It took me many years to learn that for me, being a creator, someone who makes things with their hands, is not a hobby, and its not an occupation. Its my way of living. As long as I can remember, I have had a need to make things. It's my way of escaping and connecting at the same time.
As a basket maker and jewelry designer, I've had works at the American Craft Council Show, Macrostie Art Center, Nemeth Art Center, Watermark Art Center and area arts festivals. I am an arts instructor and avid maker, demonstrating basket making during the First City of Arts Studio Cruise, and the Pine to Prairie Fiber Arts Festival among others. I am most interested in the preservation and continuation of traditional arts.
Weaving since 1999, I began to experiment with materials from paper and plastic industrial strapping to antler and driftwood. My primary materials of choice at this time are round reed (rattan) or willow. In 2017, I was awarded one of two Region 2 Arts Individual Artist Fellowships. That award took me to Ireland to work with world renown Basket Maker Joe Hogan, Ciaran Hogan, and Heike Kahle to study willow weaving.
At the beginning of the lockdowns and quarantine, I started a daily "This or That Project." Using my social media platforms, I engage my followers in voting for one of two creative elements each day. To keep people interested, options vary from things like antlers and driftwood to crab apples or vintage quilts. 
​The 'This or That Project" lead me to my current project "All in a Day's Work" which is currently in process on this page and on my Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ShannonLucasWestrum.Artist