Emily KellyGraphic Designer and Artist with a knack for conceptualizing and a love of typography, based in Boulder, Colorado.
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Currently open to freelance and/or long-term collaborations  


Memo
Writing, Mixed Media
While at my local creative reuse center, I came across a small (3” x 5”) bright cyan notebook that struck me. I took it home figuring I’d use it for something at some point. It’d been sitting on my desk for about a week, gently begging to be used—but no use other than to smile in admiration towards my new found object came to mind. As most thoughts do, the following 11/17/23 thought found itself on the first page of paper—

I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing.

“Supposed.”

Money aside, I don’t.

I like to make and I make—but why?

Money aside, I don’t. 

From here, I knew what this notebook was meant for. The phrase I wrote, as of 11/17/23, felt true to the life of an artist. It felt true to my life as an artist. While writing the phrase daily became the only rule I followed, I allowed whatever else flowed make its way to paper.

After each page had been filled, I explored outputs that communicated the fragility of my thoughts in a confined yet malleable nature. The result being a deconstructed book, organized by phrase and flow, sewn to a window screen—analyzing the act of creation and monetization, and what it could all be for, if anything at all. 


Tangigram
Writing, Artist Book
Tangigram is a spin on the social media platform, Instagram. As someone who loves to share, but is also a bit of a sporadic user, I found myself wondering what it would be like to delete the app for a month to see what I could come up with. With no particular focus other than this starting point, I kept a folder with images I would've shared as a post or story, as well as any thoughts I had in regards to what I was doing. While away, I thought a lot more about what and why I wanted to share, and ones relationship with the platform as a whole. 


ITTCYL
8.5” x 11” mixed media
“Imagine trying to curate your life.”—a thought I jotted down in September of 2022. The thought stemmed mainly from the assumption that it must be so exhausting trying to play a part—be a facade—exist for aesthetics—etc. In person or online, I came to realize that whether we realize it or not, we’re all curated in some way, by something, by someone—for everyone. From here, I thought about ten things that’ve curated my sense of self over the last few years of my life, and reflected on their varying importance in my existence.


Oh Dear
7.5” x 7” mixed media
This piece stemmed from some thoughts I was having about the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I agree with this saying, but also feel words are words, and sometimes they sit and stay in one’s mind longer than an image would. Halfway through creation, I got on the phone with my friend to catch up about life n such—a small sentence said inspired the rest!


Cattlelogue
2”ish x 3”ish indiv. paper on paper
Playing with some visuals that feel like childhood… dunno if it’s the color palette or cows…


Fluid Nonsense
Writing, Artist Book
Fluid: a person, thing or situation that moves or changes easily. Nonsense: nonsense is often caused by an excess of meaning, rather than a lack of it.

I did a bit of a deep dive into words I’ve written at peculiar hours of the night, and set out to explore some questions of mine. Once published, words and images in a newspaper are set. Their word for the day is permanent, though mine is ever-changing—rearranging. What is the conversation between tone and tone? Paper and fold? Type and image? Delicate and rigid? You and me... will you let them breathe? 


Role-play
6.25” x 9.25” mixed media


R
9” x 12” fabric paint on transparent paper


It’s Wack Out There
Writing, Merchandise Design
It’s Wack Out There is about the value of art in our everyday lives and the importance of compensating individuals for their talents—on a T-shirt. Inspired by a potential client being a potential client, I took to instagram to rant about it. What ensued next was quite funny tbh, but eye opening because despite knowing the feeling is generally mutual amongst those in creative professions, my peers felt compelled enough to respond and voice their opinions as well. See video here Peep some styles


M&M
8.5” x 11” gouache on paper
October 2023—I’d been feeling kinda meh in regards to play; and kinda stuck to be frank. Even though I have select materials I’m always thinking about creating with, it’d been a while since I allowed myself to fool around with others. I looked in my closet, took out the first piece of paper I saw, and sourced some paints I hadn’t touched since—I believe... 2018—and let myself wander for a bit. At a glance, I chuckled at how it ended up looking like an assortment of mini M&Ms, my favorite.