Canadian Landscape Artist Shelley Leach

Functional Art

I've painted for most of my life and worked professionally as a painter since 2005. While painting remains central to my practice, I’m often inspired to create beyond the canvas, exploring how different materials can exist in more tactile, functional ways. Adding this section in 2026 to my website is a relatively new step, as I’ve been taking tactile art more seriously and letting it become a larger part of my practice. Painting landscapes is a two-dimensional process. Functional work is different. It exists in three dimensions and lets me work directly with materials that connect back to my paintings. Working with wood, for example, allows me to physically engage with the grain, texture, and bark of a tree, giving me another way to explore these places.

I continue to expand my functional and sculptural work, building on decades of painting experience. These tactile objects are a natural extension of my painting practice. In time, I hope this work will be seen as part of the same vision as my paintings. This work engages a different part of my creativity but they still come from the same place as my paintings. It isn’t separate from my painting practice, but another way to explore and express many of the same ideas in a physical, everyday way.

I’ve loved earrings my whole life, so carving my own felt natural. When I make something by hand there's a sense of accomplishment whether its for me or someone else. The featured earrings are carved from driftwood found during a painting trip. These are natural, contemporary wearable art. Available at several retail locations including From The Garage, and Ephemeral Creative Studio. Each set is o

As I work on earrings, I find myself increasingly enjoying simply the process of creating sculptural objects with wood and other materials I find during my painting trips. This piece is driftwood I've sculpted with the flow and texture of the wood, then inset a earthy antique Bakelite bead.