Kelieda is originally from Lansing, Michigan. She studied at the University of Michigan where she received a bachelor's degree in Industrial & Operations Engineering. Up to this point, she always had a passion for art but never felt it was a realistic option for her. Engineering seemed a more straightforward path to getting a good job and making a living.
Over the years art has always been her outlet to calm her mind and keep her centered. Like many others, she started investing more time into her creative side in 2020 with the extra time at home away from other obligations and distractions. Fascinated with ways of creating art from repurposed material she searched Pinterest for ideas. Finally coming across an ancient art form known as Quilling she started researching how to do it. She fell in love with the fulfillment of transforming paper into intricate, visually appealing art. Quickly found more time in her day to pursue this activity. She adopted a habit of waking up at 4 am to get in an hour before starting her work day. Then again late at night before going to bed because it cleared her mind.
Instead of purchasing quilling paper she upcycled newspaper ads, and junk mail, and used printer paper as her medium. This provides an avenue to elevate the value of discarded materials, giving them a new purpose and significance. The paper is cut into 1/2 inch strips, hand-rolled into various-sized coils, and individually painted.
Inspiration comes from replicating hand-drawn doodles and taking brief moments in the day to admire textures in nature that can be replicated using a combination of circles. It combines the precision and attention to detail skill of an Engineer while still being creative and free-flowing. Creating art from paper that is traditionally discarded is proving to be a lifetime passion of hers. Each coil is mindfully hand-crafted with positive energy.
Art Featured in the following Shows:
Thousand Oaks Art Gallery - January 2023
DTLA Art Night - November 2023
Lagunar Art Gallery - December 2023
