or and ink, and dip pens,” she said. “Those mediums are very meditative for me because there’s these moments when you simply have to take a breath before making a line with your quill with a dip pen or watercolor paint stroke. They’re very delicate mediums, and force me to pause. Art is not only a physical act, but a meditative one.” Russo grew with her healing process of creativity and followed her Geometric Flowers series with what she calls “Free Flowers,” moving from hard-lined flowers donned with a geometric shape in the background to more whimsical and free-flowing lines with watercolor daubs depicting fruit branches, irises and her familiar magnolias. Her series depicted “Birds” transpired from Free Flowers and led her to her current workings today. Sometime during all of her growth, she married artist and husband, James Van Way III, and is now in the thick of motherhood with their toddler, Ella Cricket. Russo’s grandmother was also a source of encouragement creatively in many ways, including in cooking and more specifically, the arts. They formed a special bond through their intertwined creativity. When Russo’s grandmother passed away, she returned to pencils and paint out of a sheer need to channel her intense grief. “That’s when the Geometric Flowers pieces came to fruition. It’s how I dealt with my grief. I tapped into painting, watercolV OL U M E 6 IS S U E 1
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She’s now beginning to emerge into the art exhibition scene and is participating in the Biedenharn Adam and Eve – The Garden and Beyond exhibit in Monroe opening March 12. You can also find her works in Lafayette’s The Big Easel (Saturday, March 7). You can follow her artistic journey and view her beautiful works on Instagram (@kelly_renee_russo_works) and the Kelly Reneé Russo Works page on Facebook. 35
