How Shelly Castle Turned Land Development into Art

0:00Shelly Castle: The following programming is sponsored by Marc J. Bernstein. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of this station, its management, or Beasley Media Group. Entrepreneur, founder, author, and financial advisor, Marc Bernstein helps high-performing business owners turn their visions into reality. At March Forward, Marc and his partners and associates think out of the box to partner with their clients in regards to their visions for their lives, their businesses, and their legacies. And through his innovative work with the Forward Focus Forums, Mark connects entrepreneurs to resources that help to fuel their success.

0:35Shelly Castle: Founders Forum is a radio show and podcast where entrepreneurs share their journeys, reveal the stories behind their successes, and the lessons they've learned. Join Mark and his guests for a mix of inspiration, valuable insights, and a bit of fun. Now, let's dive in.

0:54Marc: Good morning, America. How are you? Good morning, Arlo, if you're listening. That's my dog. But welcome to Founders Forum. We have in the studio today with us Shelly and Jennifer, and Jennifer will be co-hosting, and Shelly is our guest today. And we are the top, the word of the day, because of having spoken with both of you, is a word that I think our listeners will get a lot from, is sustainability. So just to give you a little direction on the question around that. And I'll ask Jennifer first, then we'll go to Shelly. What does that mean to you? Because I know it has meaning to both of you.

1:32Marc: And what impact does it have on your lives? And obviously, people will know that it affects your businesses as well. But Jennifer, what occurs to you about that?

1:43Shelly Castle: So because I'm in the building and construction industry and the development industry, It really means trying to create high-performance, healthy buildings as well as resilient and more environmentally friendly land developments.

2:00Marc: Very succinct and very meaningful. Shelly, how about you?

2:05Dr. Jennifer Languell: Well, conservation was the word constantly used during my career. And starting out on the coast, it was never-ending. and it was continually coming up and becoming more and more angled toward the idea of sustainability. But there was a lot to be learned at that time.

2:26Marc: Those two concepts go together pretty closely, don't they?

2:29Dr. Jennifer Languell: They're hand in hand. Yeah.

2:30Marc: So let me introduce the people in the studio with me today. Jennifer L. Langwell, Ph.D., is founder and CEO and president of Trifecta Construction Solutions. and Shelly Castle MFA is a nature artist and she is owner of Castle Graphics Art and Design Studio and you will also find her under Shelly Castle Artist. And she creates art in her Southwest Florida home studio for over 40 years and as a local artist celebrates nature as an invitation to pause, observe, and reconnect with the wild. rooted in a lifelong passion for wildlife and conservation as she mentioned her works blend visual imagery with a commitment to protecting the pristine environment that we love living and working with within the florida wildlife corridor shelly uses colored pencil acrylic and thickened dye mediums to lay texture and light capturing the beauty and grace of wildlife within their beautiful living landscapes.

3:34Marc: And I have seen your work and it is beautiful and it's got a unique touch and feel to it, which I think is because of where you're coming from as you do this art. So tell us about your beginnings because actually we're driving over here and we're driving by a golf course in Babcock Ranch. Golf. And that was part of your story.

3:55Dr. Jennifer Languell: Sort of a thread throughout my life. Entrepreneurialism, I am fourth generation. My kids are fifth generation. I made sure they understood what it took to be that. Have a vision, make it happen. And my father had a vision of taking a potato field on an island and creating a golf course out of it. It took us seven years. There was a family of four, and I was dropped off after school on the bus to work. A farming life, pretty much. So from, you know, really hands in the dirt is where I came from. We had to pick rocks to make fairways, and we had to pull weeds to make greens, so that, and we had to put smudge pots out for the deer to make sure that those tender greens of bluegrass was not going to be eaten.

4:53Dr. Jennifer Languell: Snowmobiles would drive over it in the winter. Couldn't keep that from happening. But it was a wonderful way to start understanding that you can have a vision and you can follow through if the passion is there.

