Shea Maze is an emerging multidisciplinary artist, born, raised, and based in South Minneapolis. From the time he was born, Shea was surrounded by creative minds. His Mother’s knack for precision, harmonious color palettes, and abstractive flow guided by subconscious intention blended seamlessly with his Grandmother’s high level of craftsmanship, resourcefulness, and adoration of the natural world. These roots laid the foundation for the Artist he is today. 

In reality however, his path wasn’t always so clear. Growing up in an environment where creatives were plentiful, but their resources few, Shea didn’t believe that art could ever be a viable career path. Luckily as an adult, a brief but formative period in the restaurant industry would help reignite his creativity. In the kitchen, Shea found a passion for balancing the qualities of different ingredients in order to create a unique and memorable experience for the consumer. While he still throws down in the kitchen regularly, his ideology regarding cuisine has been adapted to feed into his visual artistic process. Allegorically, Shea believes, “some of the best meals are made when you think there’s nothin’ good to eat.” 

In his work, Shea embraces the bizarreness of the dream state and employs metaphorical representation in order to work through emotion and better understand the human psyche. This intersects with his willingness to get his hands dirty; often building, sculpting, or refining any elements necessary to executing his vision. He is taught by his community and is in constant collaboration with his environment by using what’s available, whether sourcing from the natural world or a trash heap. Shea believes that we can simultaneously stand against throw away culture and make art more accessible to our communities by not viewing “up-cycling” as niche, but actually necessary whenever applicable.