About
Kelly Frederick Mizer is an artist, a mom, a poet, a thinker, a dreamer, a teacher, a pie maker, and a dog owner. Stories have been important to her since she was a little kid. She lives with her husband, their three children, and one very happy German Shorthair Pointer, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. She teaches art and illustration at Wauwatosa East High School.
LoloINK is named after Grandma Lois, who continues to be a source of love, comfort, and inspiration for Kelly.
Artist Statement
I paint and draw for the same reason I saved the clippings from my children's first haircuts: "Look at this. Notice this. This small thing is evidence of my experience." My work is my attempt to preserve the images that are part of daily family life, but are also fleeting and small. I want to capture the images that don't seem so important, but ultimately weave together to define a lifetime: a conversation on a plane ride, dog poop in the corner of the dining room, first birthday cakes. I want my audience to identify with the narrative and delight in the idea that someone else gets it: piles of laundry, a dirty coffee cup, the baseball mitt left on the floor, how all of it contributes to the pressures and comforts of each day.
My favorite things to draw are tables and cakes, place settings and coffee cups. I delight in cooking fancy dinners for company, even for a single guest and so my work frequently relays that sense of anticipation. My writing is most often about waiting, wanting, wishing, hoping, and wondering. I spend many days thinking about fate and faith, destiny, and free will and sometimes find comfort in not knowing many answers. My work, however, is about trying to answer my own questions, especially when I feel uncomfortable with the world around me. When all else has gone awry, I can put myself at absolute ease by drawing the perfect lemon or by writing a story about a girl who believes in wishing.