Shelley's family has a humble history of farming and cane cutting in South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. She and her siblings are a combination of Bundjalung people and the children of Kanakas, ‘blackbirded’ from Vanuatu. The men cut the cane and the women farmed the red soil of the caldera left by the once active volcano that is known now as Wollumbin.

“My connection to self and to the world around me is a direct reflection of my relationship with mother nature. I honour her in every way that I can for my own spiritual growth, and use my artwork as a way to share the stories she tells me so that others can see her through my eyes. Without her, we are all lost.”