Life-altering medical conditions—first her husband’s, then her own—have paved Kelly Joy Ladd’s path as an artist and allowed her creations to reveal the footprints of her spiritual journey.
In 2012, Ladd’s husband, Alex, was diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity that made him particularly sensitive to the odor of oil paint. This meant that his wife needed to transition from oils to something more benign as a medium. So, she became a paper artist.
Since then, the tools of her trade have not been a brush and a palette but scissors and a paper cutter. Some of her pieces—often inspired by astronomy, the tides and geometric shapes—require 40 hours or more to complete. “One piece took me about four months to make,” says Ladd.
That piece will be one of many on view in Orlando Museum of Art’s annual juried exhibition of works by 10 artists who are vying for the prestigious Florida Prize in Contemporary Art. The collection will be on display from May 31 to August 24.
Ladd’s acclaimed creation boasts an otherworldly air—and for good reason. An astronomy fan, she originally drew upon the cosmos for inspiration. Ideas, she explains, come in dreams and visions, sometimes during meditation.
But in March 2020, a traumatic brain injury brought Ladd’s personal and professional lives to a halt. “I’m still recovering,” she says. “It took me about two-and-a-half years.” But once she returned to work, her art took on a new sense of authenticity.
“My work is more personal because I’m not just tapping into my higher self,” notes Ladd. “I’m tapping into the universe and what it wants me to share.”
Her new formula is serving her well. Ladd won first place in Jacksonville’s Cummer Museum of Art & Garden’s Reflections: The Art of Wellbeing exhibition in March 2023. Her work also returned to Snap! Orlando that spring.
Within each piece, Ladd incorporates the words love, joy, wonder, kindness, compassion, gratitude and peace, she says, in hopes “that when someone looks at my art, the viewer will experience one of those feelings.”
Orlando Museum of Art is located at 2416 North Mills Avenue, Orlando, in Loch Haven Cultural Park. For more information, call 407.896.4231 or visit omart.org.
