Q. How do you pronouce Shielaugh V. Divelbiss? What does the “V” stand for?

SVD: The name Shielaugh Divelbiss, may look hard to pronounce but it’s rather simple.  Shielaugh is pronounced SHEE-lah and Divelbiss is pronouced DIVE- el-bis.  And, the middle initial ”V” stands for Victoria.

Q. Where did you grow up? Where did you go to school?

SVD:I grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island. And spent the first 17 years of my life in Rhode Island I moved to Columbus, Ohio for college and then to the San Francisco Bay Area, California for grad school and haven’t left this area yet.

During my grade school years I went to Oaklawn Elementary and Hope Highlands Elementary; Western Hills Junior High School; Cranston High School West in Rhode Island. I received my B.F.A in 2003 from the Columbus College of Art and Design. I received my M.F.A in 2006 from the Academy of Art University.

Q. What inspires you?

SVD: When I get stumped or am not feeling very imaginative or inspired I look towards science to give me a jumpstart. When I was little I would dissect plants and collect insects to draw, so those things still inspire me.  I also get inspired looking at skeletal structures and different skull shapes. I like to look at slides of germs and cells under a microscope, even normal tap water under a microscope is inspiring. Finally cloth patterns from various culture intrigue me and I can spend hours looking up patterns that will inspire me.

Q. What are your favorite books that you read growing up? How about your favorite movie? Food? Color? Musician/ Band?

SVD: Here’s some  of my favorite stuff from childhood/ teen years that made me who I am:

Favorite color:
blue

Favorite food:
As a kid it was macaroni and cheese or french fries

Favorite ice cream flavor:
As a kid it was strawberry

Favorite picture book:
“The Lorax” by Dr. Suess

Favorite chapter book:
I loved the original goosebumps series by R.L. Stine, my favorites were “Monster Blood” and “The Haunted Mask”

Favorite book read to me:
“Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Suess (my mom can still recite the story without a book)

Favorite fiction:
The first book I really was into was “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley

Favorite band:
Madonna

Favorite album:
The first 2 Madonna albums

Favorite movie:
“Gone with the Wind” and “Wizard of Oz” ( I wore out 3 VHS copies of each as a kid)

Favorite television show:
“My so called life”

Q. Do you have any hobbies that aren’t drawing related ?

SVD: I read a lot. I really like to read the young adult novels that have been coming out in the past few years. I’m a big fan of the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games series. I tend to read a lot of classic literature too, like Dickens and Shakespeare.

I love movies. Especially seeing movies that are adapted from books to compare the two and horror movies of any type. I’m very into music also, so enjoy attending shows and finding new bands on spotify.

I collect antique bottles and glasses as well as cultural objects from my travels.

I like go to the beach, hike and do the occasional camping. I tend to take lots of photos of my encounters with everything.