Art and Design student receives $5,000 award
Kelly Jelinek, a May graduate in art and design at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, is the second recipient of the $5,000 Melvin R. Laird Exceptional Artist Award.
The annual award recognizes and rewards an exceptional graduating UW-Stevens Point student in the performing or visual arts by providing an investment in the student’s potential to become a successful leading artist in his or her field.
Jelinek, of Kiel, majored in two-and three-dimensional art and will use the award funds to purchase equipment and supplies needed to create a portfolio of cut-paper and diorama illustrations. The funds will also enable her to attend conferences focusing on illustrating and publishing children’s books. “For as long as I can remember, the only thing I have ever wanted to be is a storyteller,” said Jelinek. “Breaking into the business of illustration is difficult and this award will help to open doors for me that would not have been possible without it.”
Jelinek hopes to get a job illustrating children’s books. “The education I received at UW-Stevens Point has helped me cultivate my personal style of illustration, which has already opened some doors for my professional development,” said Jelinek.
Jelinek also received help from faculty members Bob Erickson and Kristin Thielking, who helped her make a professional connection with Eric Rohmann and Michelle McCann of the Beyond Words publishing company.
While at UW-Stevens Point, Jelinek received numerous awards and grants including an Arts Bash Scholarship Award, Piotrowski Ceramic Award, Arts Bash Wearable Sculpture Award, Richard Schneider Award for Excellence in Ceramics and a Student Research Grant. She also has completed internships at the Rahr-West Art Museum and Art Outreach Program in Manitowoc and at Feast Creative in London, England.
Andrew Broomell, a 2011 graduate and first winner of the Laird Award, has spent the past year pursuing a master’s degree at the University of California-Irvine in the Scenic Design for Theatre program. “The experience that I have gained during my first year has even led to a job in Hollywood building a model for an upcoming ABC show, which is still in pre-production,” said Broomell. “Graduate school has already opened up numerous opportunities such as this … and the Laird Award was vital in my ability to study here.”
The Melvin R. Laird Exceptional Artist Award was established by Melvin Laird and members of the Laird Endowment Advisory Board. Laird was U.S. Secretary of Defense under President Nixon and Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District representative.
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