Meet The Team: Kelli Sillik

Welcome to another addition of "Meet The Team" - our way of introducing you to the fine folks behind the scenes who make R&F possible.⁠ In this week’s installment, you will meet Kelli Sillik in Production.

Please tell us your job title and a brief description of what you do day to day at R&F.

I am the Assistant Manager of Paintmaking. My day to day activities are creating a weekly schedule to make encaustic and Pigment Sticks®, ensuring quality control of the paint, and making sure everyone in Production has the time, tools, and materials they need to complete their assigned colors for the day. Part of my job involves milling paint on our three-roll mills and measuring raw materials in the pigment room.

You'll also find me rummaging through our vast CD collection in the shop for the Tom Waits albums my coworkers patiently listen to in the early hours of the morning.

How many years have you been working for R&F?

I started working for R&F in 2015 in Post-Production. After completing college, I moved on to Paintmaking. But I started doing studio work through the workshop program as a high school student around 2010. I met Richard when he visited my Chemistry-in-Art class in high school where he taught students about color, light, and pigment.

From that point on, R&F has been a second home for me.

What do you do outside of work? Do you have an art background or related practice?

I earned a Bachelor of Science in Visual Art and a Minor in Art History after completing my college education at SUNY Ulster and SUNY New Paltz. I have been exploring the arts and crafts qualities of sewing, embroidery, and hand-quilting for the last few years, but I often describe myself as a jack of all trades, master of none.

I love to cook, garden, hike, and read. I recently began volunteering at the local SPCA a couple days a week as well.

If someone came to visit Kingston, what's one thing you would recommend they see/ do/ eat/ experience?

Visit one of the farmer's markets to experience the fresh, local produce and to connect with the various groups and organizations in the area. The Saturday farmer's market in Uptown often looks like a small festival in the summer, but during the week it is worthwhile to visit the YMCA Farm Project in Midtown. They have quality produce made by local youth in their own garden.

Favorite color in R&F's paint line?

I really enjoy making Indigo on the mill. The saturated qualities of the Ultramarine Blue and Prussian Blue melding with the earthy Raw Umber turns into this mysterious, borderline spooky hue. I also have a soft spot for Green Gold. When it is extended using encaustic medium or Blending Medium, it reveals an undertone reminiscent of sunlight moving through late-summer leaves.