Raven, the artist behind the Etsy store Dreadful Things, creates beautiful yet macabe jewelery, paintings, purses and many other works of art. She uses such things as real animal skulls to create original peices of art that any morbidly inclined person would be proud to own. She has been gracious enough to answer a few questions, and I feel that once you get to know her, and her art, you will becomes a big fan of her work like I am.
Have you always been attracted to things with a ‘darker’ edge to them?
Yes. I learned to read at an early age and began reading horror novels in 3rd and 4thgrade. My parents never censored the books I chose because they did not want to discourage my intellect. They also never judged my hobbies or interests. I had pet snakes as a kid where the other girls my age had dolls and I was playing with He-Man with the boys while the girls played with their strawberry shortcake toys. I had posters of Edward Scissor Hands all over my room when the other girls in my class were obsessed with New Kids on The Block. I was just a kid with a different set of interests and taste!
I imagine that you were an artistic child. What was the strangest thing that you made back then?
I have no idea what to pick. I was combining bones with doll parts as a teen, sculpted a Medusa mask for my mother when I was 7, began painting roadkill at 18. Do those count? Haha!
What inspired you to become an artist?
My parents have told me that I was painting and sketching as soon as I learned to use my hands. Being an artist or being creative is almost like being cursed. An artist is born with the drive to create and he/she has no control over it.
When did you begin to sell your artwork and jewelry?
It took me a long time to sell my art because I was very attached to every piece. People would often ask if I could make them/sell them a skull necklace, hat I was wearing, painting in my house but I would turn them down. I initially only felt comfortable giving away my art or jewelry to friends and family. By my mid twenties I was confident enough to start selling most items to the general public. It was around then that my focus on art became more serious and I began selling in small galleries and online.
What has your experience on Etsy been like?
I opened the shop in 2008 and listed a very small amount of items. I started out just listing the Goth greeting cards and a few pieces of skull jewelry. The items sold and so I began listing more and more. Etsy has become an incredible experience for me. I love the community aspect of it and also love to buy from other artists. I had tired selling items on places like Ebay prior but Ebay is not art friendly. Etsy should be commended for not censoring the work that people sell. Some of my art is pretty graphic and I ran into a lot of censorship issues prior to finding Etsy. I am still building the shop at this point and my goal is to be able to quit my day job so I can do art full time.
You got some attention on Regretsy because of a painting of roadkill that you created. Did all of the attention from that boost your sales and get even more people interested in your work?
Ahh Regretsy! The roadkill painting showed up on Regretsy in December. I was already a fan so it was fun to be featured. Some of the comments were pretty brutal and I got a few nasty emails about the painting. My sales were already steady at that point so it is hard to say if Regretsy helped but it certainly did not hurt. The painting had over 20,000 views in the first few days. The Regretsy book comes out in April and some of my work will be featured so that is pretty exciting. I was also featured on some site called Craftastrophe a few months before the Regretsy feature. Some of my art may be shocking but really that is not my intention with every piece. All of this exposure has been good and there are some very interesting projects in the works.
Is there anything that you would like my readers to know about you?
All of the bones/parts I use in my art come from animals that have died already due to natural causes.
What scares you?
Scutigera coleoptrata also known as the “House Centipide”. Every house in Pennsylvania has at least one. These buggers are large and fast plus they can bite. If I see one I will jump up and freeze until I see where it is going.Despite my fear of them I cannot bring myself to kill one since they are actually good bugs to have in the house. So I can deal with dead things covered in maggots, I can hold a spider in my hand, and I have a pet python but these guys just scare me to death.
Visit Raven’s Etsy store Dreadful Things and follow her on Twitter .
Bloofer Lady
Remember to enter this peachy-keen contest for a chance to win Peter Straub’s new book A Dark Matter. http://www.horrorcrypt.com/archives/3205
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Very good interview and a nice way to introduce more people to Raven’s work. I’m off to find a picture of a ‘house centipede’ to see what it is as well as check out Raven’s store.
She’s a very cool chicka!
Thank goodness we don’t have those bugs down here because they sound pretty scary!
I’ve been following Raven on Twitter for a while, so am familiar with her work. It’s great to see a structured interview with her, and put a few things into context. Keep on creating Raven, and I’ll keep on following your trials and tribulations on Twitter.
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