Kelly O'Brien

To help celebrate the re-opening of Huntington Mall, I was commissioned by microWave Project to create a fashion-inspired installation. "Grace's Garden" took hundreds of handmade, -folded, and -sewn paper flowers, origami fans, handcut butterflies, countless hours, and a team of helpers. Thanks to Allison Nance for several images in this gallery.

My first installation, as part of the Washington, DC vitaminwater® uncapped LIVE art summit curated by Art Whino and microWave Project. Grace In Full Bloom is a celebration of the materials I love and work I do. Handmade and found papers, dressmaker patterns, thread, pins, moss, dress form.

When the reality of our 2011 move to Germany hit me, I made a list of things that I wanted to do before leaving the US. A consummate to-do list maker, this one was from the heart. It appeared that we would need to relocate fairly quickly once getting the assignment - way too fast for my head and heart to process our leaving, after living in the DC area for nearly 40 years. This list is about slowing down to say goodbye "well." A limited edition of mixed media prints, this piece was originally created on a 10x10 inch wood panel as one of 200+ entries for "March Madness," a fund-raiser sponsored by Target Gallery. It won a Juror's Award.

I'm intrigued by other artists' process and work space. Where do they make their art, and what happens there? Here, I share a bit of my own world.

Inspired by childhood photos retrieved from my parents’ basement, this piece is one of several where I explore things that have remained unspoken, secret or denied. I challenge myself – and by extension anyone who interacts with my work – to risk saying what we most deeply want to say, while respecting the need for privacy when it matters. Book cloth, binder’s board, wheat paste, archival digital prints and Sharpie on fine art papers and mylar

As a book artist, I am re-emerging as an artist who walked away from dance over 25 years ago. Coming to terms with dreams lost, choices made and paths followed has taken time. The book arts offer me a rich medium to explore these issues and rediscover deep creativity, voice, and joy. Ballet slipper leather longstitch journal, lined with custom-tinted fine art paper. Handmade and found papers, tulle, pointe shoe ribbon.

Boxes are a metaphor for rich and layered psychological space. Through the lens of Jungian archetypes, personal stories and memory, this collection of artist books explores what lies beneath our conscious awareness – both light and dark.

This artist book documents my response to thwart a panic attack while driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Edition of 15.

Each of these blank books is a mini work of art. By the Sea has tiny encaustics on the cover, Penland Patina has cover art of found metal from Penland's metalwork studio and an acrylic monotype. The simplified binding is anything but!

These sweet little blank books have lined leather covers, with a mix of blank fine art papers, found and reclaimed maps, and pages from recycled French novels. Each one is unique.

What started as an exploration of block printing techniques transformed into a dance of pattern and color. Paste papers, block prints, thread and handmade paper.

Making this limited edition of eight hinged boxes is as close as I got to my beloved France the year that I made these. Original monotypes on fine art papers.

Inspired by local flora on my daily morning walk during a Penland summer workshop, this partitioned box celebrates ferns found along the way. Handmade papers, paste papers, image transfers.

Created to house a gift book about sea glass.