Mocha Girl on a Mission: Shawnna Williams

I’m a Mocha Girl on a Mission because…

I am a Mocha Girl on a mission for: healing, wholeness, empowerment, confidence and self-assurance within myself and other Mocha Girls alike. I am looking to break the stereotype of the low self-esteem, reliant, under achieving, self-blaming black woman. I am on a mission to encourage myself and others (Mocha & Vanilla, men, women and children) to hope and work for their dreams, despite their past failures, despite nay-sayers and despite their own doubts.

As a rare black female portrait & figure artist, I have overcome racial prejudice and ignorance from high school through college in a white male dominated field. I have faced obstacles from molestation to self-doubt to financial struggles in college that threatened my graduation and future. Because of my faith and strength in God I found myself. People have pulled strings to get me through college and I’ve turned the negative story of my molestation and surgeries, into a painting and drawing series that has helped myself and others find healing in our pain. My tools for this mission are my story and the stories of others, my mindset, discipline and artwork.

Obstacles I’ve Overcome…

Growing up as an army child, my brother, mother and I moved around a lot. My mother was a foster child after her mother passed when she was 12, so I have at least 6 different families on her side. My mom didn’t have a relationship with her real father, so when she found out that her closest adopted father molested me when I was 9, she and our family were crushed; and forced to move again after finally being able to settle into one place.

At the age of 13, I formed breast lumps that had the strong possibility of being cancerous. From 13 to 20 I’ve had a total of 3 benign breast lump removal surgeries. I sat through many uncomfortable doctor visits that included needle biopsies, observations, the surgical procedures, recovery and the most difficult part, the physical examinations.

Every time I had a physical exam, I’d link it to the emotional scarring of being fondled along with the feeling of not being able to move and not wanting to be touched by the older male doctors (who were in the same age group as the molester.)

As a portrait and figure painter, my way of overcoming the scars of these emotional and physical memories, was to paint it out in the form of a self portrait. Little did I know, that it would turn into a series that my peers, family, friends of friends, etc. could relate to!

Before this became a series, it began as a personal attempt to come to terms with some emotional and physical scars of my own in the form of a self-portrait. My aim is for the viewer to emotionally and physically relate to and be humbled by the common struggles and triumphs of familiar and unfamiliar people. Everyone has a story behind their emotional and/or physical scars. My works’ purpose is to introduce and reiterate that fact by visually sharing the stories of others.

“Shawnna” Not For Sale, Oil on Canvas
3 x 4 feet
Before this became a series, it began as a personal attempt to come to terms with some emotional and physical scars of my own in the form of a self-portrait.
My aim is for the viewer to emotionally and physically relate to and be humbled by the common struggles and triumphs of familiar and unfamiliar people. Everyone has a story behind their emotional and/or physical scars. My works’ purpose is to introduce and reiterate that fact by visually sharing the stories of others.

My Greatest Accomplishments…

January 2010– Was selected to travel abroad to Rome, Italy for Temple University’s Study Abroad Program, where I sold my first 2 paintings outside of the U.S.

December 2012– Completed my BFA in Painting at Temple University after taking off a semester due to financial hardship.

February 2013– While working as a web editor for Temple University, I got hired at a job affiliated with my major, at one of the top museums in the country, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

September 2013– Named the first “outsider” Featured Artist for the month of October at Manifestionz Art Gallery in Cary, NC. The reason I am there is because of my series “Scars and the Healing Process.” It was birthed from a place of great pain and embarrassment but turned into a positive source of strength for myself, the models involved, and even the viewers.

Check out some of Shawnna’s Artwork & Explanations from her series

“Scars and the Healing Process”

Contact Shawnna directly via email (inquiries@slwportraits.com) to discuss mural, drawing and painting commissions and prices for prints. Stay updated with slwportraits.com and facebook.com/slwportraits