5:06Marc: And that golf course still exists today, didn't you say, which is quite an accomplishment.

5:10Dr. Jennifer Languell: Yes, it was Maple Grove when we built it. And now it's called Deer Run.

5:15Marc: And that's in Minnesota, right?

5:16Dr. Jennifer Languell: It's on Washington Island, Wisconsin, which is on the end of a peninsula as well as Florida. So I came from the opposing season. It was at the time farming and fishing, commercial and pleasure, and then became pretty much fully tourism. Now it's gone almost completely. Commercial fishing is still up there, but it's gone all completely tourism.

5:44Marc: And you came to Florida quite a while ago, right?

5:46Dr. Jennifer Languell: Right after, day after graduating college. I wasn't going to wait.

5:51Marc: And never left.

5:52Dr. Jennifer Languell: I did not leave.

5:54Marc: So, and how did you come about to find a career in art?

5:59Dr. Jennifer Languell: I was gifted from birth. And I knew it. It's funny that the first thing that I drew was a page full of what we would call emojis now. And my mother, I can remember the look on her face. because I had them all lined up and a whole page full of these things and all emotions. And I'm sure she kept it. I'd like to know where that is. I'd like to frame that because it turned into something that I thought we would turn into and that was that we would eventually use a lot of imagery to speak. So I knew that early on. Hence emojis, right? Emojis, but as that evolved through the years I knew that art was the best way that I could communicate.

6:49Dr. Jennifer Languell: And I never had a doubt of what I would do. In fact, I left early to attend college. My BFA was then in advertising design. And the only reason for that was so that I could be paid to continue to make art and eventually illustrate and draw and paint. Because that isn't an easy way to go. if you just start that way.

7:14Marc: So I met you through Steve Lang, who's with us today, who's producing our show, and we're in FL Podcast Studio. His studio's here in Babcock Ranch. And what drew me to want to tell your story is that you're an artist and a business person. Oh, yes. Which is not unheard of, but it's not real common. And I think the fact that you grew up in an entrepreneurial family helped you think about that. So tell us about that progression, how you became an artist, how you...

7:46Dr. Jennifer Languell: Well, it was the only way that I could think was to do it for myself. So as, and later, of course, I taught. And I taught privately. So one-on-one, I went the opposite of many instructors and got a master's to teach college art later in life after teaching for 30 years privately one-on-one. But the beginning of it had to do with the fact that I did all organic art. That became nature art. And that ended up hooking me up with people in Parks and Rec, Lee County Parks and Rec. And I was working mostly with field people, which was amazing. They would actually want me to know the structure of sand and put me in front of a microscope to see that.

8:42Dr. Jennifer Languell: And those were things that I drew to show a profile of Florida from the Gulf to the Atlantic, knowing what that profile is, going from water up into the beach into scrub area, back into the Back Bay, into Upland Ridge, and then into the interior, which now I'm focusing more on that. But I was doing a lot of barrier island work at the time.

9:07Marc: So you have to be sort of part scientist, geologist. It was fascinating.

9:12Dr. Jennifer Languell: I couldn't get enough. And I didn't mind putting on those mucking boots and getting out with them and just seeing exactly what we were out there to. Every image had to, because it was going to be a trail marker and it was going to be eco-interpretive and show everybody what would be there if they weren't necessarily there. everything had to be fit in and that was, I can remember that being very difficult to fit in all these different aspects of wildlife and ecosystems and pull out life cycles and do different, just be able to put art together that ended up being landscapes which was amazing because I always fought landscapes in college when I began art it was more I really wanted to just focus on portraiture, humans, and animals.

10:09Dr. Jennifer Languell: But instead, I got to do the whole thing, all of it, and fit it all together. So I had fun learning about what is supposed to be in the Florida scene.

10:20Marc: And I should point out that there are a lot of nature centers where your art is still being exhibited. It's still there. It's still there, yeah. Yes. So, Jennifer, I have a feeling you see some parallels because of the kind of things that Shelly had to get into to do what she did. Not that it's the same as yours, but you're both involved with sustainability. You're both involved with sort of putting things together. I figure you might have some questions for her.

