Artist statement and bio update - Cierrah Kelly

 Bio:

Cierrah Kelly (Ceci) is an illustrator. Currently, Kelly is based in Bayonne,  New Jersey. She is an illustration major at New Jersey City University and has been studying for 4-going-on-5 years with her current scholarship. She is working on a BFA and plans to get an MFA soon in animation. Kelly fell in love with the arts as a child and has always dreamed of being a talented artist and animator. She has drawn heavy inspiration from graphic comics, eastern animation, and western animation. She wants to tell high fantasy and surreal stories in her art that are allegories of current history and political/societal climate.

Artists Statement: 

 Ceci's goal in her work is to tell fictional and surrealist stories that are allegories. These stories include symbolism and references to prior famous literature, animations, and films that she enjoyed watching and learning as a child. She has always enjoyed literature and writing as a child and telling stories; however, the writing didn’t satisfy her. Ceci never felt connected with the world she has created cause she wants to get in-depth with the character. She always wanted to show details of the characters and their emotions, from the softness of fur to the roughness of rocks. She tried to get viewers to see the characters' expressions and the disturbed creativity in her mind. Ceci can express this with her skills in drawings. 

 Ceci works with many materials, but her primary medium is ink. Inkwork is Ceci's calling; she expresses the characters and scenery with dramatic line work that goes from small and quiet to big and loud. The fine lines in her ink work are strategic and placed there for a reason. She would make multiple copies to get what she sees as perfect. Ceci tends to ink her work based on Gothic Medieval prints because she loves the fine lines, especially when it comes to cross-hatching shading. 

Ceci would Frankenstein poses, scenery, and outfits together for the creation process to get what she wants. In extreme cases, she would go onto Photoshop to mismatch photos together to get what she wants. She would draw multiple thumbnails to achieve her vision. It may be time-consuming, but her dedication to her passion makes her work hard to achieve more than what the deadlines expects.When it’s time to do the final drawing, Ceci lightly eases what she has to the point she can barely see and begins to ink on top of her work. Moving the ink pen away in a single motion, oftentimes not barely lifting the pen off the paper. She would use a weaker ink pen on its side to shade it lightly. 

Ceci continues to draw because she dreams of having her creations come to life. She wants to make an impact in art and animation, which inspired her to draw in the first place. Ceci has big dreams of being part of huge projects and creative works. That dream and aspiration inspire her to continue drawing and creating. She knows she has the skills and creative process to achieve her goals.