Kelli Scott Kelley (b. 1961) is a Baton Rouge native and graduate of Louisiana State University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Kelley continued her education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Kelley works primarily on repurposed linens, honoring the work of the women who traditionally created such items for use in a family setting. Beyond acknowledgment of the time, effort, and care that went into creating the objects that form the background of her works, Kelley is also expressing a desire to create art in an ecologically conscientious way; reusing and giving new life to items that would either be thrown out or left to molder in storage.

Kelley’s narrative works, created on repurposed linens, are inspired by fables, mythology, and art history. Her scenes create a familiar archetype from wholly new characters. These characters are often human-animal hybrids which express and explore metaphorical narratives of humankind’s connections and disconnections. In her series, Accalia, Kelley illustrates the story of Accalia, a protagonist on a quest to restore peace to her family. Here, Accalia seeks to obtain a fishing lure which will help her on her quest. Kelley published the story of Accalia and the Swamp Monster in 2014 to accompany her painting series.

Kelley has worked as an arts instructor since the late 1980s. For over twenty years she has taught as a professor of painting at LSU in the College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, the Galerie Califi at ArtMill Center for Sustainable Creativity in Mirenice, the LSU Museum of Art, and beyond. Her work is featured in the permanent collections of the LSU Museum of Art, the Tyler Museum of Art, The Eugenia Summer Gallery at the Mississippi University for Women, and the Louisiana Art & Science Museum.