10:48Shelly Castle: Well, to me it's amazing. When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, you're trying to put a thousand words into a picture. Into a picture. And have something that represents so much with just a visual representation. I'm lucky I get to use words in addition to individuals that are showing visions and graphics. But to me, it's just amazing.

11:15Dr. Jennifer Languell: Well, and many people are visually oriented in their learning and in their understanding. So if I was able to create something that would convince someone who otherwise wouldn't have even seen it, then that connects them more. The empathy is there. Animals are personified. And everything is then protected because of that. It was amazing to actually see what difference it made in all the different parks, that people would come away shocked and yet connected. So now they felt it was theirs, and then they felt protective of it. And then that angled me completely into protective conservation, preservation.

12:08and as I watched Florida change

12:13Dr. Jennifer Languell: it's been immense I know locally we would all know where the bell tower is in Fort Myers and everything south of there was forested you know we've seen complete cities come up

12:30Shelly Castle: I almost would say we wouldn't necessarily I wouldn't necessarily have exactly my job without someone like Shelly who can get people to see nature and want to preserve and protect it. Right. Because that is such a key component of a sustainable development. Right.

12:50Marc: She's an educator in essence, literally.

12:53Dr. Jennifer Languell: And it was fun to see that come together. I hadn't recognized that until I was put in that position to educate. And I enjoy it. I remember mentioning to someone, I couldn't believe how many greens I was going to have to put into that tree. They had only seen trees as green, one green. That really surprised me. That was a shocking little point.

13:16Marc: Because you've always seen that by me naturally, right?

13:20Dr. Jennifer Languell: The lights and darks, the shadows and light, the way it all falls. Those are the important things to me. Those are where my passion lie. That's what, you know, the majesty of where I grew up, you know, there are white bluffs against blue of Lake Michigan, and these bluffs are hundreds of feet high, and they go that deep, too. It's powerful. It's majestic. It's very inspiring. And I, you know, I had really good teachers, but I remember one in particular that was throughout all of my education. and she just kept teaching us how to draw birch trees. So I had to get where there was someone that could teach me the rest of it.

14:04Dr. Jennifer Languell: And that's why I left a little early to go to college.

14:08Marc: So I don't usually do that, but people kind of have to see this to appreciate it. So why don't you tell everyone your website because you sell your art online in all different media formats.

14:18Dr. Jennifer Languell: It is a gallery and shop, and it's shelleycastleartist.com. Thank you.

14:24Marc: And Shelly is S-H-E-L-L-Y, and Castle is like Castle, C-A-S-T-L-E.

14:31Dr. Jennifer Languell: Artist.com.

14:32Marc: Artist.com.

14:33Dr. Jennifer Languell: Yeah, it's all there. And it is someone, I worked with Ding Darling at a point, and it was fun to have someone describe it as just realistic enough to give all these scientific aspects, have it all in place, that they required. and also painterly enough to leave that open for anyone's mind viewing it. It was open to their interpretation, and again, thus they connected.

15:05Marc: That's wonderful. So looking forward, I know you have a forward vision, as everyone does, and I also see that we're just about out of time. so real briefly what if you could say one word about the future what would it be and then we'll come back and discuss it further animals perfect very good we will be back in just a minute after a short commercial and founders forum to continue our talk with Shelly Castle the Sattel Institute

15:36Shelly Castle: is the leading CEO member organization dedicated to corporate social responsibility under the vision and leadership of its founder, entrepreneur and philanthropist Ed Sattel, the Institute brings together CEOs in Philadelphia and other cities to support the non-profit organizations that do heroic work in our communities. The Sattel Institute believes that community is every leader's business. SI's members-only meetings and private CEO conferences give members the opportunity to hear from world-class thought leaders on crucial topics like AI, education, corporate philanthropy, and more. In addition, CEO members get the opportunity to share ideas and experience with their peers, like-minded CEOs who believe in the importance of giving back to the community and who understand the benefits companies get from embracing corporate social responsibility.

