Statement

Line and color. Plants and the ordinary. These impulses prompt my work.  Living in a rural environment, you witness the wonders of the natural world and learn to be resourceful with what is readily available. This lesson profoundly impacts my work as an installation artist whose practice combines mixed media drawing with subjects from nature and daily life.

Ideas stem from specific memories, experiences in nature, and ordinary objects. From those found in nature to those in our homes, plants are typically the primary subject, and one with which many relate due to our need for nature to sustain wellness. Rhythmic, graphic stylization combined with realistic detail develops the character and clarity of each piece. A variety of media are implemented to produce the sharp, clean forms fundamental to the work including Micron pen, India ink, and cut paper. Installations release the drawings from the wall and provide an immersive sensory experience for the audience to ponder as they move through and interact with the work. Common, repurposed, economically accumulated materials are used as primary components to expand the work’s dialogue and create an approachable, relatable, and enriching experience. Using line, color, pattern, and repetition as personal meditative outlets, the work encourages the contemplation of themes entangled with plant life.

I am driven to accentuate the ordinary, to highlight how the overlap in the supposed mundane of our individual lives unites us. However simple, there is great value in the surroundings, experiences, and fellow lives that cohabit our existence. My purpose is to unify art & nature—to re-prioritize what is most essential to grow, heal, forge new paths, and revive what is inherent in us all. Through a combined practice of mixed media drawing and installation, these themes converge.

Bio

Shelley Caldwell is an alumna of Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU), earning a BFA and MA in Drawing and Installation. She has served as adjunct faculty at MNSU and as Visiting Instructor at Gustavus Adolphus College. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout greater Minnesota in venues such as the Carnegie Art Center, the 410 Project, Arts Center of Saint Peter, Soo Visual Arts Center, Hutchinson Center for the Arts, Paradise Center for the Arts, the Grand Center for Arts & Culture, the Waseca Art Center, Hallberg Center for the Arts, Red Rock Center for the Arts, Austin ArtWorks Center, and others. She held residency at the Tofte Lake Center outside Ely, MN and has received grants from the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council, Springboard for the Arts, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. She has a forthcoming solo exhibition at the Carnegie Art Center (November 2026). Compelled by the rural landscape, she presently works from her family farm in rural Faribault county.