Tina Kelsey makes tiaras for a living and will be showing her art in an exhibit for the first time at the Athens Public Library.
Tina Kelsey has been making tiaras for eight years. Her love for them began at a young age, as she wore them often around her house while doing ordinary tasks. Now, she has turned her passion into a career, making and selling the crowns full time.
An exhibition of her tiaras will be on display at the Athens Public Library starting Tuesday.
This, however, is Kelsey’s first time showing her work in an art exhibit.
“The exhibit at the library is very different than anything I’ve ever done before,” Kelsey said. “I really had to push myself.”
Kelsey said she wants to teach others to see tiaras in a different light. They are not only a piece of jewelry, she said but they are also a great way for people to honor themselves.
“They’re not just for beauty queens,” Kelsey said. “They’re a way to celebrate who we are.”
That celebration, and the feeling of empowerment that comes from wearing tiaras, is important, she said, particularly for women.
Kelsey fashions her tiaras from a variety of materials. One of her favorite pieces she made was created from an old music box, she said.
Kelsey said her personal favorite within the exhibit is titled “Green With Envy.” It is made from vintage jewelry and features a small dangling piece that moves when the wearer does.
Kelsey said the most rewarding part of her job is the personal stories her customers share with her about why they purchase the tiaras.
“They make people happy,” she said.
Todd Bastin, art in the library coordinator for the Athens Public Library, said he decided to display Kelsey’s tiaras to remind people of their other uses outside of beauty contests.
“I like the romantic notion of tiaras,” Bastin said in an email. “And Tina is bringing them back to their original use outside of beauty contests, restoring them to their place as an article of adornment that people … can wear in their regular lives.”
Bastin praised Kelsey for the creativity that is visible in her work.
“Tina Kelsey is one of those truly inspired artists who combines skilled craftsmanship with original imagination and artful design,” he said in an email.
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Bastin said he hopes viewers of the exhibit see the deeper, more expressive meaning behind Kelsey’s tiaras.
“They are a means to deeper self-expression,” he said in an email. “I think our library patrons will discover that in her beautiful and whimsical head accessories they are encountering a new means to discover and unleash their personalities.”
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