Michael Shelby Edwards (American, B. 1982)
Michael Shelby Edwards was born in Seattle, Washington. She received her BFA from the University of Washington in Seattle and her MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her primary subject is the human form and she regularly incorporates "observed and remembered parts of her own body as well as those of people from her personal life into her work." Edwards describes her working method as beginning from a series of improvisations which gradually form the basis of finished works. Devoutly Catholic and informed by Western art history, her work centers around the psychologically and spiritually-charged relationship between object and body, drawing inspiration from mythology, folklore and religion. Edwards is currently a drawing instructor in Seattle, Washington.
--Mey-Yen Moriuchi, The Female Gaze: Women Artists Making Their World, 2012
Education:
MFA, Painting and Drawing, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
BFA, Painting and Drawing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2005
Honors:
Honorable Mention, 112th Fellowship Exhibition,
Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2011
The Caldwell Purchase Prize,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2008
The Book Award for Outstanding Achievement in Painting and Drawing,
University of Washington School of Art, 2005
The Stuart Davis Memorial Scholarship,
Washington State Art Education Association, 2000
Selected Exhibition History:
Archipelago: A Collection of Drawings and Paintings by Michael Shelby Edwards,
Rogers & Ryan, Seattle WA, 2014
Creation: An Art Exhibition In The Cathedral Chapel,
St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA, 2013
The Female Gaze: Women Artists Making Their World,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2012
Pictures of the Body,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
112th Annual Fellowship Exhibition,
Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Small Works,
Artist’s House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2010
Michael Edwards and Joan Bromley,
Artist’s House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Paper,
Projects Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
Back to Cézanne,
Artist’s House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
Small Works,
Artist’s House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
Portraits,
Artist’s House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
20/20: Selections from the 107th Annual Student Exhibition,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
107th Annual Student Exhibition,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2008
MFA Candidate Show,
Blink Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2007
Senior Thesis Exhibition,
Jacob Lawrence Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2005
School of Art Open,
Jacob Lawrence Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2005
Michael Edwards,
Wismer Women’s Center, Seattle University, Seattle, WA 1998
Major Collections:
Linda Lee Alter Collection of Art by Women, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Permanent Collection of The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Publications:
The Art of Faith, Anna Weaver, Northwest Catholic Magazine,
Archdiocese of Seattle, December, 2014.
The Female Gaze: Women Artists Making Their World, Ed. Robert Cozzolino,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 2012.
Selected Speaking Engagements:
She Speaks: A Panel on Women in the Church,
University of Washington Newman Center, Seattle, WA, 2014
Why the Church Needs Contemporary Art,
Drinks With Dominicans, Blessed Sacrament Parish, Seattle WA, 2012
My Conversion Story,
Catholic Youth Retreat, Stanwood, WA, 2012
Art at Lunch: Visiting Artist Talks,
Wismer Women’s Center, Seattle University, Seattle, WA, 1998
Teaching:
Michael Shelby Edwards has maintained an active teaching practice, conducting private lessons and classes since 2009. She served as a TA for Scott Noel and Renee Foulks during her studies at the Pennsylvania Academy, and worked as an assistant teacher at the Academy’s Summer Art Camp in Philadelphia. She has taught drawing workshops for homeless youth and young adults enrolled in the ‘Zine Program at the University District Youth Center, a branch of Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. She continues to teach drawing and painting lessons from her studio in Seattle.