Shelly Losee, Acrylic Painter, says:
“I think no matter what, whether I’m creating art for an A=rt Building/Community or not, I love creating art as a way to uplift the world. That will always be where my art takes me.”
Shelly Losee is a current WARM protegee who says she uses acrylic paints to illuminate the ecstatic poetry of masters like Hafiz of Shirazi, Jelaluddin Rumi, and Lalla Ded.
The painting below was inspired by an excerpt of the poem “Circles” by Hafiz:
The moon is most happy when it is full…
I see the beautiful curve of a pregnant belly
Shaped by a soul within,
And the Earth itself, And the planets and the Spheres-
I have gotten the hint:
There is something about circles
The Beloved likes.
During the mentorship program, Shelly started A=rt (Art Equals Real Transformation), a non-profit, to deinstitutionalize the institutions through color, art and design. She says:
“The idea is to transform building interiors into welcoming environments that reflect the value and diversity of the people who use them.Everyone needs art, especially people who are going through a crisis or transition and need to spend time at a county detox center, state mental hospital, homeless shelter, etc. I really enjoy working with other artists who align with that mission.”
Shelly says that one way the WARM mentorship program has changed her artmaking was inspired by another protegee, Catharine A Palmer. “Katie’s ability to just make art fast without thinking about it has really inspired me to get out of my own way and stop over-thinking my work…I really enjoy mixing colors and the natural pauses that occur when waiting for paint to dry.”