About
About Me
Hi, I’m Shellie! I just got married (see above, lol) and changed my last name from Fiocca to Argeanton. I know, so traditional. ;) I’m 29 years old, sometimes annoyingly happy person with a big fat smile on my face most of the time. I make a living creating user-friendly web designs at Orbit Media + making art collages and drawings at night! Chicago is not my hometown, but I’m pretty close to calling it that anyway – I believe I deserve the right to do so since I just bought a home here! Ha! Please enjoy my site and contact me if you have any questions or would like to buy some artwork. xoxo, Shellie
My Artwork
My inspiration is art therapy. I believe making art is an opportunity to express myself imaginatively, authentically and spontaneously to find personal fulfillment, emotional healing and transformation. My art is nonverbal and metaphorical, but it is my voice. My message is to communicate the story of my life through snippets, moments and mini narratives. At the earliest moments as a child, we are taught to dissimulate our thoughts, to be polite with people we dislike and to control our emotions. Models in fashion adverts are the ultimate in disguise and control. I find it therapeutic to graffiti those images – making them more imperfect…like me.
Work Experience
July 2007 – Present
Orbit Media Studios, Inc. / Chicago, IL
Web Designer
June 2006 – July 2007
Cancer Treatment Centers of America / Schaumburg, IL
Web Designer for cancercenter.com (CTCA), working in a team of developers and content managers to update company site, re-design for new site and maintain other organizational websites.
December 2004 – June 2006
F News Magazine @ The School of the Art Institute of Chicago / Chicago, IL
Student news publication run by students for students. Associate Art Director for the print design team, Webmaster for web news staff. Responsible for coding, page layout, design, and illustration. Created all web related materials and print marketing materials for web edition in collaboration with an editor. Weekly and monthly updates per eight web exclusives, faculty blogs, and growing student art community.
August 2005 – December 2006
City of Chicago and SAIC / Green Roofs Chicago / Chicago, IL
Freelance / Temporary Project in a team effort to produce an environmentally proactive site for the City of Chicago. Created various flash animation elements as well as graphical elements using Macromedia and Adobe Suites.
June 2005 – September 2005
MelissaGalitz.com | Photographer, Painter, Artist / Dallas, TX
Freelance web design project for artist, designer, and model Melissa Galitz. Developed portfolio site to showcase best works in various media.
August 2005 – December 2005
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago / Chicago, IL
Freelance/Temporary position to create back-end structure, visual design, and navigation of SAIC Graduate Thesis Abstracts Website for the Dean’s Office at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Collaboration with editor for content.
Feb0ruary 2004 – August 2004
Thornton Landscape / Marketing Coordinator / Cincinnati, OH
Responsible for designing and implementing marketing materials such as brochures, magazine ads, identity system as well as redesigning their existing website.
August 1999 – December 2003
Marathon Oil Company / Graphics Coordinator/ Findlay, OH
Completed duplication and bookmaking jobs that included use of high speed, color, and large format printers. Collated booklets, created tabs, laminated, and billed jobs. Translated retirement documents to microfilm and processed for storage. Attended to various administrative duties. Implemented new storage system of existing advertising library.
Education
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago / Chicago, IL
Master of Fine Arts in Visual Communication, September 2004 – April 2006
Chicago Art Department / Chicago (Pilsen), IL
Video Editing and Production Technology, August 2005-April 2006
European Outsider Art Study Trip / Germany, Switzerland, Austria
Discussion, Lecture, and Investigation of Outsider Art / January 2006
Bowling Green State University/ Bowling Green, OH
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Arts | Minor in Sculpture / December 2003
Queensland University of Technology / Brisbane, Australia August 2002
Six months study in film preparation & production, storyboarding, character
development, lighting, rendering, and new media technologies. Exploration
in oil painting and modern art theory.
Studio Art Centers International/ Florence, Italy May 2001
Six weeks study in Renaissance Art History and painting
Exhibitions
Growing Up CAD 2009 August 2009
Chicago Art Department, 1837 S Halsted, Chicago, IL
Large Collage/Drawing Auctioned
Motion/Vision/Transition June 2009
Chicago Art Department, 1837 S Halsted, Chicago, IL
www.haastyle.com/mvtshow/
Growing Up CAD 2008 November 2008
Chicago Art Department, 1837 S Halsted, Chicago, IL
Large Collage/Drawing Auctioned
IDEAS – Beyond Boundaries – Pedagogy & Change in the Academic Environment November 2007
Fuel Collection, 429 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
Digital Screening of “Do Not Become” video works.
Growing Up CAD 2007 August 2007
Chicago Art Department, 1837 S Halsted, Chicago, IL
4 Framed Drawings Printed
MFA Thesis Exhibition SAIC May 2006
Gallery 2, 847 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL
Flat Screen Television with Video/Animation + 16 Paintings
CAD Meets SAIC December 2005
The Chicago Art Department Meets SAIC, Chicago, IL
Video Screening and Installation
Leading Lights: BGSU Alumni Artists Invitational Exhibition 2005
Bowling Green State University, Dorothy Uber Bryon Gallery, Bowling Green, OH
30-year selection of outstanding graduates (artist book & prints selected)
Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition 2003
Bowling Green State University, Dorothy Uber Bryon Gallery, Bowling Green, OH
(five works selected / one drawing, one sculpture, two digital prints, one interactive web)
Annual Undergraduate Art Exhibition 2002
Bowling Green State University, Dorothy Uber Bryon Gallery, Bowling Green, OH
(two woks selected / one painting, one digital art print)
James W. Strong Achievement Award for outstanding Achievement in Digital Art 2002
DPI’s Ninth Annual Andre Schellenberg Awards Competition 2002
Palm Springs, FL
Ellen Nelson Spring Show 2001
ArtSpace Gallery, Lima, OH
(two paintings selected)
