This week’s artist feature is Kelly Haneklau, a free-lance artist who specializes in painting custom commissioned artwork – mostly acrylic on canvas or paper. Kelly also paints large-scale murals alongside her various public art projects. In a recent collaboration with 2020 PWC Poet Laureate, Kim B. Miller, Kelly co-created a public art display dubbed K[squared]², centered on live painting canvases while Kim recites poetry in real-time in front of an audience.

Kelly founded her studio business, Minor Miracles, in 2001. There she creates her own artwork and teaches art classes to people of all ages; from Kindergarten all the way to senior residents. Minor Miracles also offers virtual art lessons, classes, and paint parties for businesses and families.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, I asked Kelly a couple of questions about the women who inspired her and her message to future women!

Who inspires you?

“I am inspired by so many amazing women. My mother and grandmother and my daughter are all true inspirations. But someone who has inspired me since my earliest recollections, who most people have heard of, is Helen Keller. Not being able to hear or see from the age of 19 months, she was still somehow able to tap into the most incredibly valuable lessons and insights that even a person who could see or hear would have trouble learning. A prolific writer, activist for labor rights, women’s voting rights, and world peace, she was a staunch advocate for people with disabilities and was the first deaf/blind woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She fully supported the NAACP and civil liberties. As you can tell, I am very passionate about her and her work.”

What message would you leave to the next generation of women?

“My message to future generations is: Kindness and love are the most important things. We are all people and the color of our skin, the location we live, the religion we practice, the gender we choose, or the size or abilities of our bodies should not drive us apart, but draw us closer together to experience all the wonderful things each individual can offer. The size of our hearts, the acceptance in our hearts, the openness of our hearts, the compassion in our hearts, is what matters most.”

Upcoming K[squared]² Events:

THIS SUNDAY, March 21st at 4pm EST, K[squared]² will perform LIVE on Facebook. The link to this online event is: https://www.facebook.com/pwcpoetlaureate2020. If you can’t catch it live, it will be recorded and added to YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-2KoN82AlL2UWh16opyt1g. 

Thursday, April 15th at 7:15pm EST K[squared]² is excited to be performing at the Hylton Performing Arts Center! Check their calendar for more details.

Saturday, July 10th at 3:00 pm EST K[squared]² will be performing LIVE in plein air at the Jean C. Smith Amphitheater at Locust Shade Park! Check their calendar for details.

Sunday, September 12th Kelly hopes to be displaying her art at the Hylton Performing Arts Center at Arts Alive! (pending pandemic restrictions)

Kelly currently has her artwork on display at the Clearbrook Center of the Arts in Woodbridge, VA. Stop on in to check it out!

You can view more of Kelly’s art at www.kellyhaneklau.com and on Facebook and Instagram.