Artist-in-Residence Shelley James

 

Shelley James’ work is the result of practiced technical precision and researched techniques. Over the past six years, she has focused her work on “combining the optical qualities of glass with the graphic range of print to explore the dialogue between eye and brain.”

James studied textiles at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, she received a M.A. in multidisciplinary printmaking from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and will receive her Ph.D. from the Royal College of Art in London in 2013. In 2012, her work was included in exhibitions including Resonant Spaces, a solo exhibition at the Bate Museum of Musical Instruments, and Illusoriamente, a group exhibition at the European Convention on Visual Perception in Sardinia.

During her November 2013 Residency at The Studio, James created optical forms with encasements, combining hot and cold working techniques. “Through experimentation with different patterns, stencils, forms and hot shop techniques,” says James, “it became possible to place the matrix of bubbles on multiple levels within the form and to add colour to selected areas with a high degree of control.” While in Corning, she created illusory spaces through cold working and assembling optical quality crystal.