Shelly

Shelly Fredenberg Studio is a one person operation.

I make my work and my life in Eugene, Oregon with people and animals that I love.  

My work is sold online (here), in galleries, and in juried art shows. When I have time, I open my schedule for commission work.

My work has been shown in local, regional and national ceramic and art exhibitions.

I am a ceramic artist, a sculptor and creative problem solver at my core. My process is intuitive and organic. I always begin with a loose idea (rarely more than a word or a thought) and let the clay do most of the leading. Each piece I make is formed by hand, one at a time. Line, form and texture are borrowed from my experiences with nature, the relationships I keep, and the stories I hold close. 

I grew up in a small Montana town, 1 of 16 children in a working class family. A chain-link fence separated our front yard from Highway 93. The railroad tracks ran through the American Timber Company sawmill just beyond our backyard. The cacophony of lumbering semi-trucks and lonely train whistles seemed in collusion with the chaos inside our house. To escape, I spent countless hours in the nearby forests, fields, lakes, rivers and trails…all which lead to discovery. In nature I found solace, adventure and “treasures”. My young life was one of vast creativity and immense imagination; making a lot of ‘something’ out of little or nothing. I still gather bits of nature -reminders of all things true and right and beautiful- to carry home in my pocket. And, nothing I encounter is separate from my creative work.

In 1995 I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Printmaking (accidentally) from Montana State University, Bozeman. (I have never made a print since.) Before graduation I married and immediately started a family. Being a wife and young mother was the generational norm for women in my family. This chapter of my life was dedicated to raising joyful, healthy, kind, capable kids and fostering a strong, supportive community. I moved with my young family to Eugene in 2000 and it wasn’t until 2014 that I found my way back to clay.  After the earth shattering, successive loss of my parents, I knew that in order to be fully present for my family I had to move through my grief. But I didn’t know how.

On one particularly sad day -in an attempt to find solid ground- I made a list of the things that I had forgotten that I loved, things that I had misplaced. Working with clay was at the very top so I signed up for an open studio session at a local community center. I hadn’t touched clay since college (over 20 years!) and I was very nervous. I had so much doubt, in fact, I asked the studio monitor if it would be okay to take the bag of clay home and just bring back my finished projects to be fired. She agreed. 

After tucking my kids into bed at night I would clear my mind and the kitchen counter and start moving the clay in my hands. I held no expectations. To my surprise, it felt as familiar as washing dishes and doing laundry. The work came naturally and my ideas flowed rapidly. I had not only rediscovered a vital part of myself, but I found a path towards healing.

The open studio soon led to joining a clay artist’s cooperative where I participated in my first shows. The light was shining brightly toward an art career that I had only dreamed of.

In 2016, Shelly Fredenberg Studio became my full-time pursuit.

I always meet what comes next with authenticity, openness and curiosity.

Thank you for being here with me.