Who is Kell?

“Kell” is the nickname my best friend Melissa Kerby gave me when we were growing up together in Mountainair, New Mexico. Little did she know I’d develop such an interest in calligraphy, Ireland, and all things Celtic. Of course that interest certainly extended to The Book of Kells.

My real name is Kelley Hewett Pounds, and I’m an artist, writer, and jewelry designer. My husband and I live on a cattle ranch in central New Mexico, near the old ghost town of Pinos Wells, which used to be a stage stop on the way from White Oaks to Santa Fe.

Below are some pictures taken on our ranch or nearby to give you a feel for where I live. You can find out more about me by visiting my Kell’s Creations website.

An old building on the ranch, one of many left over from the days of the homesteaders, before the Depression and the drought caused many to move away.

The Gallinas Mountains near Cedarvale, New Mexico, not far from where I live.

A morning rainbow. I caught this picture as I was headed for class in Ruidoso.

The packrats have done a number on this poor cholla cactus. Packrats build nests (usually under trees, but sometimes at the base of a cholla cactus itself) using twigs, branches, cactus and all kinds of other materials they find.