16:26Shelly Castle: The Sattel Institute charges no dues or fees. In order to join, member companies simply make a long-term commitment to the nonprofit of their choice. To find out more about membership and why so many leading companies are now part of the Sattel Institute, visit the organization's website at SattelInstitute.org. Sattel, S-A-T-E-L-L, Institute.org. As Ed Sattel says, think we, not just me.

16:54Marc: We are back on Founders Forum with our guest today, Shelley Castle, and Dr. Jennifer Langwell is in the studio with us. and I asked you about your future vision in one word and you said animals. So tell us about that.

17:09Dr. Jennifer Languell: As we see the growth and as we see the development, I think it's a beautiful thing and I'm proud of Florida. I've seen, I'm shocked to see the growth. But as we see it, I want to continue to see that the birds still have a place to forage. if I see those animals continually off in their respective ecosystem, happy wading in the wet grasslands, that's my legacy. That's what I hope for the end of my career. I want to see that I have done my part to make sure that they're safe. and I just have a great deal of love for especially wading birds but I know what else is back in there and I know which area that they need protected and I'm very aware of the mitigations that are required.

18:10Dr. Jennifer Languell: That was something that I had a lot of fun learning even though as the artist my focus was to make sure the art was just the way it should be and there were a lot of people involved, a lot of layers, a lot of working parts, people that had to give every detail of what these animals might need in their landscape. And being able to put it together and show everyone what is there, that's the important thing to me, is that people know that it's there and that it doesn't go away.

18:49Marc: So if you're listening, you've got to look at Shelley's art on her website that we mentioned because as you were describing that, I pictured one of your works of art in my mind. Probably not exactly one, but it must have been a combination of some of the bird pictures that I saw you do because they're very visual and they're very emotional and they stay with you.

19:13Dr. Jennifer Languell: There's just enough detail to hold exactly what that animal or bird needs to have. And as I mature, my art has matured, and it's gotten tighter and tighter, and the details are clearer, and I can hide things in there that should be there that are subconscious and work, again, to connect anyone that's looking at that. It's important that they see what animals they might see, but that they know what's also hiding, and that they still have a place to hide. It's nice to know that any development done is following the larger Forever Florida plan and making sure that everything built has mitigation.

20:02Dr. Jennifer Languell: I believe it's almost 50-50. Got to have open land, got to have a mitigated lake, wetlands, swales, places for the proper water flow. and all of this is put into my art. All of it has become landscapes that are filled with an oncoming storm, things that we deal with here that create just what Florida has unique to Florida and it's important we protect it.

20:34Marc: This leans heavily into what you do, Jennifer. You probably have some thoughts or questions around that for Shelley, I would think.

20:40Shelly Castle: Well, it's, again, amazing to me. Everything you're saying really relates to the conservation and preservation that really is at the head of sustainable development and what we did here at Babcock. So listening to you and what your goals were, I'm like, okay, did we do that here? Yes, check. I'm almost checking off a list of things to know that we actually have done what you have envisioned with some of your legacy.

21:11Dr. Jennifer Languell: Well, I hope so. And I hope that the budget does include artwork that helps everyone visualize the same plan. because even at these meetings that I'm often part of where my art is connecting everyone at the table about what it should look like in the end. There's really no one fighting it at this point. There was at first. There were people at the table that had to be convinced. That's not really the case anymore. But I am not the person to do it. That definitely comes down to someone like you who knows how to put it into the plan. But having done it through these years, I am just proud to see where the artwork has gone because it's become full-on fine art landscapes.

22:07Dr. Jennifer Languell: I was not an exhibiting artist, but I easily could be. I'd like to continue with writing and illustrating my own books, and they will all be based on preserving all the wildlife and every ecosystem that needs to be kept up for them.

