Shelley Koss is an award-winning fiber and watercolor artist. She resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her talented architect husband, Erik Koss of Koss Design +Build. She is a multiple spontaneous coronary artery dissection survivor (SCAD). She has won 14 local and regional awards for her artwork and been juried into 30 local, national, and international exhibitions.

My art explores two interconnected worlds: the complexities of social issues and the restorative beauty of nature.

In my social commentary series, I am drawn to the challenge of distilling complex issues into their simplest visual form. By stripping away unnecessary details, I invite viewers to look more closely, reflect, and draw their own conclusions. I am particularly interested in the unexpected directions a simple image can take in the viewer's mind. Rather than dictate an interpretation, I want my work to raise questions, encourage conversation, and leave room for perspectives beyond my own. Through simplified imagery, I seek to make these challenging subjects accessible while allowing their deeper meanings to unfold through the viewer's experience. Many pieces in this series now reside in private collections but can be viewed through my blog and instagram page.

My nature art offers a counterbalance to these concerns. Inspired by the color, texture, and inherent beauty of the natural world, I create work that invites viewers to pause, breathe, and reconnect with a sense of wonder. I am drawn to the simple joy of observing natural forms and translating their vibrancy and character into art. I zero in on a detail getting to know the subject intimately. The density of the fur, the reflection in the eye, the wetness of a petal guide my curiosity and hands to create one-of-a-kind portraits.

Whether confronting difficult social realities or celebrating the beauty of nature, my intention is to create work that encourages people to stop, look, and feel. One body of work invites reflection; the other offers respite. Both remind us of the value of paying attention to the world around us.

My playful nature comes out in abstract watercolor fabric portraits and abstract modernism.

The fiber art can be traditionally bound or framed. I also paint in watercolor and in thread. Thread painting is a technique of painting on fabric with thread instead of oil or acrylic paints. The threads are densely free motion stitched to create a work of art. Frequent thread color changes create objects, shadows, light and intensity.  Reflection and depth are created using different sheen threads with different thread weights and textures. 

Each work of art is one-of-a-kind. I accept commissions for people, pets, and nature.

Juried Exhibitions

2026 Sunnyslope Studio Tour, juried artist.

2026 Vision Gallery, Art Quilts 31st Exhibition - Iggy

2026 AQS Paducah, TN, What Goes Around Comes Around, Dragonfly 1, and Dragonfly 2

2025 The Bower Willow, Boston

2025 The Summit Collection, Don’t Call Me Square

2025 Portland on the Park, Cycle 18, Sleepy Rabbit

2025 Vision Gallery, Art Quilts 30th Exhibition - Midnight and Nonconformist Goose

2025 LSU Gallery, Animals in Art Exhibition, Owl 2

2025 AQS Lancaster, What Goes Around Comes Around, Dragonfly 1, Dragonfly 2

2025 AQS Grand Rapids, What Goes Around Comes Around

2025 First Studio Gallery in conjunction with Arizona Art Alliance, What Goes Around Comes Around 2 and Bleeding Ideals

2025 Portland On The Park Gallery, Cycle 17, Owl

2025 Wham Art Gallery, Collage Exhibition, Sassy Girl, 3rd Place

2025 Wham Art Gallery, Interpretations X, Bloom, Honorable Mention

2025 QuiltCon, What Goes Around Comes Around and Modern Fusion Community Quilt Fractured to Fusion

2024 Portland On The Park Gallery, Cycle 16, Squirrel

2024 FOUND: Gallery, Press Play and Plus Minus

2024 Craft Forms, 29th International Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Fine Craft, Intensity

2024 Vision Gallery, Art Quilts: Impact!, What Goes Around Comes Around

2024 The Lincoln Center Gallery - 40th Annual New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts - Bloom - Won Honorable Mention

2024 AQS Grand Rapids - When you hear hoofbeats, sometimes it is a zebra

2024 Wham Art Center Gallery- Dragonfly 1, Dragonfly 2, Butterfly 1, Butterfly 2, A Cactus You Can Touch

2024 International Quilt Show in Houston - modern category Twist - Modern Minimalist Snowflake

2024 AQS Paducah - Modern Minimalist Snowflake and When you hear hoofbeats, sometimes it is a zebra

2024 Ground Floor Artists Gallery, Watercolors, Rainbow Sheltie and Grandma’s Barn

2024 Wham Gallery, Arizona Art Alliance Exhibition, Art Interpretations IX, Watercolor Owl

2024 AQS Branson - Modern Minimalist Snowflake and When you hear hoofbeats, sometimes it is a zebra

2024 AQS Daytona Beach - Modern Minimalist Snowflake and When you hear hoofbeats, sometimes it is a zebra

2024 45th Annual Contemporary Crafts at Mesa Contemporary Art Museum

2023 AQS Grand Rapids - Modern Minimalist Snowflake

2023 AQS Des Moines - Modern Minimalist Snowflake, When you hear hoofbeats, sometimes it is a zebra

2023 Vision Gallery - Press Play, Modern Minimalist Snowflake

                          Awards:

2025 Wham Art Center Gallery - 3rd Place Fiber

2024 Arizona Art Alliance - Wayne Art Center Gallery - Honorable Mention

2024 The Lincoln Center Gallery - 40th Annual New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts - Bloom - Won Honorable Mention

2024 Wham Art Center Gallery - Honorable Mention

2023 Arizona State Fair – Fiber Arts

1st and 2nd Place for Baby Quilts

1st Place Miniature – Bird on a Flower

2nd Place Original Thread Painting – Butterfly

2nd Place for Thread Painting - Red Fox

3rd Place for Collage Thread Painting “Fantasy Bird”

2023 Arizona State Fair – Watercolor

1st Place – Pear

2nd Place – Spaniel

2023 TeraVarna Gallery

Honorable Mention thread painting “A desert flower you can touch”

Honorable Mention watercolor “Spaniel”

2022 Maricopa Country Fair – Fiber Arts

1st Place for Thread Painting “Bloom”

1st Place for Collage Thread Painting “Fantasy Bird”

3rd Place for Thread Painting “Intensity”