Shawn Causey decided to take a different path. After graduating from Butler University where she majored in music, Causey still felt unfulfilled. After a few years of building her name as a children's piano teacher, Causey decided to take a chance and return to school. At 27, she began taking classes at the Herron School of Art and Design. In 2002, she graduated with a degree in design.
Yet, something still wasn't right. She began painting for the first time in her life.
"I always had the impulse to make something," Causey said. "I don't know, maybe I felt free to do it now that I was out of school. I started getting a lot of encouragement from friends."
Since then, Causey worked to build her skills as a painter while still teaching. She has shown her work in local coffee shops in Indianapolis. Today, Causey, 40, will debut her first official exhibit at Muncie's Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company, which holds monthly artist exhibits.
"We had admired her paintings on her Web site," Brian Gordy, owner of the framing company, wrote on his official blog. "Her abstract work is reminiscent of music. ... They exhibit rhythm, movement, texture, harmony."
Causey's exhibit is called "She Said Shred." Most of her work is acrylic, with a few oil paintings mixed in. Causey works out of her home in Broad Ripple in a "teeny-tiny, closet-sized" studio. She said she sometimes works on two or three paintings at a time and constructs abstract paintings inspired by her teaching styles.
Causey teaches more than 50 students in the Broad Ripple area, and her students are encouraged to improvise on the piano, which Causey loves because nothing ever sounds the same — similar to how she approaches her artwork.
"Everyone has their certain impulse and influence over what they do," she said. "With painting, I'm at that same basic level where I'm trying to understand the basics of form and texture. In a lot of ways, it's also improv."
Causey said there is no specific focus for her exhibit in Muncie because her portfolio isn't very big yet.
"The main theme is these are the paintings I have right now," she said. "I don't have a lot — only like 9 or 10 paintings. I don't really have an overarching theme. When I paint I basically try to just solve aesthetic problems I have."
Causey has high hopes for her future as a painter. In April, she will begin showcasing her work on Massachusetts Avenue, a major area for local artists in Indianapolis. She is currently turning her basement into a gallery lounge space for her paintings. After years of dabbling in different areas of creativity, Causey is finally starting to find herself as an artist.
"My main goal is to make great work," she said.
"She Said Shred" will have its opening reception at 5 p.m. at Gordy's. Causey will speak at 6 p.m. about the convergence of music and art in her work. Refreshments will be served. Her exhibit will run until March 31.
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