22:27Marc: As an entrepreneur, though, I'm sure it's not always been the smoothest to ride. No. So tell us about some of the challenges that you've had and what you've done or you're doing to overcome those.

22:38Dr. Jennifer Languell: I think probably the most difficult one is that it's very isolating and it takes a lot of time to put together artwork. You're not just composing it once and done. You're constantly putting it together in your mind and you're making sure you're not leaving anything out. I think that's one of the hardest things. But the isolation is a real thing. I don't mind it because I'm an artist. I enjoy it. Being alone is my preference. but I do see that the connections with the people involved in making happen what I'm trying to do with my art that making sure that preservation is the issue and visual storytelling is part of the plan I've got to make sure that I connect and that wasn't always an easy thing so how do you do that

23:36Marc: like how do you how do you continue to make those connections and what do you have a plan for that

23:43Dr. Jennifer Languell: I'm glad to meet Jennifer I'm glad to know that Babcock Ranch is right here now that I've moved out in this area this is where I'd like to focus and there are a lot of projects upcoming Florida Wild Plus Life is one of them I'd like to know how to get involved in that and just network to make that connection and continue to make my art if I continue making my art to me that is what I would tell my younger self. Don't stop. Don't worry. Don't be concerned that it's not going to happen. I tell my students, it's yours forever. You've been gifted the talent. You will always be able to use it. If you have a passion for something and you angle it that way, it will be used.

24:34Marc: How is the selling of art going? Does it work that people actually get on there and buy art?

24:40Dr. Jennifer Languell: So far, it's new.

24:41Marc: Okay. Yeah, I started the shop itself.

24:44Dr. Jennifer Languell: I've had a website for, you know, 30 years, all this time. But the shop, having the shop is just this year.

24:51Marc: Gotcha. It's brand new.

24:53Dr. Jennifer Languell: So I'm looking forward to, you know, having more collectors sign on and see what's happening there. But at least now, it's not just a gallery. And it does show what, it also shows how the work has been done for sustainability.

25:09Marc: I should mention you've raised your children and I think they're in kind of connected fields and they're collaborators of yours to a certain extent

25:16Dr. Jennifer Languell: yes my daughter has done murals with me for many years I mean she joined on then she was able to graduate from Ringling College of Art and Design which was really kind of fun that's Sarasota right? yes in Sarasota and so she has her own business called Creatively Kind and she's doing her work out of her home just as I did all throughout my whole career. And my son is a glass artist, so he blows glass. And he did enjoy being at the last Art Fest here at Babcock Ranch.

25:51Marc: Yeah, how did he do? He did well. Did he? Good, good.

25:55Dr. Jennifer Languell: He became ready.

25:56Marc: I have a relative who has a glass-blowing studio in Philadelphia and Maine, I believe. Something. Yeah, it's very interesting.

26:03Dr. Jennifer Languell: It is very interesting.

26:07Marc: and they help you out I think with some of the technology the technology

26:11Dr. Jennifer Languell: oh my goodness I'm so happy to have their help

26:16Marc: well as it turns out we're just about out of time so I thank you so much for being here and telling your story Shelly thank you Jennifer again for being here Dr. Langwell thank you for sharing your story as well and thank you all for listening and we will see you next week on Founders Forum

26:32Shelly Castle: Founders Forum was brought to you in part by March Forward LLC. We partner with entrepreneurs like you to assist in accomplishing your future vision, your life, your business, your legacy. Comprehensive wealth planning that starts with you, not a product. We hope you enjoyed your time with Founders Forum and that you found something of value to take with you throughout your day. Join us again next week for another episode of Founders Forum on WWDB 860 AM Philadelphia or on your favorite podcast streaming service. Securities offered through DFPG Investments, LLC. DFPG. Investment Advisory Services offered through Diversify Advisory Services, LLC.

27:13Shelly Castle: Diversify. DAS and DFPG are affiliated entities. March is unaffiliated with DAS and DFPG. Members FINRA slash SIPC. The information provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of Diversify or DFPG.