EDUCATION

2010         Studies        Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA

2009             Studies        Penland School of Crafts, NC

1986        MA        California State University, Northridge

1984        BA        California State University, Northridge

1972        AA        Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY

ARTIST STATEMENT

Traveling the world and mapping my journeys has been a way of exploring cultures, terrains and enhancing the visible search for adventures. What has emerged from these experiences is a visual exploration of the world around me. My versatile art practice encompasses paintings, shaped canvases, constructs and works on paper.

My recent series of paintings focuses on Maps of the Imagination. These images reflect my interest in maps, cartography and topography. The works do not represent actual maps, but reference a composite collection of locations that intuitively evoke a sense of place. The paintings are constructed on the grid as an underlying structure of poured colored paints and richly layered surfaces that reveal and conceal strata and crust. This reflects my fascination with the physicality of landforms and their evidence of time and age as it emerges from the residue of human marks.

BIO

Shelley Heffler is a visual artist and educator. Born and raised in the Bronx, she discovered the Art Students League at the age of 15 and started taking drawing and painting classes. Eventually, she received an AA degree in interior design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. 

Shelley's first love was painting and she next worked as a carpet designer for flagship Edward Fields Carpet Makers in New York City. In 1973, after transferring to their studio in Los Angeles, she married, then traveled with her first husband to live in Spain and then to visit Morocco, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. A year later, they returned to Los Angeles and she attended California State University, Northridge, where she received an MA in sculpture in 1986, graduating with honors.

She had immediate success with exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art rental gallery and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. Her work has been widely seen in California since 1987 as well as in Washington, D.C. It has been reviewed in the Los Angeles Times, LA Independent, Daily News, San Diego Tribune and San Diego Art Review. In addition, her paintings have been purchased by a number of individual collectors.

Shelley has also taught ceramics for more than 20 years. She is a nationally Board Certified Professional educator and mentors new teachers for the Los Angeles Unified School district. Her current studio is in Inglewood, CA. 

Statement

I am an artist, investigator, experimenter, explorer and educator. I process life through my art-making practice. Making art provides me with a continuous journey filtering the world around me. My recent work has involved several series that visually and metaphorically reference land, maps, strata, geology and geography. The works are composite collection of locations that intuitively evoke a sense of place, time and people. Paintings are constructed on an underlying grid of poured colored paints and richly layered surfaces that reveal and conceal strata and crust. Process and its evidence have emerged as an essential aspect of this work.