We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelli Foret Richard. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelli below.

Kelli, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Drawn to Grow. I have more info provided in the next section.

Kelli, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

South Louisiana based artist, Kelli Foret Richard, has been honing her skills as an illustrator, artist and teaching artist for the past decade. Emerging into the art-world by way of her book, The Acadiana Art Trail, Kelli used the lessons she learned from publishing in her work as an illustrator helping other authors as well as local businesses and brands find their visual voice. She fell hard for her passion for visual arts and became a teaching artist whose mission is to share her experiences as a self-taught artist with young people. ​
Kelli’s evolution into social practice art allowed her to introduce her other passions for regenerative living practices and the dirt-bag lifestyle. Her work is deeply rooted in food sovereignty, regenerative agriculture and finding ways to reconnect with and heal the land. Her most recent work has propelled her into using her artwork for a deeper purpose; a personal legacy with the plants, with the soil, with humanity and our planet.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My latest project or mission, Drawn to Grow, is a project rooted in Food Sovereignty, Decentralization and Regenerative Agriculture Practices aiming at engaging the public with a call to action. Some scientists believe, if we do not change our conventional agricultural ways, our planet has about 57 harvest years left until we reach full desertification, which is the process by which land becomes desert as a result of deforestation or inappropriate agriculture. I created 57 drawings of foods, plants, etc. that could easily be grown at home, as well as illustrate soil health, pollinators and blessings you might find in a regenerative agricultural zone. Each drawing intends to offer a prayer and a mediation asking for the healing of our planet as well as a small nugget of awareness about these important topics. This project is a way for me to have a voice in the world and do important work. As Henry David Thoreau points out, “We have not inherited the earth from our parents, we have borrowed it from our children.” ​

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert The Artist Way by Julia Cameron       

Contact Info:

• Website: Kelliforetartwork.com
• Instagram: @Kelz4arich
• Other: My website has a blog section which has a lot of information that may be useful for the article. The first blog post tells my story which especially may be helpful. Here is the link to that post.

Image Credits
Photo cred for portrait of me, Gerard Martin.