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ABOUT KELLY LEE

Kelly Lee Barrett

I made my first book in a photo class while attending U.C Santa Cruz, and instantly fell in love with making little hand-made books out of my photography.
My artists’ books are DIY photographic narratives that provide a quirky (and often soul-searching) insight into urban existence. Each book is unique, hand-made with my digital photographs, and constructed with a bone folder and acid-free glue. The photos are taken from disparate locations around the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County. I came up with the idea of creating the books because I wanted my work to be experienced in a simple, accessible, yet intimate environment where the images are taken off the wall and placed directly in your hand. The photographs, when grouped together, create quaint visual stories showing the wonder, oddities, and restlessness of contemporary human living.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Photography Emphasis
2001-2005 University of California, Santa Cruz, Art Department

Honors and Awards
2008 - First Place Award, All Media 2008, Irvine Fine Arts Center
2007 - Photo Lab Associate of the Year, San Francisco District, Wolf Camera
2005 - Art Department Florence French Scholarship, UC Santa Cruz
2005 - William Hyde and Susan Benteen Irwin Scholarship
2004 - William Hyde and Susan Benteen Irwin Working Art Grant
2001 - 2005 - Deans List, UC Santa Cruz

Exhibitions
Oct 2009, "Book Arts Jam 09," Bay Area Book Artists - Los Altos Hills, CA
Aug 2009, "SF Zine Fest," Golden Gate Park County Fair Building-
San Francisco, CA
Mar 2009 - present, "Another Room Book Arts," Mrs. Dalloway’s - Berkeley, CA
Mar 2009, "Artist Showcase XI," Gods & Heroes - Costa Mesa, CA
Feb 2009, "All Small Redux," The Dalton Gallery - Agnes Scott College, GA
Nov 2008, "All Media 2008 Juried Exhibit," Irvine Fine Arts Center – Irvine, CA
Nov 2008, "Art Knows No Borders," Safari Sam’s Charity Event - Los Angeles,CA
Oct 2008, "Book Arts Jam 08," Bay Area Book Artists - Los Altos Hills, CA
Sept 2008, "Wide Angle," The Artery at The Lab - Costa Mesa, CA
Aug 2008, "Simple Pleasures 01," Studio Number One - Los Angeles, CA
July 2008, "San Francisco Zine Fest," Golden Gate Park County Fair Building -
San Francisco, CA
Apr 2008, "The Art of the Book: 3rd Annual Exhibition of Handmade and
Altered Artist Books," Donna Seager Gallery - San Rafael, CA
Apr 2008, "Secrets: Juried Exhibit," Artisans Art Gallery - San Rafael, CA
Apr 2008, "New Works," Artist-XChange Gallery - San Francisco, CA
Mar-Apr 2008,”Photography in Book Arts and The Book in Photography,"
New Image Gallery - Harrisonburg, VA
Feb - Mar 2008, "New Works," Artist-XChange Gallery - San Francisco, CA
Jan 2008, "The Place," Art Space - San Francisco, CA (Curator)
Oct. 2007, "The Art Exhibit,” The Vulcan Lofts - Oakland, CA
Apr 2006, "Funland: Step Inside Child," The Artery at the LAB - Costa Mesa, CA
May 2005, “Local Art Expo,” Veterans Hall - Santa Cruz, CA