Austin’s Soul Wisdom

Austin Hill Shaw is an architect, author, Buddhist, and lover of land and ritual.
When I first connected with Austin 4 years ago, I saw him as a pristine professional deep in his work, promoting all the right things for a better world. But soon after I began working with him as an illustrator, he experienced an immense fracture in his family life. The foundation of his being was shook.
Austin’s soul wisdom is about messiness, humility, and the pain of truly loving.

Austin’s Soul Wisdom: You’re not a fucking failure

Messy
I wear my wounds and they’re fleshy
Transparent
about what’s keepin me heavy
Doors open
How do I know if it’s meant to be?
Stumbling
To find my place in a society
that’s having an identity crisis.
Divinity
I thought it was supposed to be
a perfectly ordered mandala.
Process
we’re always in one
and I’ve stopped assuming it should be beautiful.
My heart broke
and spilled out all the fairytales
and all the angels fell
from the sky in my mind
and sang in unison,
”You’re not a fucking failure,
You’re human.
And once you’re done being a victim
just try again
to do somethin good.
Yeah yeah.”

Austin’s Experience

“I cannot recommend Jill Schweiss as an artist and a “soul portrait” creator enough.

Jill has dedicated her life to art and artistic expression of all sorts, including music, poetry, and dance, too, and is able to draw from the imminent, the transcendent, and, I’d imagine, a whole host of other realms, alike.

A “see-er” by nature, she is able to peel back the layers and vicissitudes of being-ness in real time while simultaneously interacting, engaging, and capturing the subject’s ever-changing interior.

Having endured unimaginable challenges over the last 3 years, I felt seen in my sorrow, my joy, and the beautiful messiness of it all that has shaped me into the person I am today.

Thank you so much, Jill.  You and your art-i-facts are truly one of a kind.”

Ready to embrace exactly where you are now?