About the Cover Artist: Karma by Shana Stern

“Bent over canvas, covered in paint, I feel no pain or worries. I get to tell stories, but instead of using a pen, I use paint. I get to dance, but instead of my feet, I use my fingers.”

In 2012, Los Angeles based artist Shana Stern developed her unique artistic style when limitations related to her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis prevented her from working as a writer and expressing herself through dance as she had done her entire life. Shana transformed her love of music, dance and storytelling into a lyrical painting style marked by kinetic energy, movement, and unusual textures.

Shana started dancing at the age of 3 and danced 6 days per week until she required multiple foot surgeries due to MS. Being stuck at home, in pain, and unable to do the 2 things she loved most, Shana tried painting. Unable to feel anything in her right hand due to her MS, she kept dropping the paintbrush and ruining the pieces she was working on. Finally, thanks to some creative ingenuity, Shana developed her own style of painting by using her fingers and knuckles to help the paint dance across the canvas instead of brushes or other tools.

Shana’s passion for music also has played a vital role in her art. Each painting is inspired by and created to a single song which she listens to on repeat until the piece is complete. Shana was born with chromesthesia, a condition in which music triggers the experience of moving colors in her mind. This condition was one of the reasons dancing and choreography came so naturally for her. Now, instead of turning the dancing colors she experiences into choreography, Shana interprets the lighting, costumes, style of dance, and choreography she sees in her brain onto the canvas, creating a visceral fluidity of movement and emotion in each piece.

Shana is a strong believer in the healing, transformative power of art. “I had no idea of the depth, effectiveness, and power that creating art can be to someone who is suffering or is in pain. Not only can I attest to my own experience with it—how the only time I forget about my own health challenges and problems is when I’m moving the paint across the canvas—but I have also seen how it has helped many others who deal with physical and mental challenges in life. It’s for these reasons that I hope I get to spend the rest of my life dancing through paint!”

Additional details about Shana’s artwork may be found on her website: https://www.shanasternstudio.com/home