Artist Bio
Kelly Hickey is a textile artist raised in the Mid-Atlantic and living in Vermont.
Kelly’s artwork speaks to the environmental impact textile waste and overconsumption has on our planet and brings attention to the value clothing plays as part of the human condition. Kelly is a graduate of the University of Delaware in Apparel Design and has worked extensively in all areas of clothing production and retail. As the owner/designer of edie&glo, a vintage fabric up-cycle business, her expertise in textile reuse has positioned her as an environmental advocate and social impact leader. Her work has been shown at the Southern Vermont Arts Center (2019) and she was an artist in residence for embroidery at Arquetopia, Oaxaca, Mexico 2017.

Statement of Practice
Recurrently, viewers inquire where I find the abundance of cast off materials I use for my work and honestly they need only to self reflect. Resourcing  fabric scrap includes T-shirts from second hand stores and waste from cutting room floors and even individual donations of project ends and bedsheets headed to landfill when shifting homes or loved ones pass on. My art encourages more purposeful living by revealing the complexity of material matter.
Utilizing collected fabric waste I make social activism quilts, textile assemblage and art installations which address issues concerning the environmental impact of textile manufacturing, overconsumption and pollution. Focused attention on body language and animated communication has been an important part of how I read materials and use them as a medium. Working with previously owned fabrics and clothing I look for the evidence that nature or the body has worn into creases, pockets, torn hems and chewed necklines that can provide details of unspoken habits or lived experiences. Through a combination of hand and machine techniques I intentionally reveal these patterns and imprint them with my own marks adding to the storied layers of  material history. My projects are created in my home studio and often go through a series of outdoor weathering for many months before being fully realized.