About me

Hiya I'm Shan Dawson aka shandoraleah. 

I started out my working life as a draughtswoman. I wasn't really that good at much at school but I excelled at technical drawing. My Mum found me a YTS job at a ride on tractor mower company. After 3 1/2 years I changed jobs and went to work for a company producing furnace linings. I enjoyed being a draughts woman but I always felt that I wanted to be more creative. After another 3 1/2 years I gave up work due to mental health problems, I had my first of many stays in psychiatric hospital.

Whilst working though I attained my HNC in Mechanical Engineering, which has stood me in good stead for many areas of my creative endeavours.

In 2003, I think, I started college studying AS Level Art and Design and History of Art, then Foundation Art and Design, in which I got a Distinction. Next came university and it all started to fall apart. I got a place at Hertfordshire Uni to do Model Design but I chickened out. In the panic I started Museum and Exhibition Design at Lincoln Uni but that only lasted a few months. I finally managed to do a year and a half of Contemporary Decorative Crafts, also at Lincoln Uni, before my mental health suffered yet again.

Altogether I've spent 18 months in psychiatric hospital, my last stay was in 2000 and I've managed to keep clear since. Althought I've had the odd week here and there in a crisis house. In 1997 I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Then when I started college they picked up that I had mild dyslexia. A diagnosis of ADHD (innatentive type) came in 2015. After years of so many different medications I'm nearly stable. I don't wake in the night screaming very often, I don't self harm very often and I'm more productive. Still don't do much house work though!

Einstein by me in 2015

I've always tended towards working in detail and on a small scale, my paintings are quite detailed and hardly ever bigger than A4. I've got 2 display cabinets full of little things that I've made over the years, mostly from felt or polymer clay (Fimo). My first polymer clay thing that I made is a Dennis the Menace. Now I use whatever material is most suitalbe for the project, be it polymer clay, fabric, felt, beads, brass, wood or resin. I even have a small lathe for turning wood. I find that I can turn my hand to most things and if not my husband, who is very handy with DIY and mechanics, helps out with advice. The internet is a vast resourse too, you can find out how to do almost anything!

The start of my journey explains all about how I started off my journey of miniature madness at the beginning of this year.

Thank you for reading x