It's pronounced like "shell" or the end of Michelle. If you let me, I'll try to tell you that I'm named after the Beatles song. 

​I’m an abstract oil painter (and sometimes fiber artist) living in Green Bay, WI. Growing up, I was never the kid that knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I remember wanting to be a ballerina at Disney World, an Olympic swimmer, a fashion designer, and a whole host of other weird options. That entire time, it was always art that had enchanted me. In a letter from my grandma, she remarked, “art was always your first love.” And in truth, I think I always knew I wanted to be creative, do something with my hands, & bring joy into this world.

My paintings focus a lot on the idea of joy. Bright colors, playful patterns, nature & floral elements. I believe that our homes and the spaces we spend time in should be joyful & welcoming places to live our lives. The world & our minds can be a difficult place to exist sometimes, & having a joyful environment does its little part to bring lightness & beauty into the world. I want to help bring that joy to the world. Your world. 

While I am an oil painter, I have a somewhat untraditional process. I thin them out and build up layers of color & mystery. The mineral spirits react in unique ways to the different chemicals in oil paint, & so there is always an element of experimentation & serendipity. Because the layers are thin, they don't hide any mistakes from previous layers. To me, it feels like this wonderful metaphor for life. I can’t hide or change what has happened in the past; all I can do is keep moving & work to make the situation as beautiful as possible.

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If you find me in my garage studio, I’m likely to be in my green overalls, covered in paint, & dancing to my wild assortment of music. I am incredibly tone deaf & at the same time extremely inspired by music. I get lost in the poetry of the lyrics. I’m a sucker for pop punk music, musical theatre (especially the shows we did in high school), and singer/songwriter cozy melancholy types. 

Generally I consider myself a bit of a skeptic (okay, maybe more than a bit), but the more I delve into the woo woo stuff, the more intrigued I get. I am somewhere between an ENTJ & an ENTP, an enneagram 5w4, and an Aries (with a Libra moon & rising just in case that’s important to you). I do a daily tarot pull & I love listening to a specific horoscope tarot reader on Youtube. Do I believe it? Undecided. Do I enjoy it? Yes. ​

• I am a pet mom to two dogs (Calvin Dominic & Jason Boyd) & two cats (Greer Adeline & Oslo Bjorn). The dogs are both black & white and the cats are both grey. In each species there is a solid and a pattern. Unintentional order like this brings me weird joy. 
• My favorite food is Mac & Cheese pizza. I've been a vegetarian for 16 years with varying levels of eating healthy. 
• I got my Bachelor of Arts degree in Art, Business Administration, and French from Monmouth College, and I got my Master of Business Administration degree from St. Norbert College. Sometimes I think about going back for another degree. 
• The sound of clocks & watches ticking makes my skin crawl. Strangely enough, grandfather clocks don't bother me even remotely. 
• The Soda Stream is the hardest working appliance in my house (besides the dishwasher). I'm not much of a cook, and I am obsessed with sparkly flavored water. 
• I have somewhere between two & three tattoos.​
• I love the Olympics, & for a brief period of time after the 2000 Sydney Olympics, I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. That dream did not come true in the way I expected, and yet I swam in the Sydney Aquatic Center, stood on the medal podium, & got a gold medal pin. I'm going to call that close enough.