Kelly Spell creates abstract quilts that seek to bring calm and control to a chaotic world. Her work merges intricate construction techniques with minimalist design, drawing beauty from the tension between complexity and simplicity. An intense curiosity fuels Kelly’s artistic practice. Her bold, graphic compositions are informed by a deep appreciation for mid-century design and modernist aesthetics. Circles and swirling motifs convey wholeness, harmony, and energy as they move across expansive fields of color. She frequently develops her own distinctive palettes using Procion fiber-reactive dyes. Kelly lives in Hixson, Tennessee. She graduated from James Madison University in 2003 with a degree in Media Arts and Design. After purchasing her first sewing machine in 2014, she taught herself to sew primarily through online tutorials. While her early quilts were largely improvisational, her practice shifted in 2021 toward a more process-driven and precision-oriented approach—an intentional response to the turbulence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the political climate in the United States. Over the past nine years, her quilts have been featured in numerous publications, exhibitions, and museum collections worldwide, including the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, and the Textilsammlung Max Berk in Heidelberg, Germany. She recently published a guide on mounting quilts onto artist canvases, a technique she teaches to guilds and groups. Kelly received the MQG Award of Excellence at QuiltCon and was awarded Best Original Modern Design at QuiltCon 2024.
