Artist/EOLD Bio
Shelby Silver is a Multidisciplinary Ecological Artist, Intergenerational Educator, and End of Life Doula,
Her work has been focused on oceanic conservation through the collection of plastic marine debris from our seas and local beaches. Shelby was born in Grays Harbor Washington near the Pacific Ocean and grew up on a llama ranch, upon the traditional homelands of the Quinault Indian Nation, where her work as a young fiber artist served to influence and inform her current process. As a child, Shelby’s favorite natural outdoor space was the beach where she observed the ocean’s ability to heal, provide nourishment, and ultimately bring people together. As a result, her early childhood experiences nurtured her stewardship values, and along with them her passion to preserve and protect our oceans.
Today Shelby’s work explores the intertwining relationships between humankind and nature, and the overall role they play in service of one another. From her paintings, paper making, illustrations, reclaimed marine rope basket sculptures, tapestries, large scale installations, art classes, and more, Shelby demonstrates these connections by pulling salvaged plastic marine debris materials into her practice. Her most recent body of work includes paper that she has made with twenty years of personally collected ephemera including her own writing, and then pressing the plastic marine debris into the pulp. This collection titled Palpable Pulp & Lasting Impressions intimately examines impermanence and the starkly contrasted longevity of plastic marine debris across the life course, and within the human condition during the Anthropocene - the day and age we live in now. Her death care work has profoundly inspired her to begin using clay in her art practice and she is currently shaping ossuaries, and vessels for ashes.
Shelby has become a certified End of Life Doula through The Conscious Dying Institute (now known as The Conscious Dying Collective) in efforts of providing deeper support to our broader communities in the Pacific Northwest. As we all deserve a good death, Shelby holds abundant loving space and provides compassionate empowerment and guidance for her clients to explore the beauty of what their end of life journeys can look like. She encourages a spirit of curiosity, and creative open heartedness within the unfolding of the death process for both the dying and their support systems. Shelby takes the whole of a person into consideration when working with them, meaning she understands the complexity of what it is to be human, and that our past, present, and future impact our daily mental, and physical health and well being. Regardless of ones experiences our shared commonality is that we all will die one day, and making time to pre-plan for our future not only provides ourselves with peace of mind, but it can also take away the mystery and anguish of the "what am I supposed to do now" thoughts that can consume those we love when we do depart from here, and thus Shelby is a huge proponent and advocate for pre-planning ones own pre and post death arraignments to the best of ones ability.
Shelby resides in rural Western Oregon on The Healing Land & Water Way Project founded by her partner and herself and upon the sacred indigenous territory of the Kalapuya people. This is where Shelby calls home. She lives in a small cottage that was built nearly 100 years ago (aptly referred to as the River-Creek Homestead) with her partner and their two orange kitties. It is there she creates from her attached work space Salt of Earth & Sea Studio LLC. Shelby still spins llama, alpaca, and sheep’s wool on the Ashford spinning wheel she’s had for over 30 years and weaves the yarn into her tapestries as a means of paying homage to her upbringing.
Shelby believes in lifelong learning, and loves continued education. She is currently a Masters student at Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling, enrolled in their Art Therapy program. She is excited about being able to offer her skills as an Art Therapist to her community, within the years to come, while integrating her present practice as a Multidisciplinary Ecological Artist, Intergenerational Educator, and in End of Life Doula.
Some fun facts about Shelby: She enjoys family time at home with partner Christopher and watching their cats Ryeley, and Raleigh run a muck, making soup with herbs from her garden, playing in dirt, and the ocean - she is a certified scuba diver and loves cold water diving with Christopher and friends in the San Juans. She collects bones of various animals she finds as well as insects etc. . . , adores flowers and bird song, reading and the home library she's curated. She also enjoys running large equipment and aspires to one day enter their local combine demolition derby.
She has taught and spoke through Cannon Beach Art Association, Unity Spiritual Center, Portland Community College, Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Tualatin Valley Creates, Northwind Art, Centrum, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, her own business Salt of Earth & Sea Studio LLC., and in many more contexts, as well as internationally at the Bay Islands International School on the Island of Roatan Honduras.
