Shelby Cole
An Artifact of Connection
Dubuque Bike Coop
Project Summary: This sculpture represents the inseparable relationship between human beings and nature. During the firing process, the sculpture fractured. Pieces of the tree no longer connecting with the head represent the widening divide between our modern capitalistic world and nature. This piece to me represents environmental degradation and a sense of loss of connection. Yet, the sculpture and tree still stand connected pointing that our connection has not yet disappeared. It simply waits to be remembered.
Artist Bio: Shelby Cole is an Illinois-based ceramic artist, educator, and graduate student in mental health counseling. She earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Platteville in 2012 while completing all available ceramics coursework and independent studies. Her work is informed by a lifelong fascination with human behavior, meaning-making, and the complex relationships that connect people to one another and to the natural world.
Outside the studio, Cole spends much of her time tending gardens, orchards, and other living systems that shape her understanding of resilience, adaptation, and interdependence. Working primarily in figurative sculpture, she explores themes of consciousness, belonging, and transformation through forms that invite reflection on what it means to be human. Cole maintains an independent studio practice, teaches ceramics at the Boys & Girls Club, and serves as a guest artist in schools and community spaces throughout the region.