About GFTD Studio
Where the Practice Began
Gone for the Day began in the early 2000s as Shelley’s mobile art studio — a creative practice that traveled with her through the changing seasons of life.
Shelley built this work from her own lived experience. For years, art was her refuge: the place she turned to when the world felt too loud, too fast, or too demanding.
Through color, symbol, and intuitive expression, she found a way to listen inward again — to heal, to reconnect, and to remember who she was beneath the noise.
The Artist and Founder
Shelley Bonner is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative journey spans sculpture, pottery, mixed media, collage, painting, and graphic design. She earned an Associate of Applied Science in Media Advertising Arts from Tidewater Community College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design from Wichita State University. Her work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and festivals across the country, including exhibitions with the MOJA Arts Festival, the Kansas African American Museum, and numerous regional arts organizations.