Artwork from the Soul 
By Sarah Birmingham

Having the extra time during the lockdown in 2020, Shauna Madsen used her time to pursue her passions. She loves painting flowers and landscapes. But saw a niche that she could fill regarding family pets.

Shauna is a pet lover with a history of owning 22 of them. Since a young age, Shauna had been surrounded by animals at the acreage she grew up on. She had Herbe-Miller the Crow, Already the Black Mix Cat, Wilber the Pig, Barney the Horse, Duke the Dog, and so on. She currently has two miniature dachshunds adopted from a home in Calgary.

From this passion, she has for animals, stemmed pet portraits, and personalized pet urns. Shauna is self-taught through the famous and well-known YouTube University, as well as studies with a number of local artists and instructors. Pure joy is how Shauna describes what having a connection to animals is like. Shauna is passionate about our little fur balls and recognizes the pain of losing them. She felt there needed to be more authenticity in animal urns and wanted to change that.

Pet Urns by Shauna
Pet urns created by Shauna are made from cast stone, clay, plaster, and reclaimed wood. There is symbolism in the wood, reflecting that, like our pets, everything gets a new life. These urns Shauna creates are fully sealed so your pet can spend time in the garden or outside in their favourite spots. These sculptures take approximately three to four days to create. This is a venture that is done from the soul.

Pet Portraits by Shauna
Shauna is humbled when one gives her the project of creating a pet portrait or an urn for someone’s beloved pet. As for pet portraits they are not subject to past pets. Portraits have and will be created for any individual or group of fur babies you have.

Shauna has been involved with charity work as well. She created a portrait of a first responder with a dog and donated the painting for awards for The Everyday Heroes Gala. This Gala honours and celebrates first responders. Benoit Wellness Consulting organizes it to support its Frontline Resiliency Project.

Her mission in life is to inspire others to live their best life: “I do that by walking my talk. I like to present and reflect new perspectives on this spiritual journey that we are on,” Shauna said.

Shauna also wrote a book, “The Wealthy Peasant,” She speaks on topics that amplify this quote from Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do that.” This book is filled with Shauna’s learnings about how the answer is not out there but within you.

This book directly ties into her passion for artwork and creating something bigger than herself. She is a very passionate, thoughtful, and kind individual looking to show that through her truest form of self.

Shauna is the perfect person to understand your pet’s energy and amplify that through art. If you are interested in Shauna’s work or just getting in touch with her, you can find her at: https://madsenavenue.com/

Thank you for reading about Shauna and her artwork endeavours.