“Remembering our connection is remembering our responsibility to earth, sea & all living beings.”
-Shelby Silver
Her work has been focused on oceanic conservation through the collection of plastic marine debris from our seas and local beaches. Shelby was born in Grays Harbor Washington near the Pacific Ocean and grew up on a llama ranch, upon the traditional homelands of the Quinault Indian Nation, where her work as a young fiber artist served to influence and inform her current process. As a child, Shelby’s favorite natural outdoor space was the beach where she observed the ocean’s ability to heal, provide nourishment, and ultimately bring people together. As a result, her early childhood experiences nurtured her stewardship values, and along with them her passion to preserve and protect our oceans.
Today Shelby’s work explores the intertwining relationships between humankind and nature, and the overall role they play in service of one another. From her paintings, paper making, illustrations, reclaimed marine rope basket sculptures, tapestries, large scale installations, art classes, and more, Shelby demonstrates these connections by pulling salvaged plastic marine debris materials into her practice. Her most recent body of work includes paper that she has made with twenty years of personally collected ephemera including her own writing, and then pressing the plastic marine debris into the pulp. This collection titled Palpable Pulp & Lasting Impressions intimately examines impermanence and the starkly contrasted longevity of plastic marine debris across the life course, and within the human condition during the Anthropocene - the day and age we live in now. Her death care work has profoundly inspired her to begin using clay in her art practice and she is currently shaping ossuaries, and vessels for ashes.
Shelby has become a certified End of Life Doula through The Conscious Dying Institute (now known as The Conscious Dying Collective) in efforts of providing deeper support to our broader communities in the Pacific Northwest. As we all deserve a good death, Shelby holds abundant loving space and provides compassionate empowerment and guidance for her clients to explore the beauty of what their end of life journeys can look like. She encourages a spirit of curiosity, and creative open heartedness within the unfolding of the death process for both the dying and their support systems. Shelby takes the whole of a person into consideration when working with them, meaning she understands the complexity of what it is to be human, and that our past, present, and future impact our daily mental, and physical health and well being. Regardless of ones experiences our shared commonality is that we all will die one day, and making time to pre-plan for our future not only provides ourselves with peace of mind, but it can also take away the mystery and anguish of the "what am I supposed to do now" thoughts that can consume those we love when we do depart from here, and thus Shelby is a huge proponent and advocate for pre-planning ones own pre and post death arraignments to the best of ones ability.
Shelby resides in rural Western Oregon on The Healing Land & Water Way Project founded by her partner and herself and upon the sacred indigenous territory of the Kalapuya people. This is where Shelby calls home. She lives in a small cottage that was built nearly 100 years ago (aptly referred to as the River-Creek Homestead) with her partner and their two orange kitties. It is there she creates from her attached work space Salt of Earth & Sea Studio LLC. Shelby still spins llama, alpaca, and sheep’s wool on the Ashford spinning wheel she’s had for over 30 years and weaves the yarn into her tapestries as a means of paying homage to her upbringing.
Shelby believes in lifelong learning, and loves continued education. She is currently a Masters student at Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling, enrolled in their Art Therapy program. She is excited about being able to offer her skills as an Art Therapist to her community, within the years to come, while integrating her present practice as a Multidisciplinary Ecological Artist, Intergenerational Educator, and in End of Life Doula.
Some fun facts about Shelby: She enjoys family time at home with partner Christopher and watching their cats Ryeley, and Raleigh run a muck, making soup with herbs from her garden, playing in dirt, and the ocean - she is a certified scuba diver and loves cold water diving with Christopher and friends in the San Juans. She collects bones of various animals she finds as well as insects etc. . . , adores flowers and bird song, reading and the home library she's curated. She also enjoys running large equipment and aspires to one day enter their local combine demolition derby.
She has taught and spoke through Cannon Beach Art Association, Unity Spiritual Center, Portland Community College, Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Tualatin Valley Creates, Northwind Art, Centrum, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, her own business Salt of Earth & Sea Studio LLC., and in many more contexts, as well as internationally at the Bay Islands International School on the Island of Roatan Honduras.
“Remembering our connection is remembering our responsibility to earth, sea & all living beings.”
-Shelby Silver