Shelleen A. McQueen, master goldsmith, bead designer and painter, serves the discerning collector through use of precious metals and gems, precious metal clay, lamp-worked and fused glass, iridescent inks and paints, and imported glass beads, resulting in majestic, one-of-a-kind creations.

 

McQueen’s work in karat gold, sterling and fine silver, and mixed metals targets the high‑end jewelry market with a combination of construction, casting, and wire wrapping. She selects her own precious and semi-precious stones one-by-one, and builds an element of chance into her technique that ensures the uniqueness of each piece. 

 

Beaded fine art by McQueen comprises jewelry, accessories, mobiles, and wall hangings. With Japanese Miyuki Delica beads, as well as hand-blown, lamp-worked, and fused glass focus beads, she superimposes striking holographic and three-dimensional effects that enliven forms of nature and geometric shapes.  To complement her elegant, hand-stitched patterns, she practices Kumihimo, the Japanese art of braiding, with beaded strands on a Marudai (round stand).  Also, she builds and retrofits looms of varying sizes and shapes to execute her woven designs.

 

McQueen’s kinetic mandala paintings employ iridescent paints, inks, and aurora borealis beads to achieve distinctive holographic and three-dimensional effects reminiscent of her fine jewelry and wearable art.  

 

Galleries and museums exhibiting McQueen’s work have included Jewels from the Crown Gallery in Lexington, Massachusetts, Meriwether & William Gallery in Acton, Massachusetts, Handworks Gallery in Acton, Massachusetts, Sampsonis Gallery in Burlington, Massachusetts, The Elements Gallery in Greenwich, Connecticut, Three Rivers Gallery in Bellows Falls, Vermont, Beach Tree Gallery in Chester, Vermont, Unicorn Gallery in Woodstock, Vermont, Gallery 103 in Chester, Vermont, Cricketers Gallery in Grafton, Vermont, Maplewing Artisans Gallery in Bellows Falls, Vermont, Pember Museum of Natural History in Granville, New York, and John Rippel U.S.A. Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

McQueen has been Artist‑in‑Residence at the Octagon Art Center, Ames, Iowa, and Exhibiting Artist at the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa.  She studied privately with Anne K. Garland, a graduate of the Boston Museum School, with Paula Dineen of the DeCordova Museum School in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Her chief influences have been Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Vassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, M. C. Escher, Jackson Pollock, and Jasper Johns.