Featured Artist week 2

It's Monday again and time to feature a new artist/crafter/diyer/what-have-you...

Today I'll be featuring Deadthingsgrrl. Please check out her shop and show her some love.

What do you create?

I try to do a little bit of everything just to hone my skills
and because I like to learn new things, but right now I'm
working on the Snuff Stuffies, slightly twisted stuffed animals
with real animal skulls for heads. That's done me pretty well
since I started and I look forward to seeing where I take it.

What made you start?

I've been creating things through different mediums since I was
a child, my mother is very creative and encouraged my different
styles and projects. It was a way to spend my free time when I
wasn't reading, and expend energy without getting in trouble :)



How long have you been crafting/selling/creating?

Crafting and creating, probably since I was able to hold a
pencil. Selling started about 10 years ago when I began Custom
Cranium to sell my etched and painted skulls. It's been off and
on since then, but lately has gained a fairly good amount of
momentum.

Do you have any short/long term goals?

I would LOVE to get big enough with my artwork to supplement my
income comfortably. Really my goal is to have the Snuff Stuffies
and my bone jewelry well-known and create custom pieces for
people on a regular basis. I'm not looking for riches, just a
tiny bit of fame and extra play money.

Do you sell your product? If so, where do you sell? (online and offline)

I'm working on selling offline at specialty stores, but that
market is difficult to get into if everything you do is
one-of-a-kind and you can't really reproduce anything in mass
quantities. What I do can't be duplicated easily, and depends on
a supply that may or may not be available all the time.
Online, I've done really well on Etsy and MySpace, and even the
DIYscene boards. They are great contacts with great people that
are supportive and full of ideas for marketing and publicity.

Where can we find you on the net? (myspace, blog, etc.)

www.myspace.com/skullgrrl

www.deadthingsgrrl.etsy.com

skullgrrl@yahoo.com

What inspires you?

That's a heavily broad question. I pull inspiration from
anything, mostly nature and my darker side. They co-exist quite
nicely, and it seems to mesh well in my products. I've been
known to get inspiration from friends and music as well, but I
can mostly attribute my ideas to animals and the skeletal
structure of living things.



What is your favorite material(s)?

I love love love working with bones and leather. I would love to
have a metal-working studio and lapidary wheels, but those
require more space and money than I have available at this time.
So mostly skulls and animal-related things at the moment.

Are you a self taught crafter or have you taken some classes?

I've taken a few jewelry classes and the requisite generic art
classes in school, but most of my skills are self-taught or
learned by watching friends work. Studying people is a hobby of
mine, and learning is the reason for life!

What do you listen to when you are crafting?

I listen to such a wide variety of things, but mostly Australian
weirdness like Nick Cave, Foetus, Beasts of Bourbon, some Middle
Eastern and Celtic folk, and a ton of industrial and synthpop
like VNV Nation, Otto von Schirach, Apoptygma Berserk and L'Ame
Immortelle.

Are you a night owl?

Most decidedly yes. I wish daily for a 24 hr society so it would
be easier to find a good job with later hours.



Do you have any other hobbies?

I collect things related to death, anything cephalopod, read
anything I can get my hands on and LEARN things. Every day is a
new chance to do something I've never done before.

Read anything good lately?

I always do! If it's book recommendations you want, you are in
the right brain :) Check out anything by Matt Ruff, especially
Sewer, Gas and Electric: The Public Works Trilogy. Right now I'm
re-reading Ayn Rand and Harlan Ellison.