SHELLEY PALEY
K – 12 Educator and Art Specialist
Kutenai Art Therapy Institute, second year Grad Student
Painting and sculpting the natural world have grown into meditative processes for Shelley Paley. This area in Alberta has been one of her favorite places to become free and grounded, to be able to relax into the quiet and actively listen to sounds of nature that prompt her artistic expression. As she takes the viewer through a journey of vibrant Alberta landscapes infused with the mysteriousness of our wildlife, an uplifting message of imaginative exploration is palpable.
Initial mark-making and layers of spray paint intermingle with other washes of colour to provide a rich starting point where her power sander can begin carving into the wood to reveal an abstracted mood, a sky, a subject (people, animals, and/or landscapes) or negative space that helps form the subject matter into existence. The artist’s depiction of our natural world becomes visible. Deep breathing and paintbrushes do the rest. When the painting is resolved the meditation is complete.
Ceramic sculptures begin from photographs, sketches, paintings, and imaginings. Her animals are often originally depicted as solitary abstracted forms that can then be used to construct other drawings and or groups of spirits together in more personally constructed clay scenarios, some other these scenarios move back into to her paintings. There is something very therapeutic about working with mud. Sculpting is when you will often find shelley giggling while immersed in the flow. Glazing and kiln process work provide another magical element of release, where the maker must let go of the work, surrendering it to glazes as they chemically react during the firing processes.
For the last four years, shelley has been developing pre- and post-meditative, typically asymmetrical mixed material works on paper. To date these works have remained in her personal collection.
Most recently. Shelley completed two introductory art therapy courses which have opened her art-making process up to using more intuitive approaches to art-making. Through these new developments shelley has already been able to loosen up and let go of the ideas of perfectionism and enjoy intuitive process work where she has been able to release repressed anger and process grief within the safe space of art therapy. Shelley is now empowered to spend time on her own professional art practice while also becoming an art therapist. Shelley has experienced how using art as the ‘third person’ in the room decreases any social anxieties and provides the personal narrative to share and work through emotions that were self-limiting and improve one’s mental health. Shelley is immersed in the art-making continuum within the safe space of Art Therapy.
Shelley is currently completing her second year of an Art Therapy graduate diploma at Kutenai Art Therapy Institute. Through this experiential two-year program, Shelley’s art making process continues to open up to new ways of creative exploration using spontaneity and intuitive guidance and a focus on process rather than product.
This year Shelley continues to develop her personal mindful self-compassion practice, both independently, and in community.
Shelley is currently making eco-art installations and mixed material 3-D pieces that can be removed from the river valley with ease. Shelley continues to create in 2-D, 3-D, and at times using an anarchist sewing spontaneous style.
Shelley’s enthusiastic about using both Clay Field therapy and bilateral art making as two more powerful ways to engage both sides of the body in communication and healing.
For Shelley, art has always functioned as a conversation with self, and Art Therapy is developing the opportunity to use Art making in counselling. Shelley looks forward to graduating and becoming certified so she can bring art making into therapy as a powerful and interactive resource or conduit.