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shannon nicole kringen bio:
born in san diego, ca 1968.
only child of two very creative aRt oriented divorced parents.
spent the first 9 years of life in san diego california and went to alternative individual learning oriented schools.
age 10 moved to whidbey island and attended another alternative aRt oriented school. attended regular public high school but lucked out and had amazing aRt, music, drama, and creative wiriting teachers who encouraged creative learning and personal expression.
graduated in 1986 and moved to seattle to pursue graphic design with a few aRt scholarships awarded to me. (began painting onto shoes in high school and selling them in a local shop on whidbey island)
after finishing a two year graphic design program and one year of general fine aRt studies in college i felt unsure of what my real direction/desire as an aRtist was.
got into figure modeling and explored what i would call "nude performance aRt".
met a fascinating guy from australia and took off hitch-hiking through mexico with him.
after coming back to the states full of curiousity about australia started modeling again, got invited to visit australia, took off to do that and got into body and face painting (in part inspired by australian aborignes) after returning from down under.
started working at kinko's along with my figuring modeling to support myself and met all kinds of interesting musicians and creative media people who came in to make copies and posters for their performing aRt and political projects.
after synchronistic events kept happening i got involved with public access tv after learning i could use my own home equipment and drop off videos to air on television!
began my weekly tv show "Goddess KRING" in 1996. found i liked doing 28 minute monologues and that it flowed out of me like an extension of my paper word diary i had been writing in since age 12 when i read "the diary of anne frank".
went to europe for the first time alone with a eurail pass and spent 3 weeks visiting as many countries as i could. holland, france, england, austria, spain, switzerland, belgium. was hungry for more when returning to the states. had a film camera with me and started taking photos on that trip.
quit my kinkos job and began figure modeling full time in 1997. a fan of my tv show invited to me come to the east coast and he showed me baltimore, nyc and washington dc. this was my first time on the east coast.
got into digital photography around 1999 when i met a photojournalist who taught me about it. ended up going to CES and COMDEX conventions in las vegas as a photojournalist. decided that was not my direction and that i wanted to do my own aRt projects with my digital camera. was fascinated to learn of all the new technology.
registered my domain name shannonkringen dot com, started an online livejournal and webcam in 2000.
was invitied to holland and england in 2001 and 2003 by different people i met because of my website and overall creativity.
had an interview published about me in naturist magazine with some of my aRt self portrait photos which led to be invited to go on more trips to the east coast, philly, nyc, lancaster county (i am fascinated by amish people and admire aspects of how they live "off the grid" close to nature).
went to florida for naturists gatherings 3 times and did some spoken word in the talent shows there.
the east coast trips went well and i was then invited to visit europe. i spent 5 weeks in italy, france, uk, belgium and boston for a naturist gathering.
was invited to stay with an online friend who lived in oslo norway.
during all these trips i got better and better at taking photos. kept up with my weekly tv show through all the traveling i was doing and was able to get time off from modeling with my very flexible schedule. learned to create dvd's after using analog VHS for years.
was asked to be interviewed for "weird washington" book by one of the editors who knew about my show. had some of my self portraits published in that national book along with the interview.
have done a little live on stage performance aRt off and on since 1997. spoken word between bands at various bars around seattle. ballard firehouse, colourbox, uncle rockies, nectar, toast, carlotta's late night wing ding had me as a guest 3 times over the years.
began showing my short video clips off and on at 911 media aRt centers monthy open screening for video in about 2001.
have been showing photography and painting off and on at aRt/not terminal non juried gallery since 2000.
was the feautured aRtist at aRt/not terminal in 2003 and 2008.
the titles were:
"synKRINGnicity" 2003
"amplified chameleon" 2008
am usually in:
world naked bike ride
body pride ride
summer solstice parade
covered in my own style of bodypaint from head to toe being "Goddess KRING".
in 2010 was invited to be a speaker at "rally for scantv" at miller community center.
currently figure modeling full time at several different aRt schools and beginning to be hired as a photographer for events, doing headshots and working on a book of my best images. have also sold greeting cards and calendars of my photography as well as hand painted shoes over the years. (arranged a meeting with musician tori amos in 1996 and was able to give her hand painted shoes i made for her which she wore for one of her concerts at the paramount theatre seattle. met her again in belgium brussels in 2005 and gave her a 2nd pair of shoes in person) have a subscription section on my website called "KringLAND" which also helps me support myself and share with an audience.i had an amazing trip to edinburgh scotland and met new friends there and had great couch surfing synchronistic experiences.
as of 2012 am in college finishing my BA degree and might go for my masters combining psychology and the healing power of aRt making and viewing.
a short documentary was made about me called TYPECAST DRAGON. this screened at toronto film festival, SIFF (seattle international film festival), and bumbershoot.
photos of me and an interview was featured in a fashion magazine called "dethbook". i had three aRt shows around seattle and sold 11 framed photos to fans of my work.
my flickr photos online are mostly creative commons and free to publish and many have taken me up on this offer and published my photos in books and blogs. i am happy to get my photography out into the world and seen and enjoyed. i'd like to also learn how to earn more money from my greatest talent: photography.
i am open to the synchronicity (i say synKRINGnicity) of life. would love to make a full time living with my multi media expression. my focus and biggest love being photography.
to me, life is one big adventure we make up as we go. i'd say choose carefully what you think about because it tends to manifest in physical form!
one of my favorite quotes is by martha graham dancer/choreographer:
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is on a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” ~Martha Graham
