Rebecca Shapiro sets the stage for TEDxSalem

Rebec­ca Shapiro’s art runs the gamut from post­card-sized cre­ations to 40-foot wide instal­la­tions using every­thing from glue, 24K gold foil and encaus­tic, pig­ments mixed with hot beeswax.

She is a Port­land author and artist adept in paint­ing, draw­ing, pho­tog­ra­phy and more. She is also rec­og­nized as the cre­ator of the inter­na­tion­al TEDx Artist in Res­i­dence pro­gram.

We are thrilled that she’s com­ing to TEDxSalem as our Artist in Res­i­dent Jan. 5. She and mem­bers of the Black Uni­corn Col­lec­tive cre­at­ed the stage dis­play that will set the tone and con­vey this year’s theme. 

It’s clear that her theme about trans­for­ma­tion is an under­cur­rent in all of her work, whether as a free­lancer her­self, encour­ag­ing and pro­mot­ing the work of oth­er peo­ple, or striv­ing to express what she and oth­ers feel through the many medi­ums at her fin­ger­tips.

She stud­ied graph­ic design, med­ical illus­tra­tion, pho­tog­ra­phy and print­mak­ing and received a BA in stu­dio art from Smith Col­lege. Her pro­fes­sion­al expe­ri­ence includes col­lec­tions, domes­tic and inter­na­tion­al com­mis­sions, exhibits and involve­ment with TEDx pro­grams local­ly and in Cana­da.

She has been a pub­lic speak­er for TEDx events around the US and is a cham­pi­on of inde­pen­dent work­ers, pro­mot­ing advo­ca­cy and net­work­ing for free­lance work­ers. As an author, Rebec­ca focus­es on oppor­tu­ni­ties for inde­pen­dent work­ers and max­i­miz­ing rela­tion­ships with oth­ers for mutu­al ben­e­fit.

Much of her fine art is abstract and metaphor­i­cal, striv­ing for rela­tion­ships and con­nec­tion. Her pieces have been dis­played in Whistler, CA, Northamp­ton MA, and New Zealand as well as at the Port­land Inter­na­tion­al Air­port. 

She will share more of her inspir­ing expe­ri­ences with her own work as the back­drop on Jan. 5.

Rebec­ca Shapiro

Home­town: Port­land, OR, born at OHSU

Fam­i­ly: daugh­ter Anie, son Tobi­ahs, dog­go Bear, hedge­hog Kiko, and mouse Gre­go­ry Rod­er­ick Rem­ing­ton

Hob­bies: hunt­ing for mush­rooms, pho­tog­ra­phy, invent­ing and mak­ing stuff, trav­el, talk­ing to strangers

Music: jazz, Appalachi­an & folk music

Favorite author: JRR Tolkien & Diana Gabal­don

Favorite food: dark choco­late & whisky

TEDxSalem VI

TEDxSalem VI is an all-day event fea­tur­ing talks, per­for­mances, refresh­ments, lunch and a swag bag. It runs 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sat­ur­day, Jan. 5 at the Salem Con­ven­tion Cen­ter. Tick­ets are on sale now for $55, $45 for stu­dents. Fol­low us on Face­book for the most up-to-date news from our com­mu­ni­ty, and check our web­site reg­u­lar­ly for new infor­ma­tion. You can also reach us at info@tedxsalem.com.