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"A national treasure"
- The Children's Museum
of Southeastern Connecticut
"A man of
unbounded creativity"
-
North Shore Life Magazine
"Incredible...Truly gifted"
- Deborah Greel, MAA
"Dazzling...Beautiful"
-
The Marblehead Reporter
"Alluring and dreamy..."
- The New York Times
"Captivating..."
-
Smithsonian
"Shasha creates
A world full of detail"
- The New York Times
"The rarest of artists..."
- The Salem
Evening News
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Winner of
The Guild of
Boston Artists
Silver
Medal
Winner of the
Shining Star
Award
Winner of the
Antonio Cirino
Award
Winner of a
Marion Vannett
Ridgway
Award
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Allied Artists of
America
OPA, Oil Painters of
America
SCBWI, The Society of Children's Book
Writers and Illustrators
North
Shore
Art Association
Rockport
Art Association
Marblehead
Art
Association
Note to
Readers
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Mark Shasha
is an award-winning American artist. He is also an award-winning author and
illustrator, an award-winning educator, an actor and a songwriter. His
paintings, drawings and prints are found in public and private
collections around the world and have appeared in galleries and museums
for more than two decades. His children's books appear regularly on bestseller lists and have been read by millions worldwide.
1961-1991
Early Years
Mark grew up by the sea in Connecticut. A love of painting, drawing and telling stories led him to
the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence where art instructors
included Chris Van Allsburg (author and illustrator of Jumanji
and The Polar Express) the painter Trent Burleson and Bauhaus
colorist Sy Sillman.
After graduation from RISD in 1983, Shasha moved to Boston where he found work as an
illustrator at newspapers and magazines including
The Boston Globe, The Phoenix, Boston Magazine and several
national publications.
Shasha's first book, Night of the Moonjellies
(Simon&Schuster), published in 1992, was inspired by childhood
memories of working at his grandmother's hot dog stand in the early
1970s. It was greeted as "a classic" by Smithsonian Magazine,
received a Marion Vannett Ridgway Award
and was praised by Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, Sesame Street
and many others. Shasha also went on to write and illustrate other works
including The Hall of Beasts (Simon&Schuster), a quiet story about the magic of art.
A highly unusual picture book, Beasts has found a different
audience.
1992 - 1999
The
Visiting Author
As the popularity of his books grew Shasha was invited to
schools across the country to introduce children to the
world of writing and illustrating. He expanded
these visits into original and wide-ranging performances full of music, art history,
math, and ideas about the creative process.
Mark's visits brought rave reviews and yet more invitations. He traveled
from Concord, New Hampshire to Kansas City, Missouri in his trademark
yellow suit. By the end of the 1990Тs more than
140,000 children in 220 schools and libraries had heard Shasha's unique
presentations.
In 1999 The Children's Museum of
Southeastern Connecticut awarded Shasha the
Shining Star Award for his
"Outstanding contribution to the education of young people." Previous
recipients include the explorer Robert Ballard who found the Titanic.
1999
-
2009
A Full-Time Artist
Shasha left the book world in 1999 to return full-time to oil painting
and to his studies of realism and impressionism and is among the most collected of New England's
emerging artists.
His numerous art awards include the Guild of Boston Artists
Silver Medal and Rockport's
Antonio Cirino Award.
Mark Shasha's work has been seen in more than 50 notable exhibitions in museums
and galleries nationwide including the venerable Guild of Boston Artists
on Newbury Street,
the North Shore Art Association in Gloucester,
Storyopolis
in Hollywood and the historic Society of Illustrators in New York
City. His work has shared
space with artists as diverse as Christo, Harry Vincent, Jeff Koons and Emile Gruppe. Shasha's list of solo exhibitions includes a
2003 retrospective which featured book illustrations, sketchbooks and drawings from his early years.
Mark Today
Mark Shasha is a full-time
artist. He is
listed in The
American Artists Bluebook
and is represented on the island of Martha's Vineyard by The Willoughby
Gallery in Edgartown.
Meanwhile, his books are read
worldwide and appear regularly on several bestseller lists. "Night of the Moonjellies,"
a Smithsonian Notable Book,
is considered by many to be a classic of children's literature and is heralded by Five in a Row
as "one of the best books ever
published for children."
When he is not painting Shasha is likely to be acting or singing on a
stage.
With his guitar often within reach, he occasionally performs in
local venues. He has had key roles in several notable Boston area
productions including The
Sound of Music, Oliver!, Roger's and Hammerstein's
Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof
and Peter Pan.
Mark Shasha starred as Cogsworth
in an award-winning stage production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast
and he recently won praise* for his
"great"**
performance as Reuben
in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Shasha has
also appeared on television, film and video and has been a subject of
National Public Radio programs
over the years.
Shasha lives with his wife and children on the North Shore of Boston.
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