Meet Shelley Stevens | Artist and Director of Golden Apple Art Residency

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shelley Stevens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shelley, why did you pursue a creative career?
My artistic and creative nature is a part of who I am. I recognized this aspect of myself as a very small child and utilized it in every phase and facet of life ever since. It’s how I approach life no matter the situation. As a young person, I was not encouraged in a creative career, but when I finally learned that I could open that door myself, I charged through it and never looked back. An artistic life and career is what sustains me. Art is how I communicate and the resulting conversations fuel me to keep finding ways to express in images our shared humanity.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I would consider myself an “artist’s artist”. That is to say, I’m an artist who wants to support other artists. I’m an artist who paints, but also an artist who deeply appreciates the various other methods and ways of expression…printmaking, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, music, dance, film, writing, theater. I’m an artist who purchases and collects other artists’ work, while also desiring to sell my own pieces to those persons with whom it resonates.

It was not easy for me to become an artist because I received no support or encouragement as a young person. I tried to ignore that fierce creative pull for nearly two decades until I began to feel that I was living someone else’s life. I made the decision to recover myself and enrolled in Kendall College of Art & Design amidst great uncertainty as I was married and raising three little children. The BFA experience changed my life, and a trip to study art in London cemented my feelings that there was a place for me in the art world. Those years were very challenging for many reasons and my marriage failed. Although I graduated very successfully as Valedictorian of my BFA class, it was a low and very tumultuous period in my life. I had to ask myself “now what?” I worked for two years as an Admissions Counselor at Kendall and it gave me a taste of what it felt like to help and support other young people to pursue their own artistic dreams (in the way that I had not been encouraged). It felt good. Shortly thereafter, I met my husband Greg and I entered Kendall’s MFA program which shifted my focus in art from learning and experimenting with materials and process, to asking myself what I wanted to do with my art, how I wanted to use it and what I wanted to say with it. I had much to say! I learned to narrow it down, to be succinct, to consider the viewer’s perspective (know your audience), to allow for various reactions and be okay with that. More than anything, I learned to be my authentic self. I learned that the best art was not always art that sold well; rather, it was unforgettable art. I have my own brief description of art that I will share here:

There are many definitions of art. For me, art is not the object itself…the painting or drawing, the photograph or sculpture. Nor is art the act or the process of creating the object. True art, in my opinion, is that indefinable phenomenon which occupies the space between the object and the viewer; the wordless dialogue which takes place when certain feelings are evoked, when questions are raised and the answers are not easy. If the space between the object and the viewer is empty and silent, does art exist? Art is a powerful language, and it is not always well-spoken. Artists fail time and again, but good artists never stop trying. Art is intangible. You’ll know it when you hear it, see it, experience it. You may not quite understand it, but you won’t soon forget it.

In my own paintings, I’ve remained committed to expressing what I believe are universal human feelings. First, because I feel life pretty deeply. Secondly, because I believe most people share those same inexpressible feelings at certain times in life. We are not alone with these feelings and my paintings try to communicate our shared humanity regardless of what is going on in the world. My belief is that an artist whose intent is to communicate an important idea or a human truth has an enormous responsibility to current viewers and if fortunate enough to be seen and heard, the potential to shape future generations as well. Not only as a source of historical context (a link to how and why the world’s societies and cultures evolved and continue to evolve), but also to the individual as proof of our shared humanity. Even generations apart, we share similar feelings, endure similar circumstances, while living in an unbalanced and sometimes frightening world. Art brings generations together, it links us as humans, sometimes it gives us ominous warning, sometimes it gives us hope. It mirrors our existence…we were here and this is how it felt.

As artists, it is our responsibility to passionately enlighten and reveal the truth. That truth can center on so many topics! The nature of love and beauty, of pain, of injustice, of loss, questions of faith and religion, sexuality, politics and war are all ways that we come to understand very complex feelings and subject matter. With understanding comes movement. With movement comes change.

In my own work, my particular passion has always been in response to the individual human condition, particularly as it relates to women. I attempt to reveal universal truths by using the figure (the outside) to describe the experiences and feelings (the inside) of women as they experience life. I often describe this as depicting “life from the inside out”. To combat my own feelings of being alone, I reach out to others to assure them that they are understood, they are seen, they matter, they are not alone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In Michigan, I would take my visiting friend to the Detroit Institute of Art which is a world-class museum. After a leisurely day of taking in all there is to see at the DIA, I would take them to eat at one of many fun eating establishments in the area. Another day I might take them to enjoy the beach towns and galleries along Lake Michigan, maybe stopping to enjoy lunch at a small bistro in Holland, and on our return to Mount Pleasant (where I live), stopping for dinner in Grand Rapids at one of the many great restaurant choices, including Bistro Bella Vita for cocktails, Butcher’s Union for burgers and steaks, San Chez for tapas, and Mezo for Mexican.

In DownEast Maine (where Golden Apple Art Residency is located and where I reside for 5 months every year), I would take a friend to the many fine galleries that dot the area, including Littlefield Gallery in Winter Harbor, Courthouse Gallery in Ellsworth and The Gallery at Somes Sound, Mt. Desert. Nearby Acadia Park, especially Schoodic Point, would be a must-see for the most awesome ocean vistas, and the most delicious lobster and seafood can be enjoyed at area lobster shacks and fine dining establishments alike.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So many people along the way have contributed to my success as an artist and as Founder and Director of Golden Apple Art Residency. The professors in the Fine Arts Department at Kendall College of Art & Design were encouraging and supportive throughout my BFA years as well as during my Masters of Fine Art program. They provided me the skills and mindset of a painter. However, my personal shoutout must go to my husband Greg, who allowed me the personal and financial freedom to delve deeply into who I am as an artist. He respected my creative goals, encouraging and celebrating the milestones and successes that came my way as a result. Greg supported my dream of building an artist residency to fuel other creatives, actively and financially participating in the construction of each and every building, Without Greg, Golden Apple Art Residency would still be a dream in the back of my mind. Golden Apple is solely my business, an extension of my creative ideas, but Greg said “let’s make it happen” and that’s what made all the difference.

Website: https://www.GoldenAppleStudio.com

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Image Credits
Shelley N. Stevens