Rachel Shelton
Rachel Shelton is a Wounded Warrior and we are proud to present her beautiful Artwork. All proceeds go directly to the artist, COVO, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
2 Ft x 3 Ft
A message from the artist
My military service was from Mar 19, 2003- May 2009. Active starting in June 2003.
I served in the United States Army. Left Florence, Oregon to arrive at Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri for basic training, then Ft. Rucker, AL for training, then stationed Ft. Stewart, GA but because I was an Aviation Specialist, I was stationed on Hunter Army Airfield, in Savannah, Ga. My job in the Army was to dispatch aircraft. Not an Air Traffic Controller, but I was base operations and Ft. Irwin there was a training facility for those units going overseas. We were 24/7. So I didn't have much time to participate in the arts. When I got out of the Army, I only wanted to go to school. I tried Veterinarian studies but when I put too much on my plate I would have nervous breakdowns. I didn't know how to study and I've had lost more of who I was or who I was trying to become. I wanted to be smart, and needed people to feed me worth, I sought after people's approval. I found a home in the ceramic studio at college. While the field of science was difficult, I could escape once again in art, this time Ceramics. I met a lot of Veterans participating in ceramics. I didn't know at the time, but there was major personal grounding with
clay. I was never diagnosed with PTSD, and eventually severe depression which felt crippling and hopeless to be labeled this. This wasn't the small town girl before the Army. I was vibrant and I was carefree... but things changed. My relationships with my folks worsened and I was failing in studies that were supposed to give me some smart title. Skipping forward to moving to Bend, Oregon Jan 1, 2014...I started back in college to finish a degree. At this point I just needed to know I could obtain a piece of paper that said I was smart. I found my home in Culture and Creativity. I had attended the Oregon Symphony one evening and was moved by the images in my head by listening to No. 4 with op 98- and I saw the colors. Music and abstract art has never moved me together like this- I knew I would paint these canvases to depict the motion of that symphony. It would make sense to me later that I craved water, fluidity, and a place which was always art. I was accepted to attend a Woman's Retreat in the Tetons to participate in Art Therapy. Art has helped me stay above rock bottom, mentally pulled me out of the dark, and gives me hope and inspiration. These paintings were not
any I've done before, it's completely interpreted by music, which fascinates me. Used with Gesso and acrylic texture helps me ground, just like clay. I learn more through touch, and these pieces really helped me continue pushing forward to seeing what other creations I can generate.
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Rachel Shelton is a Wounded Warrior and we are proud to present her beautiful Artwork. All proceeds go directly to the artist, COVO, and the Wounded Warrior Project.
2 Ft x 3 Ft
A message from the artist
My military service was from Mar 19, 2003- May 2009. Active starting in June 2003.
I served in the United States Army. Left Florence, Oregon to arrive at Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri for basic training, then Ft. Rucker, AL for training, then stationed Ft. Stewart, GA but because I was an Aviation Specialist, I was stationed on Hunter Army Airfield, in Savannah, Ga. My job in the Army was to dispatch aircraft. Not an Air Traffic Controller, but I was base operations and Ft. Irwin there was a training facility for those units going overseas. We were 24/7. So I didn't have much time to participate in the arts. When I got out of the Army, I only wanted to go to school. I tried Veterinarian studies but when I put too much on my plate I would have nervous breakdowns. I didn't know how to study and I've had lost more of who I was or who I was trying to become. I wanted to be smart, and needed people to feed me worth, I sought after people's approval. I found a home in the ceramic studio at college. While the field of science was difficult, I could escape once again in art, this time Ceramics. I met a lot of Veterans participating in ceramics. I didn't know at the time, but there was major personal grounding with
clay. I was never diagnosed with PTSD, and eventually severe depression which felt crippling and hopeless to be labeled this. This wasn't the small town girl before the Army. I was vibrant and I was carefree... but things changed. My relationships with my folks worsened and I was failing in studies that were supposed to give me some smart title. Skipping forward to moving to Bend, Oregon Jan 1, 2014...I started back in college to finish a degree. At this point I just needed to know I could obtain a piece of paper that said I was smart. I found my home in Culture and Creativity. I had attended the Oregon Symphony one evening and was moved by the images in my head by listening to No. 4 with op 98- and I saw the colors. Music and abstract art has never moved me together like this- I knew I would paint these canvases to depict the motion of that symphony. It would make sense to me later that I craved water, fluidity, and a place which was always art. I was accepted to attend a Woman's Retreat in the Tetons to participate in Art Therapy. Art has helped me stay above rock bottom, mentally pulled me out of the dark, and gives me hope and inspiration. These paintings were not
any I've done before, it's completely interpreted by music, which fascinates me. Used with Gesso and acrylic texture helps me ground, just like clay. I learn more through touch, and these pieces really helped me continue pushing forward to seeing what other creations I can generate.