There are those who wait for things to happen and those who make things happen. The latter applies to a local plastics artist/teacher/hat maker with international ties – Ron Shelton.
Shelton’s latest work, created from a multitude of kitty litter containers – he refers to it as “Wasp Nests” – will be on view at the Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls in a new exhibit opening Saturday, April 15. The exhibit continues through April 22 – in conjunction with Earth Day. His work is also part of an exhibition at Zygote Press, Transmutations, which closed on April 15.
Rewind to 2011, Shelton launched the Facebook page High Art Fridays to attract artists for an online showcase.
“During 2011, I was a bit reclusive, living in Cleveland, and I started this project on Facebook where I was hosting weekly ‘galleries’ and looking for unusual, aesthetically pleasing, challenging art,” says Shelton. “Surprisingly, the group was initially populated mostly by international artists. It would be approximately four years before the local aspect flourished.”
In 2016, Shelton officially launched the High Art Fridays website as a non-profit organization.
It was due to the number of plastic works submitted to the website by international artists that Shelton became intrigued with the medium.
“I started seeing a lot of artists internationally – namely Patrick Tagoe Turkson from Ghana; Taeyoun Kim from South Korea; Antonio Menet from El Salvador; Cynthia Minet from Los Angeles… I kept seeing these phenomenal pieces of art made from plastic. Their sole motivation was to bring awareness to the public about what plastic is doing to our planet. That started my quest. I began hoarding plastic, and after 30 days, my studio was full. It changed my direction, and I began using plastic in my work.”
Among Shelton’s educational ventures, he is a teaching artist at Art House, Inc. He’s led plastic weaving workshops at Bolton, Dennison, and Oliver H. Perry Elementary schools, Rainey Institute, and John Marshall High School. As his creative tastes changed, leaning heavily towards plastics, he began teaching the kids about plastic. He is currently conducting a workshop at the Cuyahoga Juvenile Detention Center, teaching 12 young ladies how to weave plastic bags onto looms and create plastic mats, which he incorporates into larger tapestries. Like most that he conducts, this workshop is made possible by local grants. Shelton views the children’s workshops as a two-fold experience: teaching them how to create art while also making them aware of sustainability.
Those unfamiliar with Shelton’s work in plastics may know of his earlier foray into hat design for local theaters, including Beck Center and the Cleveland Play House. In 2011, one of his hat designs, the Nudu, was included in two episodes of the hit drama, “Bones,” starring David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top fame) had a recurring role on the show and was a fan of Shelton’s design. Producers asked Shelton to create two “baby” versions of the hat. Shelton now considers hat-making a “back burner” endeavor, but he’s still extremely busy.
Later this year, he will travel to Ghana for a 3-week residency, conducting two plastic weaving workshops for children. He will include their work in his tapestries. A workshop will also be held at PNC Connection this summer.
“At the end of 2023, I plan to have an exhibit featuring all the plastic mat tapestries created by the community over the past couple of years.”
Born and raised in East Cleveland, Nate Paige has contributed more than 30 years to local journalism. He got his professional start at the Cleveland Call & Post and spent over 20 years at Cleveland.com. He currently handles social media for the city of Shaker Heights and writes for their quarterly magazine, Shaker Life. He also freelances for several local publications.
featured Photo: Michael Steinberg