Rabbits, crows, and other animals perform much like human beings in Kelly’s work, exposing vulnerabilities and tendencies through the gesture of ears, wings, hands and bodies. As humans, we love to go into nature, forgetting that we are, in fact, part of nature. As the most dominant species, we choose which plants and animals are pests and those whom we cherish, endowing them with human attributes to make them more like us. Our interactions with wild things are filled with contradictory emotions of fear and delight, and our desire to personify, name, and categorize, all that we encounter.

Kelly’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States notably at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Biennial at the Kentucky Art Museum in Louisville, the NCECA Invitational at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Washington, and the Contemporary Crafts Museum in Portland, Oregon. Locally Kelly has shown her work at Northern Clay Center where she received a 2014 McKnight Fellowship. She has also been awarded a McKnight Residency, a Jerome Project Grant, and a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant. She holds the position of associate professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.