But your natural focus tends to more on the big picture than on little details. Overlooking the small stuff can be a great asset at times because it keeps you from being distracted, but there are circumstances where it's important to bring your focus back from the far end of the horizon to an issue that's right in front of you.

Catherine Howard ~ © 2007 Shannon Hilson

My Interests

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fine art, writing, movies, literature, poetry, history, fantasy art, dark art, daydreaming, blogging, astronomy, astrology, serial killers, voodoo, criminal psychology and investigation, vintage clothing, vintage hair and make-up, ancient greece, ancient egypt, medieval weaponry, time travel, science fiction, anything disney, cooking, nature, animals, hiking, the paranormal, snow, cold weather, intellectual conversations, burgers and fries, macaroni and cheese, ham and cheese sandwiches, breakfast at odd times of the day, psychology, philosophy, educational television, being a loner, soul-searching, growing intellectually, growing spiritually, perfume oils, victorian jewelery, being a redhead and anything related to it, my fiancé, my friends, my mother, staying creative, gardening, traveling, lazy afternoons at home, being a homemaker, meditation, zoning out, indulging my vanity, inventing new recipes, magical practices, researching anything and everything, fancy cocktails, healthy eating, feeling good about myself, self-acceptance, being mixed race and proud of it, being healthy, getting fit

I'd like to meet:

I'm most interested in getting to know people that are intelligent and well-rounded, have lots of interests and passions of their own, and live some kind of productive life outside of My Space. I value others who are comfortable in their own skins and don't need other people to tell them who they are and what they're worth, as well as those who are constantly looking to better themselves. I don't get on at all well with people who are clingy, demanding, or insecure.

I always love meeting other artists and writers, especially those who share my interest in publishing, showing, or selling their work. People who are avid appreciators of the creative arts, customers of mine, readers who found this page through my website, or those who might be interested in working with me in the future, are of course more than welcome to add me or write to me as well.

However, please understand that I don't spend a lot of time on My Space and I use my account more for networking as opposed to socializing. If you expect people on your friends list to return every comment you leave or will take it personally if I can't message you several times a week, then I am bound to disappoint you. I do my best to keep up, but generally speaking I just don't have time to properly correspond with every last person on a list of 2500 people. It's a time/energy thing, not a personal reflection on you. Please try to be realistic and reasonable in regards to your expectations of me.

Patience ~ © 2006 Shannon Hilson

Music:



tori amos, david bowie, bjork, green day, ashlee simpson, vivaldi, beethoven, mozart, billie holiday, the killers, garbage, poe, liz phair, johnny cash, the gothic archies, editors, crowded house, led zeppelin, the rolling stones, alice cooper, ozzy osbourne, vanessa carlton, the cranberries, the cardigans, mangled carpenter, puccini, gilbert and sullivan, paul simon, rossini, ella fitzgerald, gregorian chant, enya, ivy, persephone's bees, heather nova, marilyn manson, loreena mckennit, black rebel motorcycle club, kula shaker, rasputina, the dresden dolls, papa roach, rob zombie, jerry lee lewis, mindless self indulgence, kula shaker, kings of leon, pj harvey, placebo, weezer, kate bush, peter gabriel, ben folds, chumbawamba, howie day, ani difranco, aimee mann, counting crows, vienna teng, sarah mclachlan, enigma, the cure, the b-52s, the shins, the high violets, tempest, auf der maur, lacuna coil, sinead o'connor, lida husik, rem, u2, nickelback, beck, letters to cleo, heather nova

Movies:

lord of the rings, star wars, lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events, american psycho, silence of the lambs, pulp fiction, kill bill, hitch, the illusionist, the 40-year-old virgin, the producers, moulin rouge, memoirs of a geisha, brokeback mountain, the remains of the day, howards end, the age of innocence, chicago, vanity fair, big fish, the others, the village, lady in the water, the sixth sense, unbreakable, pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility, as good as it gets, donnie darko, mirrormask, marie antoinette, borat, neverwas, the last mimzy

