A friend once introduced me as an artist, educator and environmental activist. I had never thought of myself from that perspective before, it felt a bit uncomfortable, but I kind of like it now. 

Around the same time, I was described in an official blurb as having “created a body of work over the years which forms a dialogue with the natural world by using found materials. These often site specific ephemeral pieces comment on the changing forces on our landscape and its inhabitants. More than anything else these works are about the big picture: seeing, thinking, and feeling more about the world around us.

Sheehan believes there are extraordinary things to be found in the ordinary everyday world that sits right under our noses. His recent work revolves around a collaborative cross-disciplinary approach to making art with diverse groups of individuals. He considers himself as one contributor to the process rather than a creator of the work.”

I had always thought of myself as someone lucky enough to live in a great part of the world with an amazing wife and kids. As someone who makes art, some of which sometimes turns out well. I'm also lucky enough to get to talk about and teach art to students who inspire me immensely. Much of my unoccupied time is spent worrying about the world we are leaving to our children and thinking about how we can make it a better place. Maybe my friend was right, and a lot more concise, with the artist, educator, environmentalist tag.

I’ve recently finished my masters in cross-disciplinary art and design. What a mission that was, my hope now is to get to the ocean more often so I can put that back on my description as well. Is that enough about me now?