artwork with rainbow colored circles on a white background

Kelly Jelenik

As a child, Kelly spent most of her time with her nose in fairytale books. She would marvel at how the impossible was made possible in those stories: animals could talk, trees could dance, and the most mundane of objects could become something magical and important. Kelly’s artwork is a continuous journey of making real-life more magical.

Kelly grew up in an environment where taxidermy heads were trophies mounted on the walls. She followed her artistic dreams into the textile industry and ended up designing fabric for interior designers. She took this love of color and design and used it to make the mundane more magical through designing faux taxidermy heads. Kelly uses the beautiful fabric she designs to wrap around the faux taxidermy structure in place of skin and fur. These incredible creations are a great example of something traditional transformed into magical.

Known best for her lions, Kelly has also created many other faux taxidermy animals including a tiger, a bear, an armadillo, a bison, and a full-sized ram, among many others! She is always open to custom projects.

Lion Head

20” x 16” x 2

Faux taxidermy of a lion head

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Featured at The Vendue – Charleston’s Art Hotel.