Veering off the path proves to be the right decision by local architect-turned-woodworker.

As a layman, the art world appears to be a complex landscape to navigate. For an artist to succeed in this competitive field, they must not only have exceptional talent but also sharp business acumen as well. When time isn’t being spent in the studio or out in the field creating, there are financial considerations to be made, strategic choices to consider, and a network of associations, galleries, and art shows in which to become embedded.

But it’s evident that Sunshine Singleton, the artist behind her brand Cape Cod Land Shark, doesn’t feel that way. “My business model is joy,” she says. “I cannot express how grateful I am that every morning I have the chance to wake up, walk out to my workshop, and create. I get to do something that brings me joy and that brings other people joy in turn.”

This thoroughly humble model is not the result of years of revising a complex business or the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. It did however, require a leap of faith.

Singleton’s childhood was fairly typical in that she was encouraged to explore her creative side—which she did by building with Legos, drawing, and painting—but the idea of art as a career was never a thought that she entertained. “That concept just didn’t fit my family’s way of thinking. We didn’t have the vocabulary for it,” she says.

Wanting to channel her creativity into a career, Singleton studied architecture. She double-majored in Architecture and Construction Management at Bowling Green University in Ohio and received her...