Join Kate Stanton Melendez for an interview with soft sculpture artist, performance artist, and college professor Kelly Boehmer.    Kelly has exhibited and performed her work nationally and internationally in over 175 exhibitions including shows in Baltimore, Dallas, Miami, New York City, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, San Juan, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  She received her BFA in Studio Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art and her MFA in Studio Art at the University of South Florida. She is a member of the performance art band, Glitter Chariot. Kelly is a Professor of Foundations Studies at Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, GA.   Boehmer's soft sculptures combine tragic humor with a celebration of the hidden beauty found within anxiety. Her creatures serve as metaphors for personal struggles with anxiety and aging. She finds humor in her attempts to become "comfortable in my own skin" and to navigate these challenges, particularly with social anxiety. Though the imagery may appear grotesque, with flayed and molting forms, these creatures represent growth, transformation, and positive change. She uses glittery sheer fabrics and vivid faux fur, to contrast difficult emotions with inviting textures. This creates a tension between attraction and repulsion, softening the rawness of the subject matter and making it more approachable for the viewer. Many of her works draw inspiration from iconic pieces in art history, such as the Unicorn Tapestries, the Laocoön Group, Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, and The Arnolfini Portrait. Her aggressive hand-sewing technique is similar to an expressive line in drawing. A key element of the process involves repurposing materials from previous sculptures, cutting them up after an exhibition and combining them with upcycled taxidermy. This gives the materials a “second life,” creating a layered history of growth and change embedded within the pieces themselves.   Check out Kelly's work here: https://www.kellyboehmer.com/ Kelly Boehmer (@kelly.boehmer) • Instagram photos and videoshttps://www.instagram.com/kelly.boehmer/?hl=en   Buy Kelly's work from Cindy Lisica Gallery in the Atlanta Art Fair: https://artcloud.market/show/cindy-liscia-gallery-atlanta-art-fair   See her husband Chuck Carbia's work here: https://www.chuckcarbia.com/