Kelly Merrill:
CLASS OF 1990
South Portland High SchoolClass of 1990
South portland, ME
American UniversityClass of 2004
Washington, DC
Kelly's Story
Life
Life has certainly been a winding road, a crooked path to where, I still know not. Sometimes blissful, sometimes disheartening, but always interesting. I get through every trial by believing that there is a reason for everything. Because of this, my regrets are few.
I paid for my education over the years by earning a scholarship for music performance at American University in Washington, D.C. and working a plethora of jobs. I have been a musician and bartender, tax accountant and personal assistant, paralegal and writer.
But my days of searching came to a fantastic halt one day 10 years ago. I found my home in a studio amongst clay and wood. I am a sculptor...the most fortunate of people to have found that which I can not thrive without, that which soothes and fills and inspires me. I am endlessly fascinated with the human form in all its exquisite glory. I find beauty in everything from a proud mother to a wise old man. Through my work others transcend the constraints of a Puritanical society and view the nude human form as it should be viewed. With reverence.
I am particularly interested in rendering the female form in its natural sensuality and I explore the combination of that with strength. It is with this theme that I opened my first show in DC and others since. It is with this attitude that I found success in New York City.
Unfortunately, though we may find our passion, though our hearts may be pure and resolute, the path is twisted and unclear. In 2002, I was struck by a mysterious malady that robbed me of my ability to pursue my art. The main symptom is chronic, penetrating pain and it has persisted relentlessly for 5-and-a-half years.
So if you are wondering where I have been, or what I have been up to, or why I have not been in touch, it is for this reason. The uncertainty of my existence is fodder for only the most avid of existentialists.
But I am out here in the ether, even more so in the ether, because of re...Expand for more
cent challenges. Thank God for technology that allows me to explore the world from my desktop.
My interests are as varied as ever. And to solve the dilemma of having far too many and varied interests, I have begun reading. A lot. It quells my urge to go and devour a world that cannot be tackled but must be consumed instead with copious amounts of time and money. My latest fascinations have been with quantum mechanics, Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, classic literature and the bad boy of, well, nearly everything, the Marquis de Sade.
If any of you are residing in Maine, I hope to see you soon. It is my intention to have my child grow up in the wholesome environment in which I spent my formative years; climbing trees, flying kites, caring for dogs, cows, chickens and rabbits, swimming in the lake, exploring the sea, watching the canopy of leaves change with the seasons, and preferring nights outdoors in a tent to my own bed. My son should know the smell of the seasons, tell you the weather with his eyes shut. Like his mother he will love the smell of the earth overturned, wood cut, autumn leaves and the ocean from 10 minutes away. I want him to know the sounds of insects and birds, the wind in the trees, the crackle of the fire and a shovel upon snow. A place where you can see a thousand stars on a clear night or be awestruck by the Northern Lights. I want him to love and respect the land and care for what precious little we have.
In the Spanish language, there is a word that denotes one's place of origin, one's "tierra." It is a word that literally translates as "land." It is this word that I use when I speaking of Maine to my Spanish-speaking friends. I do not say, my "state" or "the place I grew up." It is "tierra" I use because it embodies all of the love that I have for that land and my people, my home in the woods, not far from the lake, not far from the sea. That place that will forever be my home, the place to which I will return.
K
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Reunions
Photos
