Meet Shannon Grooms

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shannon Grooms and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shannon, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I wouldn’t say I pursued an artistic or creative career. I would say art and creativity pursued me in a way. It just came naturally. Ever since I was young I was always doing something creative. My favorite toy was my Lego set. I would design & build different houses and show my parents almost everyday. As I grew up, I continued to explore my creativity through music, videography, and drawing. Just to remind you this is me in elementary & middle school doing these things. I was curious & persistent in knowing how things were made such as, how did this artist create this effect on a song, how did they shoot this scene in this movie or music video and I simply challenged myself to create these things that I have seen. I mimicked what I was inspired by. I fell in love with creating something from nothing. Also, meeting talented like minded peers along the way pushed me even more to practice and become better to the point all I did was Art. God presented me with all these tools and opportunities for art through people & divine intervention. I just grabbed on to it and never let go. It was something from my childhood I truly enjoyed. I just never stopped doing it and I never will.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I pride myself on being an All Around Multifaceted Artist. This is what makes me stand out and keeps me going. I live and breathe art. Drawing, Painting, Music, Architecture, Photography, Videography, and Graphic Design are forms of art I practice on the daily. I am joyful & blessed to say I built a business based off the things I love. I feel like I gained some type of notoriety when I went to college, Tuskegee University where I majored in Architecture. Through Architecture I learned different programs from the Adobe suite like Photoshop & Illustrator & from there I expanded my knowledge of the Adobe suite and taught myself InDesign, Premiere, Lightroom, & After effects. Sophomore year of college I started doing Flyers for State Clubs & miscellaneous events around campus and the growth of my graphic design hustle came naturally through word of mouth around campus. I also was chosen to be a part of SGA as the Director of Marketing & Communications. That gave me a huge platform to showcase my graphic design and artistic talents. It blew up from that point and I started my art business Shannoniganz Creations. While all the art & creativity came natural for me the business of it threw me some challenges. I had to learn my value when it came to pricing my work. I started off making $30 – $50 Logos and Flyers in college. That is close to nothing when I look back on it, but I was a broke college student. I quickly realized no one is going to value your art at that price point. You have to be willing to take a lot of risk when it comes to proposals for work. Don’t devalue yourself. Don’t be scared of a client saying no. It’s okay. You will only attract what you put out. So I had to switch up my approach on my value and how I ran my business as I grew. Another thing I learned from being an Artist is that you have to be a leader even if you are introverted, which most Artist are. We like to be to ourselves. However there are different types of leaders and you can lead without saying much. Lead through your actions but also be assertive in your thoughts and speech. Speak your mind. That is any Artist’s gift. We have a different way of thinking about things so we should display that when the chance presents itself. Another thing I experienced while growing in my Art career is that not everyone is going to like your work. I had to learn to be okay with that. I had to learn to make art for myself and if other people like it that’s just a plus. Don’t value your Art off of what other people think, because art is very subjective. On the other hand you have to learn to be open and receive criticism and use it to your advantage when applicable & valid. I had to learn that balance and you can only recognize the difference through experience. Another challenge I faced was being in the Architecture field where I had to work under people. As an artist we are so use to doing things solo that when it come to collaboration it’s drains us and suppresses our creativity. I had to learn how to take someone else’s work and add my own touch to it. I had to become more outspoken about ideas and stand on them in confidence. It doesn’t matter if the idea is good or bad. At least it was explored and I had the chance to put in some input. Never feel like you are not in the right position to make creative decisions no matter where you are or who you work for. Be confident and learn not to give a fuck. Through all these challenges I became better, stronger, wiser, & more creative. I feel like I had to go thorough all these things to make me and my business what it is today. Shannoniganz Creations is a one stop shop for all things creative. My experience, diverse skill set, and my ability to be open is what differs me from my peers. I believe through bold color and creative out of the box thinking I can make the world look & feel aesthetically greater one design at a time.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my parents first because they instilled in me that I can do anything I put my mind to and they were always supportive in everything I did.

I want to thank my big brother & little Cousin for always being my #1 fan literally.

I want to thank my Aunt Monica & Grandma for getting my first laptop, because without that I couldn’t do half the things I do now as far as art.

I want to thank some of my childhood friends: Nia Beasley, Jareyl Slate, & Jordan Welch. They pushed me to become better directly and indirectly through their honesty & natural talents.

I want to thank my high school art teacher Ms. Kettle for recognizing my talents and putting me in AP Art and being tough on me & never holding her tongue.

I want to thank my uncle for introducing me to Fruity Loops (Beat Maker) & also Slate’s Uncle for making me freestyle all the time.

I want to thank my college friends from Tuskegee University for being successful black men & women & hyping me up to recognize my own greatness. “Iron sharpens Iron”.

I would also like to Thank my woman Alexis for standing beside me, loving me, reassuring me, & lifting me up. She has been so supportive of my dreams.

Lastly, I would like to thank Kanye West, he is my favorite artist and he has never shown fear in what he does. He is his own person and it shows through his art. He has always inspired & reassured me to practice various mediums of Art. He is one of the reasons I strive to master all of these art forms.

Website: Lolaartshow.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myshannoniganz?igsh=ZXQ2anVqMXFtNTdt&utm_source=qr 

Image Credits
Shannon Grooms