Namaste
Welcome to my hi5 profile.

I've been cyber-residing here for a while now and thought perhaps it's about time I introduced myself properly :)
My name is Ciaran Shaman, though that is not my birth-name. I chose that name in 1999 as I desired a pseudonym with which to work under but liked the name so much I formally adopted it (I later found out what the name means and have been shocked by the symbolism residing within it).
I was born in the north-east of England (as it's now called) in August of 1971. Childhood passed normally with very much a love for Nature/astronomy inherent. I was always an extremely curious child too, much of my time being spent either with my head in a book (factual) or taking something apart to see how it works (I blew up my first computer doing this!). My teens also passed normally with the usual experimentation with alcohol, pub culture, etc.
At eighteen I changed.
In the late eighties in the uk an underground scene was emerging. Called the acid-house era this underground movement altered the course of my life forever. My natural curiosity for knowledge over-rode the conditioning I'd received since birth regarding 'drugs' (strange how the mind thinks of the illegal ones when this term is used rather than the vast amount of legal ones there are. A good example of brain-washing/conditioning). I experimented first with D-LSD 25. A remarkable compound that I instantly knew could provide much knowledge if used correctly. I then tried cannabis (proving the ridiculous notion of cannabis leading to harder drugs completely wrong having sampled the most potent drug known to man before the cannabis. Also do most people not actually try tobacco and alcohol before cannabis?), which I found to be a 'high' of learning. It takes a lengthy period to fully grasp the insights given by cannabis, subtle yet powerful as they are. At this my appetite was whetted and I tried numerous other consciousness-changing agents such as MDMA (ecstasy), amphetamine (not strictly consciousness-changing but the sleep depravation afforded by amphetamine most certainly is), and, this is the big one... The Sacred Mushroom. From then on in I knew my life had completely altered forever. And it was so beautiful. It really was like 'coming home'.
The mushroom allowed direct communication with Nature herself and the forces contained within - something I'd always intuitively known was possible. I would eat from her flesh and go walkabout in the forests or over the moors. The night sky would be pulsating with vast channels of energy and huge amoeba-like entities that seems to consist entirely of this energy. The landscape itself would flow in perfect harmony and the forests would communicate using this plasma-like energy as a conduit along which millions of signals would pass between every tree, every branch, every leaf and every cell. All became one. A single beautiful energy that sang a most awe-inspiring song, namely the symphony that is all we see, feel, touch, taste, hear, and smell and all we don't.
With this new mindset came an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. I'd always enjoyed learning but this was something else. Something so all-empowering that I never worked, preferring a life of hardship - and it was, in order to actually have the time to learn. I later learnt this is one of the key tricks used by the rulers (or so they think) of the world, namely that of filling peoples lives with so much work and worry that they don't have the physical time to think. A pretty disgusting policy. But I digress... This thirst for knowledge took me to theoretical physics, quantum theory, advanced mathematics, geometry, cosmology, biology, chemistry, history (this one's a real eye-opener), art, spirituality, religion, and so on...
After a few years of this I realized that it was of no use knowing all this knowledge if it was not going to be used. I also desired a better quality of life (only natural) as to be honest the uk government makes life pretty unbearable when not working - it's set up that way for a reason - enslavery to their system. Now I'd always been able to draw, and I knew I wanted to work, but only for myself, so I began putting pencil to paper. I realized pretty quickly that even if I never achieved any financial gain from this venture it was still what I would spend my life doing. The feeling of completeness whilst creating a new work was/is so certain that I knew it was what I must do.
Unfortunately due to the unusual lifestyle I'd had forced upon me by not conforming to society I actually lost many early works and I'm still in the process of tracking work down in order to obtain images of them.
I spent years perfecting my craft. Eventually in 1999, the same year I changed my name, I completed the work entitled 'Eden in the Propellers of Time'. This to me was the culmination of all I'd learned. I finally felt I'd became a master craftsman. This work, in-particular the 'swirl' style of it represented the living energy inherent throughout the universe. This work was followed by 'Reflecting the Vocal Chords of Gaia', 'Symbiosis', my personal work 'Spaced', and the long-overdue work-in-progress 'Leonids', all in the same 'swirl' style. A drawing in this style takes a long time - usually around 4-6 months which is why I don't have a multitude of work on display yet (though that's changing as I recover old works).
In mid 2006 I began a new quest for knowledge. Hidden knowledge as it were. My attention was drawn to secret societies, ancient religions, c, power hierarchies, bloodlines, magic, alien manipulation (genetically and psychologically)... the list goes on. It's a vast and highly confusing subject, as indeed it's designed to be. This new aspect of my mindset is apparent in my latest work-in-progress 'Shamanita Illuminatus' which is symbolic to the core. It seems I'm heading towards a fusion of the psychedelic and the symbolic (which in essence are very much the same). I have so many works sketched out and planned I fear I may not have time to complete them all, though I most certainly will try :)

So in a highly compressed way that is the story of how I got to be me. It is a very much still a work-in-progress. I find the possibilities of the future extremely exciting! I certainly am looking forward to the changes coming in 2012 :D

Finally for this blog I'd just like to say an overwhelming thank you to everyone who's left comments, contacted me, added me, bought my work, or supported me otherwise. I really am hugely grateful.

Until next time...

Photons of love,

Ciaran