Page 13 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2020- Lubbock Online Magazine

CELEBRATING A CENTURY
She met Diana Ryan, a Tech music
student, at Harold and Janie
Humphries’ popular Bible study.
Diana needed a piano to practice
for school. The two developed a
long-lasting, soulmate friendship.
Together, Diana and Shelley played
duets and composed masterpieces.
They went to New York for a
musical adventure to see the debut
of Ireland’s River Dance at Radio
City Music Hall. Shelley remembers
them enjoying an ice cream cone
after midnight on the streets of New
York.
Dr. Oberhoff, a professor at Texas
Tech, came to the house for weekly
lessons and to help her with her
compositions. Shelley’s son, Roy,
remembers the professor, with his
European accent, loudly saying,
“Shelley, you must live it more!”
Music became a means to express
the indescribable thoughts and
emotions within.
The house was filled with Shelley
playing classical music and her
compositions after dinner. Her
music gave everyone excitement,
hope, deep moving involvement
with beauty of the world and the
souls who came before us. “Now,
with Covid separation, Pandora
is a way to carry the music with
us,” says her son, Roy. ”We have
a pandemic, but the music is
drowning it out.”
Shelley, being
strongly right-
brained, was
always looking
for creative
outlets. She
started sketching
her children and
dog. One day,
“Wild Horses”
she took Fred
for a walk and
met Tony Arnett in front of Tony’s
house. Tony lamented that she
hated to exercise and later invited
Shelley to see her passion – art!
She was instrumental in guiding
Shelley toward her gift in art,
helping Shelley develop her style “Still Life”
and attending art workshops with
her.
Shelley explored art forms using
While at a workshop in Santa Fe watercolors, oils, pencils, and clay.
and visiting with Glenna Goodacre, She said watercolor was the hardest
Shelley paid a visit to her cousin, medium. She would let the wet
Charles Furr. He was going blind colors blend on the paper to form
new colors. This is a skill beyond
but was still painting. He taught her coloring within the lines.
to trust what she sees with the mind
and heart, not just with the eyes.
She also enjoyed sculpting: taking
Back in Lubbock, Shelley went to a a piece of clay and giving it life!
local drawing group where they had She saw this as the analogy to God
models and at times drew with their transforming her own life, as she
eyes closed. Portraying the emotions allowed His masterful hands.
from within can be very powerful.
One of her
favorite
pastime
drawings
was to start
with circles,
transforming
them into a
horse. She
would start
with any
geometric
shape, which
would evolve
into a picture.
Lubbock Senior Link 13