More About the Studio
We are all works in progress.
"An advocate for the arts and wellness with fourteen years of experience following creative practices which support Independent Sustainable Wellness, Sheila also has experience as an advocate for Local Artists, Arachnoiditis Awareness, Survivors and Prevention, as an Advocate for at-risk Youth, and a New York State Certified Teacher.
Using reasonable accommodations as an Independent Studio Artist and Small Business Owner, Sheila is also the President of the Allegany Arts Association Board of Directors, Vice-President of the Board at Rise Above Holistic Wellness Center, an ACCESS-VR Small business grant recipient, a graduate of the ACCORD Business Center Entrepreneurial Assistance Program (2010), and a graduate of Alfred University (BFA in painting and ceramics). She has an MS in Education, with a thesis based on using visual arts to demonstrate the elements of literature to explore the impact of the arts in support of cross-curricular understanding and individual student achievement.
Green Matters and Creative Wellness in the Studio
Conscious of the environmental impact of the modern economy, Sheila pursues organic practices at the studio and launched a FREE enrollment-based recycling program for local patrons, artists, vendors, and entrepreneurs to supplement the recycling program already offered by our local department of public works. (January - December 2018)
The Creative Wellness Garden which supplies her Wild Pantry is a Wild Life Habitat registered at the National Wildlife Federation.
SheilaLynnK Art Studio supports the Fassett Greenspace as a valuable sustainable asset to the future of environmental and cultural awareness and preservation in our rural community.
Sheila facilitates a FREE Monthly Creative Wellness Circle at her studio and hosted a free Trash Free Challenge (2017-2021) page to share ideas about achieving her zero waste and plastic free goals.
By invitation, in June 2016, in alignment with her Creative Wellness, Global Unity, and Zero Waste Goals; Sheila began allowing the licensed use of her designs on Fashions, Fabrics, and Home Decor
at V I D A Design Studio.
History
V I D A doesn't keep many items in stock, so each piece is custom printed uniquely for you, reducing waste and, hopefully, the need for mass-produced goods. Plus, every purchase helps fund literacy and social programs to their factory workers, helping them build better lives for generations to come.
Arts Advocacy and Accessibility
An advocate for cultural belonging, after attending the 2018 Culture Shift Conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture; Sheila established a Cultural Policy of Belonging for her studio.
Founder of the Belfast Organization for Artists (2009), Sheila celebrates women in the arts and shines a light on local artists and entrepreneurs in honor of those keeping the arts accessible to all members of our rural community during SWAN Days Allegany County, NY and promotes Community Action as she works to keep the many benefits of Art Affordable to those who need it most via the Barter For Art Program and Adoptable Art collections in her studio.
An Allegany Arts Association Board Member (2018), member of the Wellsville Art Association, and Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce Allegany Artisans Studio Tour (2013) & Selected as the official artist for the Official Great Wellsville Balloon Rally 2013, she continues to show her art for free at local community events.
Publications and Exhibitions
With recent works currently displayed at the Rise Above Holistic Wellness Center, her work has also been published in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy (2014),
and Shown in The Creative Wellness Works Exhibit (Fillmore, NY 2018), The Artists Among Us Touring Art Program (Allegany County,NY 2009 & 2017), The Arachnoiditis Survivors' Art Exhibit (Allegany County, NY 2014, 2015) and
Around Now In A Square Time, a Collaborative Show with Allison Midgley (2013). Her work has also been Featured at One Five 4 Gallery (now Ladder and Key), At the See Exhibition Space Exposure Exhibition in Long Island, NY (2013), and exhibited in New York City's Times Square Artist Wanted 2012 Campaign to replace advertising with Art, Wellsville Art Association Exhibits, Belfast Library Shows, the Exposed Series traveling exhibit 2009, in the Jones Memorial Hospital rehabilitation clinic, and in local Main Street Windows Exhibitions.
Media and Skills
A lifelong student of Nature, Mysticism, and Metaphysical Philosophy with a background in Observational Drawing, Conceptual Expressionism, Impressionism, Sythetism, European and African Art History, Children's Literature, Visual Journaling, and Domestic Cultural Studies; Sheila has a diverse portfolio demonstrating utilization of the following methods and media:
Painting-acrylic, watercolor, kool-aid, and finger paints.
Drawing-graphite on paper, colored pencil, ink, and mixed media.
Sculpture- paper sculpture, Sculpey/polymer clay, some ceramics, recyclable materials.
Collage and Digital Photography
Local Impact and Global Projects
In 2014 Sheila launched the Art For Arachnoiditis Project to Empower fellow Survivors via Participation in the Arts. Sheila hosted and curated The YEAR 2 Survivors' Art Exhibit at her studio and gallery from April 30-May 28, 2016. April 2015, Sheila offered a Workshop, Art+Adaptability = Healing, at the Opening Reception of the FIRST Art For Arachnoiditis Project Exhibit. This project was awarded Fiscal Sponsorship by the New York Foundation For The Arts (Feb2015).
Sheila is an Arachnoiditis Survivor(2007) and Advocate for Prevention of Spinal Adhesive Arachnoiditis. The creative works by survivors at The Art For Arachnoiditis Project have reached 93 countries (WordpressReport 2015) around the world. This project was active from 2014-2018 and the website with resources for survivors remains free to the public.
In response to these efforts and joining other states in the nation, with Dedicated Assistance from Senator Catherine Young; the Governor of New York State has proclaimed July to be Arachnoiditis Awareness Month.
Memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim July (2016 and 2018) as Arachnoiditis Awareness Month in the State of New York and presented to Sheila L. Kalkbrenner at the Art For Arachnoditis Project. [J5436 and J3551]
History
After enlisting in the US Army for four years, Sheila wore many hats: a single parent of three children, she served as a volunteer classroom assistant, developer of Classroom Critique programs, events coordinator for the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce, Library Clerk, Manager and Youth Advocate for After School Programs at ACCORD Corporation, and Founder of the Belfast Organization for Artists. Her resilience, adaptability, talent, and creative gifts have carried her through various life situations and have served as an impetus for her survival and her advocacy for others sharing similar experiences.
YOU CAN HELP
Sheila's patrons make these projects possible.
Sheila's Charitable Art Projects and Community Action works are fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas. Tax-deductible options to support these projects can be found here.
On Patreon it is FREE to follow her public posts. Subscribing patrons get the most art. Unlock existing content and select your Rewards Levels here. (Patreon subscription levels and rewards are NOT tax-deductible.)