Shelly Chambers

Artist Statement:
Shelly Chambers is a mixed media artist who resides in central Minnesota. In college she took a wide breadth of classes from clay and fibers to drawing, painting and design to earn a BFA from Syracuse University (‘92). She taught art in California and Minnesota for 27 years and earned an MS from Southwest State Minnesota University (‘13).

Her interest in making mixed media work evolved out of personal tragedies where she used art to process emotions and help her heal. She begins with a water media base of watercolor, alcohol inks or acrylic paint and then manipulates the surface by cutting, sewing or gluing layers of non-traditional textures such as dried flowers or leaves, tissue paper, steel wool, and sandpaper. Inspiration can come from the loss of a loved one or pet, a visit to a place of comfort or beauty, or a milestone; marriage, birth of a child, purchase of a new home among others but they almost always tie back to nature and our interconnectedness.

Shelly retired from teaching in 2024 and as an emerging artist, she received a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board in the fall of 2024 to find her voice in art and begin exhibiting locally. She serves on the Central Minnesota Watercolorists board. She has shown her work at Great River Arts in Little Falls, at art crawls in downtown St. Cloud, and at CentraCare facilities. As a commissioned artist she enjoys marking moments for people to rejoice, remember and heal.

Affiliations/Achievements:  Shelly

Gallery:  The paintings below are my work and all are for sale.  Please contact me if you have any questions about or are interested in any of the artwork displayed below.