At the intersection of chemistry and craft is where Kansas City-based Kelly Parker feels most at home. She is a designer and maker of contemporary studio furniture and sculpture. After graduating with a degree in biochemistry, she worked in the corporate world for 18 years before taking a rather circuitous route into art. Her chemistry background informs her pragmatic approach to problem-solving in building the sculptural designs that are the hallmark of her work. She has a curvy, contemporary aesthetic and often uses steam bending, bent laminations, and vacuum forming as part of her process. Kelly finds design inspiration wherever she sees a beautiful form, whether it is a flower or the engine cowling on a Boeing Dreamliner.
To accelerate the transition from analytical chemist to artist, Kelly has taken numerous design and technique classes at various craft schools while also extensively experimenting in her own studio. She has been an artist-in-residence in Michael Fortune’s studio in Canada and was selected as an artist-in-residence at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in Nelson, New Zealand.
She has been awarded professional development grants from the Furniture Society and Anderson Ranch Arts Center, was the first recipient of a professional development grant awarded by the Krenov Foundation and was awarded Best in Show at the biannual chair exhibition, American Craft Today: Chairs, hosted by The Bascom Gallery in North Carolina. Her work has been featured in Fine Woodworking, Australian Wood Review, and Rooted: Creating a Sense of Place: Contemporary Studio Furniture. Kelly is also an occasional writer for Australian Wood Review. In addition to making and writing, Kelly also teaches at craft schools and guilds across the US.
