ARTIST STATEMENT
Attachment, Permanence, Connections, & Legacy
These four themes have continually floated to the top of my thoughts and practice over the last several years. These new ideas continue to overpower those in my previous work, such as transportation, organization, and trajectory.
These four themes have continually floated to the top of my thoughts and practice over the last several years. These new ideas continue to overpower those in my previous work, such as transportation, organization, and trajectory.
What is real? How are these different? Where does this lead?
These are all questions I thrust upon my viewers as they explore my work and its various ciphers and tokens to embark on a journey exploring the bonds of attachment, the boundaries of permanence, the strength and complexity of connections, and of course, the charting of a legacy seen in and between my work’s objects and symbols.…
In this and all my work, I take liberty in blurring the lines between real and imagined, moving and stationary, new and old. As always, I find pleasure in skewing the way objects relate to one another and in upsetting the balance between what remains and what is cursory.
In this and all my work, I take liberty in blurring the lines between real and imagined, moving and stationary, new and old. As always, I find pleasure in skewing the way objects relate to one another and in upsetting the balance between what remains and what is cursory.
BIO
Ian Shelly is an Assistant Professor of Art (Ceramics) at Western Illinois University teaching all levels of ceramics and 3D design.
Ian is an artist and educator utilizing all media and heritage in the canon of western art and craft. His background in ceramic vessel making and his interests in weapons manufacturing and childhood touchstones drives his subject matter toward humorous and sometimes haunting permutations and outcomes. Ian’s work has been featured in numerous venues around the country as well as publications within the field of ceramics.
MFA - University of Missouri - 2010 BFA - Texas Tech University - 2007 AA - Western Texas College - 2004
Ian is an artist and educator utilizing all media and heritage in the canon of western art and craft. His background in ceramic vessel making and his interests in weapons manufacturing and childhood touchstones drives his subject matter toward humorous and sometimes haunting permutations and outcomes. Ian’s work has been featured in numerous venues around the country as well as publications within the field of ceramics.
MFA - University of Missouri - 2010 BFA - Texas Tech University - 2007 AA - Western Texas College - 2004