Folk Artist Mary Michael Shelley
28 01 09 - 13:24
Mary Shelley (born 1950, Doylestown, Pa) is an American folk artist with no formal visual art training. Her art work has variously been described as naïve, primitive or self-taught. She graduated from Cornell University in 1972 with a degree in English and Creative Writing, and has lived her entire adult life in Ithaca, NY. She began making her painted low relief woodcarvings in 1974, after her father sent her a painted woodcarving (inspired by the art work of Mario Sanchez, Key West, Florida) that he made of Shelley as a child at the family farm. Shelley worked as a sign painter and carpenter from 1973 to 1990, and learning these trades helped her to develop woodworking and design skills important to her evolution into a visual artist.
Shelley says, "I am best known for my carved folkart paintings of waitresses, diners, animals, cows, farms, sailboats, central New York regional themes, and special order commissions. I work out of my Ithaca, NY studio, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region. I use art to explore and make sense of life events, dreams and emotions, sometimes calling my artwork a "picture diary" or "picture story". Find me carving every summer Saturday at the Ithaca Farmers' Market."
"As an artist I experience a sense of isolation because I work alone for many hours of the day. So I like to think of my pictures going to live with people I do not know and becoming a part of their lives."
To learn more about Shelley or to purchase her artwork visit her website. She offers her work for sale at several galleries and has a newsletter for collectors to stay up-to-date on her activities.
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