Working In sketchbooks is an important part of Shelley’s work. For many years she has kept a visual diary in which she observes and records everyday objects, scenes and events.

Some pages are representational, whereas others are abstract, perhaps trying to capture colour, texture, line, pattern or emotion. These ‘journals’ are a very personal response to the everyday things that she encounters.

She works in a variety of media, often using whatever is to hand. They contain drawings, paintings, print, text, found items, textile samples, threads and photographs.

Alongside these, she works in other sketchbooks, developing, exploring and investigating an image or idea in greater depth. She uses this opportunity to clarify, evaluate, simplify and refine images, ideas, thoughts and designs prior to completing a finished piece of work.

Whenever she travels she carries a sketchbook and a ‘little pack of materials’, so that she can record her journey.

"I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle. " ~Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing.

t r a v e l s w i t h a s k e t c h b o o k