About Shahndel Oaksong
I'm an Unlimited Artist—a term I embrace because my creative spirit refuses to be confined to a single medium or subject. Since I picked up a pencil at age ten, I've spent decades exploring artistic expression across countless styles and forms: painting, drawing, sculpture, beading, spinning, weaving, fiber dying, and creating Native American-inspired drums and turtle shell rattles. Each piece I craft reflects a different facet of how I experience and honor the world.
My Journey
My journey has been shaped by Midwest values of honesty, hard work, and resilience—gifts from my upbringing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Life has taken me on unexpected turns: from the windswept plains of home to the rugged Talkeetna Mountains of Alaska, where I worked alongside a remote land surveyor and learned firsthand what determined, practical grit looks like. I've navigated two divorces and raised two adult children, and through it all, I've held onto an irrepressible sense of humor and a deep well of wisdom earned through living fully.
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In October 2025, I officially became cancer-free from breast cancer—a milestone that has only deepened my appreciation for life's preciousness and strengthened my conviction that there is profound beauty and power in ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances. That resilience flows into everything I create. My art isn't just expression; it's a celebration of survival, transformation, and the boundless creativity that emerges when we refuse to be limited.
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Welcome to my studio. I hope my work speaks to your spirit.