Instructors Bios

Shelley Long:

Shelley Long loves to paint and to teach others to paint, hoping that they will find the same joy in it as she does! She developed her deep love for painting at a very early age. Her family owned several traditional ceramic shops, as well as a plaster mold company in the metro Denver area for 40 years, giving her a broad range of experience with several different mediums, from earthenware & porcelain clays to plaster & hydro-cal. Growing up in the shop casting molds, cleaning greenware, hand-building, sculpting & mold making were all a part of here every day childhood, however, sitting at the table during painting classes and seminars, soaking up information and painting along with the students was by far her favorite way to spend the day. Tapping in to the previous generation's wealth of knowledge, learning from her own mother and many other talented teachers, some from as far as Germany, gave Shelley a broad range of techniques and perspectives. She began teaching ceramics and reproduction dolls in her  shop in high school, and since then has been teaching in her own studio and others around the U.S.. Shelley continued her learning process to become a certified teacher for Doc Holliday Colors, Kimple (Creative Paradise), Colors For Earth and even Donna Dewberry bringing in new mediums like wood and paper. To this day she continues to take classes to broaden her own experiences so that she can pass it on to her students. Her latest creative journey has been in working with fused glass.