Peng Shepherd was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where she rode horses and trained in classical ballet, and has lived in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York. Her first novel, The Book of M, won the 2019 Neukom Institute for Literary Arts Award for Debut Speculative Fiction, and was […]
“Cher, wake up,” Frank whispered, shaking her gently. “It’s late.” She opened her eyes and the bedroom filled with bright morning sunlight. At first she saw only the empty room, her clothes on the floor, the sheet she’d thrown over Frank the night before bunched at the bottom of the bed. Her back ached from […]
In the not-so-distant future, I plan on traveling and making plenty of art while I still have the free time to do so. I want to experiment more with new mediums, particularly with collage and pottery during my summer vacation; hopefully pick up some new skills that I can apply to the classroom in some way.
I will be student-teaching and graduating around this time next year if everything goes according to plan! Beyond that, I plan on teaching in Kenosha for a couple of years, not as an art teacher, but as a teacher who integrates art in the classroom to increase engagement and learning.
My most sincere recommendation for other artists is to try out a new medium, especially if you’re experiencing any form of art block. Experimenting with different styles and tools helped me to create more art this semester than the rest of my college experience combined. Getting into painting pottery was really freeing; since it wasn’t my usual medium for creating art, I didn’t feel the pressure to be amazing at it. Making art can be frustrating when things don’t turn out how you intended, so it’s important to rediscover how fun art can be without expectations. It’s okay to just make things because you want to and not care about the little mistakes and mishaps sometimes.
Here is the first look at Emily’s children’s book, ABC All About Me.
How long you’ve been creating your art? I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember. I was convinced for all of my elementary school career that I was going to become an artist; I would constantly get in trouble for drawing in class. My parents signed me up for additional after-school and […]