Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Shepardson.
Hi Debbie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been fascinated by behavior – what drives it and how it changes. For more than 15 years I’ve worked as a professional positive dog trainer, which taught me as much about people as dogs.
Before that, I studied music and dance and graduated with a degree in Visual and Performing Arts with a concentration in Music. Despite having a background in performing arts, I’m a total introvert and stage shy to the core. So finding visibility through something called The Invisible Project feels fitting.
The idea for The Invisible Book, which later grew into The Invisible Project, started with my son. One day he and his friend proudly showed me a tiny flip book they made. When I opened it it was completely blank. I thought that must have been the point and said, “Wow, what a great idea! A book of blank pages about invisible things.” They laughed and showed me the cat they’d actually drawn in the corner, but by then I’d already written the first ten pages in my head.
That moment stuck with me. I realized I’d projected meaning onto nothing – something we all do without noticing – and that I could build an entire creative world around that idea. Sometimes creativity isn’t about adding more, but noticing what’s already there.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all. I spent years working corporate, but my creative side was always pushing for independence. In 2011, I contracted Lyme disease, and everything stopped. I was bedridden for nearly three years. It changed how I move through the world, but I’ve learned to create within that.
I spent years waiting to feel like myself again, until I realized she wasn’t coming back, and found peace in that. I’ve learned to slow down, set boundaries, and create in ways that fit who I am now. The Invisible Project is a reminder of how far I’ve come from what I long believed were limits I couldn’t move past.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is a mix of design, storytelling, and creative direction. I’m drawn to the precision of language, to finding clarity inside simplicity. The clearer we speak, the clearer we’re understood.
Movement has always been part of how I think. I’ve been a hula hooper for years and recently started learning the Cyr wheel (that 6’ steel ring performers spin inside). I guess rhythm keeps finding its way back to me. Over the last five years I’ve freelanced for several professional performers, doing everything from costume and prop design to graphics, websites, and creative strategy.
The Invisible Book – and now The Invisible Project – have become a way of seeing for me. Once the book started getting attention from other creatives, I realized there was an audience for this idea of noticing what’s usually overlooked. I’ve been exploring how space, silence, and the unseen shape perception.
What’s next?
Right now I’m expanding The Invisible Project. I’m updating my website regularly with new ideas and have two more books in progress: The Invisible Void and The Invisible Colors. I’ve also started The Invisible Chronicle, a collection of short essays, observations, and interviews with creative professionals.
I’m exploring ways to translate The Invisible Book onto film and screen, experimenting with how the concept of “nothing to see” could work visually. It’s still early, but I’m inspired by the challenge and curious to see where it leads.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://debbieshepardson.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/roxieroxstar
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/roxierockstar
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/debbieshepardson
