Shay Herring Clanton studied art at Mary Baldwin College and art history at Vanderbilt University before receiving her MFA from James Madison University. She is an accomplished painter with an extensive exhibition record and her work has been shown in galleries and museums thoroughout the Mid-Atlantic. Clanton, a resident of Deerfield, Virginia, teaches painting, drawing, and design at Mary Baldwin College. She is also an outspoken environmentalist who channels her love for the natural world into her work. Most recently, Clanton has been working on a series of watercolors, documenting the rivers and streams of the Upper James Watershed.