CONTACT  My work is available for show or purchase. I would love to hear from you - mjshelasky@gmail.com!
ABOUT ME  I call myself an Artist, first and foremost, every day. This acknowledges that I see the world through the eyes of an artist, able to assess, problem solve, invent and build all manner of things and ideas. Its about navigating life as much as it is about creating art. It also helps me stay focused on art-making as a priority, to maintain intent to create, to work on improving my craft, and to establish discipline. I know I can always put pencil to paper to draw, design, imagine and play. 
SURFACE DESIGN is an important component of my work and I use line, contrast and texture as motivating elements. Though I use the brush quite often to lay paint on the surface, my default is any tool that can draw/scratch line into the paint. 
ABOUT MY WOVEN PAINTINGS   Woven paintings combine my love for pattern, design and textile processes. For each piece, I paint two corresponding images on paper and hand cut them into strips, one-by-one, for weaving. While weaving, I make many decisions about weave patterns to emphasize areas of the paintings and to shape the weave pattern into imagery—much like working with a paint palette and brush strokes. As I cut the paper into strips, the intricate lines and textures of the surface painting come into focus, resulting in many small, beautiful "paintings" that I can enjoy before weaving them together. It's an exciting process of the physicality of the weave process, and designing in the moment combined with the surprise I have always experienced with textile processes.
OLD BLOG Look here for a glimpse of another important time in my creative growth. 
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