Artist in Residence
An Artist in Residence program invites artists from various mediums to create, or continue, a body of work. The public is often able to engage with the artist through open studio hours, an artist talk or exhibition. The Creative Pictou County Studio welcomes artists who live locally as well as those visiting the county.
About Amos Shelley
Amos Shelley is an eclectic mixed-media light-box-digital-film-making artist. Above all – Amos is a storyteller. Fueled by his passion to preserve childhood through the arts. Holding onto what’s good and precious. Holding back what’s harmful and corrosive. Amos’ aim is to tell good stories whenever and however he can. With text. Images. Film. Finding every opportunity to incite imagination towards meaning. Amos is a staunch defender of whimsy. A playful hermit. An avid surfer. And a loving husband and father of three.
Amos is also an ordained minister, seasoned public speaker, and engaging writer. He’s published several children’s books over the years. His I’m Here for You series are storying journals designed to help children (of all ages) process their big feelings. He is also working on his magnum opus! A dystopian sci-fi for kids about a child-eating machine scheduled to launch in spring 2026. In 2024 he won the Northumberland Fisheries Museum Art Contest with his depiction of “the good ship” Hector. And this past March Amos was chosen as Creative Pictou County’s 2025 Emerging Artist of the Year.
During his residency Amos will be working on a (yet to be named) stop-motion animation: Chapter One on the history of Pictou. A project commissioned by the Town of Pictou and the McCulloch House Museum & Genealogy Centre. This (yet to be named) project bears significant meaning to both himself, and the town as a whole. “I live in an old ship captain’s house,” he says. “And there is just something especially magical about Pictou. More than just the ocean and history, which I both adore. It’s the persevering benevolent creativity of the people – from then to now – that is most compelling. And telling that story is sacred.” Amos is beyond excited for the opportunity to share his process. He invites anyone and everyone to stop in and get a first hand look at how a light-box paper art stop-motion film is made! The (yet to be named) film is scheduled for release in mid September 2025.
The public can stop by during the open hours of the building (Monday, Friday, Saturday from 10am-5pm, Tuesday-Thursday 10am-8pm). Amos will be in the studio from Monday August 18 until Saturday August 23, 2025.
