If you have spent any time in Fayetteville, you are aware that there is a passionate community of local artists within the heart of this city. Whether it is seen through doodles on a mailbox, murals plastered along Dickson, or the intricate trinkets sold at the farmers market on Saturdays, it is impossible to ignore their impact on this space— I’d even go as far as to say they created it.
I got the pleasure to sit down and interview local artist Shelley Mouber, who is a mixed media artist utilizing repurposed materials to create art in all forms: paintings, papier-mâché, sculptures and more. Originally moving here in 1989, Shelley has had the opportunity to see the art scene grow, stating that “Public art is so important. Fayetteville didn’t always look like this – it’s changed because now every town has an arts and culture director. These things make a difference.” It is clear that she is a fierce advocate for public displays and accessibility to art, noting our introduction as an example of this.
Shelley is currently aiding the StarShopper NWA in redesigning our magazine racks, and implementing art into new locations. I just so happened to approach her as she was working on them, as she sat on the patio absorbing the breeze with her dog Licorice soaking up the sun beside her.
The studio is located at Mt. Sequoyah, where she is part of a local artist community, sharing a space with other creatives in the area. Shelley manages social content as well as teaching both private and community art classes. These classes include the queer youth, neurodivergent students, and marginalized groups. “This place is so special,” Shelley explains, “I want people to come here, find a safe space, and feel encouraged to create.”
This passion can be seen in many ways, but most notably in her commissioned installation located in Rogers, AR. This mixed media piece is centered around inclusivity, and is featured at Centennial Plaza, 104 S.1st Street. “My public piece in Rogers was chosen because it featured every ethnicity, as well as people with disabilities.” Shelley smiled after this remark, stating “I am very proud of that.”
Her work is not limited to this however, as she has sold pieces internationally and beyond. The driving force behind her creativity is her adamant stance on expressing oneself at all costs. Letting go of any preconceived artistic ‘rules’ has allowed Shelley to transfer this passion into the community around her. “Art has been my therapy. I have to do something creative every day…It acts like a meditation class for me.”
The beauty within this stance is that art can be absolutely whatever one wants it to be, and this translates into an understanding that everyone belongs within the world of art. Shelley expressed how some of her favorite commissions were created through using unconventional materials, stating “I once used Hershey’s chocolate wrappers to make a chocolate lab, and a vintage postcard stamp became the pug’s nose – totally by accident!”
From one fellow crafter to another, I was pleased to hear about her use of recycled materials such as candy wrappers, menus, or vintage postcards. We bonded over the fact we have both saved vintage Chinese pamphlets, hers from her mother and mine from the floor of a thrift store. It just so happened that Shelley completed a painting utilizing this paper written in Chinese, and by the end of the interview, the painting ended up coming home with me.
With her success and admiration for local art, challenges still occur. She expressed grievances of artists being able to make a livable wage, and how most creatives work within this profession as a means of purpose, rather than profit. “I consistently try to support endeavors that are free or low-cost,” Shelley explains. “I truly just want Arkansas Creatives to succeed.”
Shelley was generous, insightful, and radiated a creative energy that cannot be ignored. She is conscious of our community, their needs, and how we can use art to come together. Shelley will be displaying some of her work in Santa Fe in the following months, and can be followed through her social media @artistshelleymouber. I encourage any readers to engage with and support her artistry, as she has done for this community all along.
Ryanne FitzGerald
Contributor
Ryanne FitzGerald is pursuing her Advertising and Public Relations degree at The University of Arkansas, and is a new Star Shopper intern. From her bio:
I ultimately set out to study advertising and public relations because I enjoyed how it mixed business with creativity, and I knew if I did not end up in a field in which I’m passionate that I would be sure to burn out. I have always been a creative person, and I would even go as far as to say it is the overarching quality of me that bleeds into everything I do. It is not limited to any form, whether its music, dance, fashion, painting, cinematography, poetry, crafting or more, I will be drawn to it. This is what pulled me to advertising in the first place, as I found old commercial jingles growing up took more precedence in my mind than learning about times tables during my formative years. I am a firm believer in everything being art, down to the lines created by a trail of ants or the way littered trash mimics wildflowers.
