“Do not be afraid of receiving rejections.”
Quick Facts
Education: University of South Carolina
Years of Experience: 15 Years
About
After realizing all her notes were filled with drawings and not written words for her biology major, Kelley Pettibone switched to Studio Art and never looked back. Currently, she is an Artist and Instructor at the University of South Carolina. She primarily works as a woodcut relief printmaker, but also dabbles in painting, mixed media collage, sculpture, and paper making.
During her BFA, she suffered a hard familial loss and struggled to find creativity. Over time, she channeled her feelings through her artistic practice to visually document her journey through grief. Kelley is an advocate for the healing nature of creating art and refers to her studio as a “sanctuary.” She insists that “a box full of ‘no’s’ indicates that you are putting yourself out there and trying,” and emphasizes the importance of continuously submitting your work.
Kelley enjoys fusing inherited family ephemera and repurposed materials. In her next project she will be reimagining denim, a fabric spanning the age of four generations, to make paper. Kelley strives to express her emotions through her work and allow her creativity to live a life beyond herself. She loves teaching and advises any potential graduate student to experience an Assistantship, feeling as though every class is “a series of playdates each day.”
