Shelley Graham Turner believes that your art should wake up your spirit, giving you a “giddy feeling” - a feeling that hits you right in your soul. She says that working in vibrant color and lots of texture does just that for her. Shelley loves to teach. She says everyone has an artist inside them and she gets a real thrill from helping others discover and develop their artistic talents. It's her wish to be able to encourage and inspire others.

Most of her background is in ceramic and glass mosaics. However, Shelley’s real passion is mixed media art. She says it allows her to create with freedom; to combine many mediums and techniques, working on different substrates. With an intuitive style, she especially loves using her own handmade stencils and stamps. Her favorite supplies are acrylics, inks, markers and pastels. Loving texture and dimension she says that the more layers, the happier she is! Her pieces are created using traditional techniques (collage, stenciling, stamping) as well as non-traditional techniques and methods, such as mono-printing and encaustic art.

After working her “day job” and spending her free time developing her craft, in 2004 she was finally able to put all her energies into pursuing her real passions.Along with creating art, Shelley began working with young artists under a grant with NYS Arts Council. She also developed a youth art program, creating community art projects, giving the youth a sense of purpose and a positive connection to their community. Her work has been published in industry magazines as well as being featured in local newspapers and television. She is also known under her business name, TORI SOPHIA Designs. You can follow her blog here.