Shelley Atwood’s brooch is a festive combination of gold pods, gilded needles, and red leaves. Alien meets suburban Texas but in a good, friendly way.

I hadn’t checked on Shelley’s work lately and it felt like going home for the holidays. Her colors are muted and slightly dark and her shapes change. The clay leads and she follows in a curious, unforced way.

Shelley created a slew of earrings for her gallery’s ArtWalk. Her UK fan, Carrie Harvey pointed out what I’d been missing. Shelley demos on Facebook and shows her work on Flickr.