Television:

rome, extras, weeds, brotherhood, dexter, desperate housewives, the apprentice, mythbusters, dirt, food network, animal planet, national geographic, history channel, weeds, sex and the city, friends, will and grace, bewitched, i dream of jeannie, the brady bunch, little house on the prairie, ace of cakes, throwdown with bobby flay, emeril live, grey's anatomy, ugly betty, the twilight zone, the tudors, anthony bourdain's no reservations

Books:

jane austen, oscar wilde, stephen king, anne rice, carrolly erickson, danielle steel, h. rider haggard, h.p. lovecraft, j.k. rowling, j.r.r. tolkien, edith wharton, gone with the wind, the davinci code, the dark tower series, the lemony snicket series, harry potter, grimm's fairy tales, amy tan, the joy luck club, william shakepseare, little house on the prairie, war and peace, crime and punishment, plato, aristotle, marcus aurelius, sophocles, john berendt, ernest hemingway, virginia woolf, emily dickinson, sylvia plath, edgar allen poe, margaret atwood, clive barker, thomas harris

Heroes:

myself, my mother, my fiancé seth, tori amos, nikola tesla, david blaine, david bowie, sylvia plath, ee cummings, michael whelan, morgan freeman, julius caesar, cleopatra, virginia woolf, oscar wilde, salvador dali, michelangelo, princess diana, eisenheim the illusionist, rod serling, anthony bourdain, halle berry, diablo cody

My Blog

Around The House With Cat

I think it's quite possible that I'm addicted to starting new projects. Sometimes I wish there were like... six of me or something. So many things would be simpler. Some of you may or may not have not...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Fri, 30 May 2008 05:24:00 PST

Whats In Your Fridge?

I kind of stole this idea from one of my favorite food bloggers, Adam Roberts over at The Amateur Gourmet, but I couldn't resist. It was a darn good idea. He did a post not too terribly long ago where...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Wed, 28 May 2008 10:55:00 PST

Dear Maintenance Man

Dear Maintenance Guy,I realize I am still forced to rent because I have yet to save up enough money to put a down payment on my own home, but hey... poor folk are people, too. When I put a sign on my ...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Thu, 22 May 2008 01:46:00 PST

My Odd Interests and What They Mean

Yesterday I responded to a meme that was going around on Live Journal. What I was supposed to do was let a friend choose seven of the interests listed on my profile. Then I was to make a separate post...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Thu, 22 May 2008 09:03:00 PST

Lo-LEE-ta Is Pleased

As the photographic evidence showcased above might well already suggest, our kitchen cupboard once again contains plenty of baked beans. My obligations to the cosmic forces behind synesthesia are plac...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Wed, 14 May 2008 01:59:00 PST

What’s New, Pussycat?

Last week, Seth dropped his cell phone into a half-full glass of a cocktail I make him sometimes called a Pepsi Perfect. It sat there... oh... I don't know... most of the night before we realized the ...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Wed, 07 May 2008 04:06:00 PST

Lolita of the Baked Beans

I think I opened up a mental can of worms with that synesthesia post the other day. Ever since, I've been thinking about it a lot, and consciously examining some of my personal perceptions. Part of th...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Mon, 05 May 2008 01:17:00 PST

Potty Mouths of the World... Unite!

1. On a scale of 1 - 10, how foul would you say your mouth is?Hrm... hard to say. I'm not one of those people who swears every other word or in situations when it's totally inappropriate, but I defini...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Mon, 05 May 2008 09:47:00 PST

The Golden Fork of Loyalty

I haven't blogged about this in a long while, but those of you who have been following me for a very long time, by way of one or more of my various blogs, might recall me having talked about a phenome...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Fri, 02 May 2008 03:24:00 PST

Edwina

This is a piece that revisits the idea of a Purgatory I dreamed of... oh ... years ago now. It may be familiar to some of you. In this dream, the saddest law in Purgatory was the one that stated the c...
Posted by Shannon Hilson on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:13:00 PST