Ellis Kelsey

Article by Lois Ann Baker
Chesterville Record
June 15, 2011

A Grade 10 student at North Dundas District High School, is already an accomplished artist, turning photos of animals in pencil drawings. She can be seen every second weekend at the Metcalfe Market and this Sunday at Art on the Waterfront in Chesterville.

Sometimes just being a teenager is enough, not so for Kelsey Ellis. Not only does Ellis attend NDDHS she is also an accomplished artist, owns her own business and has a part-time job.

“My grandma draws, and every time she came up from British Columbia, I would draw with her,” said Ellis, “Mom suggested I should do it as a business.” Ellis has been drawing for the past four years, and has been selling her drawings through her business, Kelsey Ellis Art, for the past two.

“She did a drawing for my brother-in-law for Christmas two years ago,” said mom, Shelley Helmer, “And we took it to a framing shop to have it framed and the lady there took one look at it and said ‘You are going into art as a business aren’t you?” At first, they said no, but soon got a booth at the Metcalfe Market and they have been going there every second weekend since. Helmer gets involved with her daughter’s work as well by framing the pictures.

“Rather than just handing them a piece of paper and saying "Here’s your artwork," I started framing for her to try to keep the costs down,” said Helmer. Ellis also sells cards featuring her work and unframed copies of pictures she drew. Ellis is finding it harder to find time to draw with school, friends and a new part-time job at the Winchester Home Hardware, but tries to set time aside after school. The commissioned work she does takes her approximately 10 hours to complete depending on the size and she is still studying art with Joyce Geleynse in Inkerman.

She has been awarded the “Best Art Student” in Grade 6, First place in the Firefighters Calendar Contest, in Grades 7-8, and the “Excellence in Art” medal in Grade 9.