Joan Kelly

Since early childhood Joan Kelly has had a passion for drawing and painting. She joined the Australian Society of Miniature Art Tasmania (ASMA Tasmania) in 1992 and shortly afterwards became Exhibition Coordinator for the North of the State. She was involved in organising a number of exhibitions including four National Exhibitions and a conference at the Burnie Regional Art Gallery. She represented ASMA Tasmania at the First World Exhibition and Conference in London in 1995 and assisted with cataloguing and hanging of entries for the Second World Exhibition and Conference in Hobart in 2000. Midway through the exhibition she was elected President of ASMA Tasmania.

She has promoted art in miniature through working with her committee at Society exhibitions, teaching art in miniature at Adult Education classes and leading workshop. She is often invited to be guest speaker on miniature art for various community organisations. She is a member of ASMA Victoria and ASMA Queensland and has had work accepted for a number of national and international exhibitions including a touring exhibition organised by ASMA Queensland to Germany in 2001. She has travelled overseas several times and attended all three of the World Exhibitions and Conferences. She especially enjoys meeting miniaturists from other societies and discussing the many techniques used in miniature art. She is particularly interested in encouraging miniaturists to pass on their knowledge and expertise to children who, hopefully, will become the next generation of miniature artists.

Joan has managed a Company Guest Lodge, worked as a social and arts writer for a local daily newspaper, taught art at TAFE College in Burnie as well as Adult Education, judged art exhibitions and been artist in residence at a number of primary and secondary schools in Northern Tasmania. She has a degree in Adult and Vocational Education and lives in Burnie with her retired accountant husband Lindsay.