The Creative Process, Guest Artist Sha Sha Higby

Today, I’m joined by performance artist Sha Sha Higby—a truly unique creative whose work blends watercolor, sculpture, costume design, and shadow performance into immersive, emotional storytelling.

We talk about her upcoming shadow puppet performance Shadow of the Fox, premiering at the San Francisco International Arts Festival, and dive into her fascinating creative process—one that values intuition, spontaneity, and transformation over rigid technique.

What makes this conversation especially powerful is how our approaches overlap. Whether through watercolor or performance, we both explore how to create depth, atmosphere, and a sense of journey—rather than simply rendering what we see.

Upcoming Performances

Shadow of the Fox• May 3 & 10 at 2 PM• San Francisco International Arts Festival (Monkey Brains, Mission District)• 🎟 Discount Code: 20DISCSHADOW

https://sfarts.org/event/sha-sha-higby-presents-shadow-of-the-fox-world-premiere-3c5jWov5Vwxw4vZwrhYJwm

July 26– Throckmorton Theater, Mill Valley

In This Episode

We explore:

How Sha Sha blends watercolor, ink, costume, and movement into one expressive language• Creating from intuitive flow instead of structured planning• Why rawness and imperfection often hold more power than technical precision• The role of transformation in both painting and performance

Her Creative Process

Sha Sha’s work moves fluidly across mediums: