Double Scoop Sessions: Meet Whoa Kelli, Cowgirl Arcade
This month at Double Dip Gallery, we’re featuring Whoa! Kelli, whose work explores nostalgia, memory, and the ways our experiences transform over time into stories we tell ourselves, and each other.
We sat down over a scoop of Bing Cherry ice cream to learn more about the inspiration behind her latest exhibition, Cowgirl Arcade.
What is your favorite flavor and why? Bing Cherry! It’s the nostalgia for me, of course but it’s also very versatile. I like a good combo, and it goes with so many different flavors. Chocolate? Yes. Fruity flavors? All day long. Caramel? Nutty? Rich? Yes, yes, yes. It’s just good with everything.
Quick Scoop Q&A ~ All About the Show
What inspired the work in this show? This show, Cowgirl Arcade, is my love letter to Sharkey’s in Gardnerville, Nevada, a steakhouse-casino that’s still there but gone in every way that mattered. It was dark and smoky, wallpapered with decades of circus, western, boxing, and eclectic memorabilia, filled with singing slot machines, glitter-resin tables, and a kitschy little arcade that felt like my whole world. It’s not a faithful recreation, it’s the place rebuilt in the image of the kid who loved it most.
How would you describe this show in three words?
Magic. Melancholy. Mine.
What was your creative process like? I am never as structured as I think I’ll be. Especially when working from hazy memories, precision can become the enemy of magic. I let myself play with ideas, sketches, colors, and techniques until things feel right. I’ve learned to trust my instincts much more than I trust a plan, even if I’m the one who made the plan.
What do you want people to feel when they see your show? I want people to feel like their own mundane memories are worth holding onto, that beauty lives in almost-forgotten places and ordinary moments. The owner of Sharkey’s filled every wall, table, and corner with pieces of his own memories. Little ten-year-old Kelli walked in and caught them like confetti. That’s what I want to do for someone here. Sprinkle memories around like glitter, in a good, we’re-all-at-the-same-party kind of way.
If your art was an ice cream flavor, what would it be? Definitely a double scoop of Bing Cherry and Banana Rocky Road, two flavors that maybe shouldn’t work together but absolutely do. Much like the clown paintings in this show. There are multiple clown paintings. Multiple!! Give them a chance. You may discover you like something unexpected.
Come experience Whoa! Kelli’s work in person at Double Dip Gallery, and don’t forget to grab a scoop while you’re here. We hear Bing Cherry is the perfect pairing.
On view through July 2026
Exhibition Details
Location: 222 W. Pine St., Lodi, CA
Sunday–Thursday: 1:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Friday–Saturday: 1:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Double Dip Gallery 