Shelley Atwood

Before moving to Alpine in 204, I used to have fantasies about what it would be like to live in the desert, to feel that connectedness to the earth that is such an intrinsic part of life out here, especially in the Big Bend. There is some kind of mystery in this wild land that evokes, oddly, the "free man in Paris" feeling.

In my art, I try to trigger that emotional/psychological connection to the earth found in the most ancient or primitive of cultures. I want my art to both celebrate and honor the earth. I primarily make jewelry and other small pieces from polymer clay and silver precious metal clay (PMC), using paint and various carving tools.

I like lots of texture and clear definition in my designs. I use black in many of my pieces to achieve that definition. My designs are derived from ethnic and paleo-archaic art, with strong pre-Columbian and tribal influences. There's a sort of post-hippy era influence as well. I'm also inspired by the work of artists Celie Fago, Victoria Hughes, Steven Ford and Davi Forlano.

The creative process is a struggle for me, a struggle and a joy. The joy comes from watching a piece morph out of a blob of clay into the final product. Sometimes I know from the beginning what I'm going to do with a particular piece, but more often that not I just start playing around with different components, or start sketching on my computer. It's a sensory process rather than conceptual, organic rather than structured. There's a tension between the half-formed idea and any vision of the final product, and an inertial resistance to starting. I have to give up on the concept of the final product and immerse myself in the process. I think my art comes from hands rather than my brain.