Artist

Kelly Larson

Artist bio

I am new to the art world, although the work I have created spans twenty years. My artwork is an exploration of my faith as I live, walk, and sometimes stumble in the world around me. Growing up in a Christian home and church, naturally, has had an influence on my beliefs, but growing in God's word and in my faith is like taking baby steps as I go through life. Sometimes you have these "aha" moments, whereas other times you fall and take a couple steps back. As a child I remember my mom reading the book to me, "3 in 1 (A Picture of God)" by Joanne and Benjamin Marxhausen. It may have been the simple images of this book that set-in motion the style of my artwork. Fast forward to college, attending the University of Wisconsin-Stout, I took my first screen printing class and discovered that I love taking a complex thought and breaking it down to its simplest form. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Interior Design, I lived and worked in Minneapolis, MN. In 2000, I discovered a printmaking class at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and began incorporating scripture with the theme of the project that year. "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" led me to create my first piece titled, "Road Home", based on Matthew 7:13-14. Since then, most of my screen prints revolve around scripture. The main inspiration for my artwork is God's word. As I read my Bible, images come to mind that I jot down, journal about and eventually need to get out on paper. I have come upon objects, read words, been moved by a song and experienced moments in life that also bring me back to a verse to inspire these simple images and their colors. When I view my prints, they remind me of my faith and the words I lean on. My artwork has been influenced by graphic designer, Saul Bass, who took a minimalist approach to his work keeping with the Modern Art Movement of the 20th Century. Also, Minnesota artist, Charles Beck, whose landscapes and woodcarvings reflect the abstraction of an idea. The two mediums I prefer to work in are screen printing using the process of photo emulsion and light, mixing my own colors using water based acrylic inks, and pastels to quickly capture a moment of God's creation in nature. I have worked in the Interior Design profession since graduating from college in 1997. I am a wife and mom of three boys. As an artist, I feel the need to unwrap this gift that God has placed in my heart...To create art that would glorify Him, honor Him and to do it in such a way that evokes the words of my mother, "Keep It Simple".

Title

Welcomed, Taught, Fed

Medium/Genre

Other

Artist Statement

"Welcomed, Taught, Fed" is my slant on "Jesus Feeding the 5000".

It was inspired after reading Mark 6:32-44. This print is conceptual using numbers and colors. The green grass portion is 5” high (5 loaves) and 27” long (+2 fish=7). The metallic gold circles represent the groups of people sitting together and the worth Jesus saw in each individual person. I find it foretelling that Jesus broke 5 loaves and 2 fish totaling the perfect number 7 which represents Jesus himself being broken and dying on the cross. In John 6:12-13, He said, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted. So they gathered them and filled 12 baskets." After Jesus was broken for us what remained were his 12 imperfect disciples to go out into the world to spread the good news of the gospel.

John 6:35, "Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

How it fits into contest

Mark 6:34-39 some paraphrased (NIV) "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” In his compassion he welcomed them. “So he began teaching them many things.” It got late in the day and everyone was getting hungry. Jesus told his disciples to feed them, and with His help, they did. “Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten were 5000.”

Reading the above inspired the visual for me. I loved how Jesus had so much compassion for these lost people that he welcomed them, taught them and fed them. In John 6:27 Jesus says, “Do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

This print could be His seal!

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The 2026 Engage Art Contest will be accepting new artwork in January 2026!