It takes some whimsy to reel in kids to a history-based summer camp. Enter artist Kelly Williams-Cramer, who together with Scottie Campbell, chief marketing officer of the Orange County Regional History Center, created a playful cartoon manatee who’s now the adorable face of the center’s 2025 Adventures in History Summer Camp.
The manatee is named Hugh, because together “Hugh” and “manatee” spell “humanity.” The fun-loving sea cow is decked out in full-on Orlando sightseer regalia including a Hawaiian-style shirt, a bucket hat and a camera.
“Scottie approached me with the idea of having a manatee mascot,” says Williams-Cramer. “And we both loved working in the quintessential Florida tourist idea. It makes me smile.”
Williams-Cramer conjured up the design the way she does most projects. “I’m really traditional,” she adds. “I put all my ideas down on the nearest piece of paper, and I just go with it. Then later I’ll bring it into my digital tablet so I can work on it in Photoshop.”
Williams-Cramer has been a staff graphic designer with the Orange County Library System for more than a decade, since she graduated from the institution now known as Indian River State College. She and Campbell were library colleagues before he changed employers.
“At the library, I do graphic design for magazines, advertisements and marketing materials, and set up window and seasonal displays,” says Williams-Cramer. “It’s a nice balance.”
Post-college, the fledgling artist came straight to Orlando—a big city compared to her Treasure Coast hometown of Jensen Beach—and credits her success in part to “a wonderful husband who supports me, and a great group of friends and family.” Still, while graphic design is her livelihood, painting is her passion.
In October, she’ll enjoy a two-week artist residency in Orquevaux, France, where she’ll stay in a beautiful chateau and “paint my heart out with other artists and really focus on honing my abilities. It’ll be a dream come true.”
While Williams-Cramer is quite versatile, she, like many creative people, is her own harshest critic. “It’s really important not to compare yourself to other artists,” she says. “Art is a great way for me to express myself individually and let other people in to see my viewpoint of the world.”
To check out her work, visit kellywilliamscramer.com.
