Do You Want to Die Not Knowing? One Artist's Leap Into Art as Service and Healing

Art Heals All Wounds

04/30/26

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41m

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Do You Want to Die Not Knowing? One Artist's Leap Into Art as Service and Healing

Have you ever had someone ask you a question that completely changed the direction of your life? In this episode, I talk with commission artist Shawn B. Standley, whose wife asked him exactly that kind of question — and it launched him into a new chapter as a full-time artist dedicated to healing and community service.

Shawn's journey is anything but a straight line — from aerospace engineering student to carpenter, Navy veteran, restaurant manager, and Alaskan wilderness dweller — before finally committing to his true calling: creating deeply personal commission art that captures people's stories, memories, and life transitions.

Now based in Conway, Arkansas, Shawn is partnering with wellness organizations, end-of-life doulas, and medical institutions to bring the healing power of art to people navigating major life changes. He also oversees the urban farming and community garden program at the Faulkner County Library — proof that art and service can take many forms.

In this episode we cover:

(1:42) How Shawn's father discouraged him from pursuing art as a career — and how he found his way back
(11:51) Dropping out of aerospace engineering school and the winding road that followed
(13:17) Moving to Whidbey Island and finding his first real artistic community and mentor
(16:03) Going to art school at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle — and why he left
(18:11) How Alaska got under his skin and changed everything
(22:07) The question his wife Shell asked that became the turning point of his artistic life
(23:54) Discovering the profound emotional power of commission art and creating work that tells someone's personal story
(24:40) Why Conway, Arkansas — and what surprised him about building an art practice there
(28:45) Finding his why through the Artist Inc. fellowship and the Artists in Business mentorship program
(32:15) Partnering with end-of-life doulas, the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences wellness program, and the Arkansas Wellness Network
(37:55) His vision for combining art and healing as a full-time practice

Connect with Shawn: Website: shawnbstudios.com Social media: @shawnbstudios

Connect with me: arthealsallwoundspodcast.com | Substack

Music by Ketsa and Lobo Loco

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Previous Episode

Climate Justice, Indigenous Rights, and Geoengineering in Mona Shomali's Debut Novel

April 23

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43m

Water Mamas: Climate Fiction That Challenges Everything | Mona Shomali on Geoengineering, Indigenous Rights, and the Amazon

In this episode, I sit down with author and visual artist Mona Shomali to discuss her debut novel Water Mamas — a gripping work of climate fiction that explores the collision of indigenous human rights, environmental justice, and geoengineering in a near-future Amazon on the brink of collapse.

Mona's background is as rich as her storytelling. Before writing Water Mamas, she spent years as a college professor teaching Indigenous Human Rights and International Environmental Governance, worked as a case researcher on the landmark indigenous rights case Kichwa Indigenous People of Sarayaku vs. Ecuador, and served as an environmental policy analyst lobbying the UN on behalf of small island states facing extinction due to sea level rise. This is a conversation that goes deep.

Water Mamas doesn't give you easy answers — and that's exactly what makes it so powerful. If you care about climate change, indigenous sovereignty, and the ethics of technological intervention in our ecosystems, this episode is for you.

Timestamped Highlights:

(00:00) Introduction to Water Mamas and its themes of climate crisis and indigenous rights
(03:12) Mona's academic background — teaching Indigenous Human Rights and International Environmental Governance
(03:52) Her work on the landmark case Kichwa Indigenous People of Sarayaku vs. Ecuador and indigenous land rights
(08:06) The central conflict: cloud seeding, geoengineering, and indigenous consent in the Amazon
(10:16) Why geoengineering is more complicated than it seems — and who it's already helping
(13:18) Meet Afa, the protagonist: a UN representative torn between mission and conscience
(14:44) How Mona's work with small island states facing sea level rise shaped Afa's backstory
(18:32) The water mamas: indigenous spirituality, mythology, and a chilling dream sequence
(21:38) The real Macuxi mythology behind the water mamas — and why it matters
(24:33) Vishnu, the love interest: a character you'll keep changing your mind about
(28:42) Could there be a sequel to Water Mamas? Mona shares what she's thinking
(39:07) Where to find Water Mamas, Mona's Substack, and her environmental art collection Invisible Stains

Resources & Links:

📖 Water Mamas by Mona Shomali — available at independent bookstores and Amazon
🎨 Mona's artwork and environmental collection Invisible Stain: monashomali.com
✍️ Mona's Substack on international environmental issues and mythology: search Mona Shomali on Substack
🎙️ Learn more about the show: arthealsallwoundspodcast.com

Music in this episode by Ketsa and Lobo Loco.

Support the show

Next Episode

Suga' from Bundle of Sticks: Black Queer Identity, Gender Freedom, and Healing Through Art

May 7

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63m

Suga' with Bundle of Sticks: Black Queer Identity, Gender Freedom, and Healing Through Art

I'm so glad to welcome back Dazié Grego-Sykes and Derrick Miller-Handley of Bundle of Sticks Art Collective for a conversation about their upcoming performance ritual, Suga'. This art collective has spent over 25 years exploring the intersection of Blackness and queerness through performance art, visual art, and community building — and their newest work may be their most personal yet.

Suga' is an immersive performance ritual in which Derrick steps into the performer role for the first time in over 20 years, using art as a vehicle for gender identity exploration, radical self-acceptance, and spiritual healing. We talk about what it means to exist outside of society's containers, the power of Black ancestry as a spiritual resource, and why embracing your authentic self is an act of liberation.

If you're in the Bay Area, Suga' runs May 29–31 at Eastside Arts Alliance in Oakland. Find tickets by searching Suga' on Eventbrite.

Topics Covered: