Shawn Weaver:  

After graduation I attended San Jose Bible College in California and got a BA in Christian Education. I taught for several years in Christian schools. I met my husband on a blind date and we got married 6 months after we met. We will celebrate our 30th anniversary in April. After a year and a half of marriage we found out we could not have children. Then after attending Oregon State University for a year and a half I graduated with highest honors with a BA in Elementary Education and a Math Endorsement. We moved to Eastern Washington where I taught for 2 years before we moved to McMinnville, Oregon. One day we had a knock on the door and a woman told us that some friends of ours had recommended us to host exchange students. In total we hosted 13 girls and 3 of them are true daughters to us. We have attended their weddings and visited them overseas. We have been to Belgium 6 times and to Slovakia 7 times. We have a large, extended family in both countries. I grew up overseas until my dad retired when I was 12 but my husband had never been out of the U.S. We have traveled to many places in the past 29 years. A new chapter in my life began in 2005 when I discovered I had artistic talent. I began painting and in 5 years completed 80 paintings. I am an experimentalist which means I try anything that pops into my head. My paintings have been accepted to many juried shows and I have won some awards for my work. Then in 2008 I began photography and again have had my photos accepted in many juried shows and have won some awards for them. I love to take close up photos of flowers, nature, and wildlife. I don't do portraits. In 2010 I took a workshop in Boise, Idaho that touched my life deeply. It was a workshop o...Expand for more