By Anastasia Smith
WHEN TSP RECEIVED AN EMAIL from Shelley Kommers with the subject line “Sister Artwork,” we were startled: Had Shelley, known in the Etsy world as Oiseaux (meaning bird in French), seen us lurking in her shops and sites somehow? Magic! Shelley had attached two mixed-media pieces about sisters, Strawberry Park (above) and Sí, Alguna Vez Fue Un Ave (“Yes, She Once Was a Bird” in Spanish), the former, she explained, created as a representation of herself with her own sister, Carrie (and look whose little arm is around whose bigger waist). No wonder Shelley defines “sister” as “someone you’re stuck with in the best way.” Those original images were just a glimpse into a portfolio, and a world, rich with sisterhood imagery, one we are excited to share here.
“My work is inspired by memories, the natural world, and my own inner stories,” says Shelley, “about the poetry that lives beneath the surface of things.” So it comes as no surprise that a childlike thread of narration, spotted with female faces and figures, runs through her many collages. Her use of vintage materials brings a nostalgic quality to her work, which fits with her themes of memory and irony. From retro wallpaper to storybook character cutouts to vintage, battered photographs, Shelley’s work evokes a poetic longing for youth and make-believe.
Shelley (left) with her little sister Carrie
The dreamy, ephemeral bits of Shelley’s art draw on early memory, some of it unsettling, and she describes both her young self and her sister as being “very creative and imaginative. We had plenty of toys, but could have a riot with two sticks and an empty jar.” Because their family was always moving, “most years found me going to a brand new school, sometimes two,” Shelley found solace in her relationship with her younger sister by three years. “I was a shy and private child, so a safe harbor for me was my relationship with my sister, Carrie.” (It is Carrie’s birthday this week, on the 29th, and TSP hopes this story is like an extra little gift.)
Their early relationship, tucked away in an imaginative safe world, has provided a solid foundation for Carrie and Shelley’s adult identity as sisters. “As we maneuvered through all the changes in our life—the moves, the divorces, the remarriages—we always had each other and the silly things that we did,” Shelley says.
Shelley and her family moved a lot during her childhood
Today, Shelley lives in a cottage in the woods with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, Beau. She blogs about her life and work, and sells her original mixed-media prints in her Oiseaux Noir Etsy shop. She also sells personalized vintage bookplates and other fanciful treasures in a second shop, Oiseaux. You’ll find Shelley’s complete artistic portfolio on her professional website, where we urge you to browse through her assemblages of cast-away, forgotten worlds.
Perhaps Shelley describes her artistic sensibility perfectly when she says: “I am always on the lookout for beauty, and I find it everywhere: in the decayed, the imperfect, and the ironic; in the small, tucked-away places no one else looks.”
THE TSP INTERVIEW WITH SHELLEY KOMMERS
Q: Fill in the blank: You know you’re a sister when…
A: “There’s someone in the world who can make you laugh so hard that you cry. The kind of unrecoverable, hysterical laughter that leaves you exhausted.”
Q: What does the word sister mean to you?
A: “To me, a sister is someone who you walk through life with; someone who sees who you are and understands who you used to be. Someone you’re stuck with in the best way.”
Q: Any best-of/worst-of sisterhood experiences you wish to share?
A: “Of course there were the years of bickering and silly sister stuff (Carrie remembers blackmail, I remember my diary being read), but what I remember most is the magic of our playtime and the inventiveness of the fantasy worlds we’d create. A lot of that ‘make-believe’ quality is still with me today and shapes my artwork.”
THE TSP GALLERY OF SHELLEY KOMMERS’S WORK
Where to find more of Shelley: Shelley blogs here; sells original artwork at her Oiseaux Noir Etsy shop; and sells personalized vintage bookplates and other items in her second shop, Oiseaux. Shelley’s complete artistic portfolio is on her professional website. Shelley is also on Flickr, for those who want to share photos with her there.
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Beatiful nostalgic art…and a lovely tribute to sisterhood by Shelley…and happy birthday to Carrie!
Welcome, Chrisy. We were to glad to run it in time for the birthday…a little extra-special twist, and a gift for Carrie. Glad to see you here, and hope that we see you again soon.