Why horns?

Some of you have asked me what and who has inspired my latest body of work. I have a YouTube video that touches on the general ideas behind the sculptures, but I wanted to go more in-depth and share some images that have inspired me, as well as, the pop culture that keeps coming into my work.

Mystical Creatures Inspired by Cultural Relevance

We are all inspired consciously or subconsciously by our environment. We respond to our surroundings and what we have going on in our lives at that moment.  For the past couple of years, my oldest daughter has become more and more interested in Renaissance Festivals and cosplay. As a supporting parent, I attended my first Renaissance Festival 2 years ago where I saw so many individuals with horns on their heads, it seemed a bit crazy! They had several stands that sold horns of all shapes and sizes, and people were lining up to try them out and buy them. It was around this time, my daughter started to become obsessed with horns (She made her first pair from cardboard following this Pinterest Post). She wanted to dress up as a character with horns for Halloween 2016.  That halloween, I noticed a ton of kids wearing horns, and not the devil kind. There were a variety. I began to think and wonder why this obsession with horns? I began to look at history and research the influence and impact horns have had on many different cultures. Then and now. They are everywhere in our current world.

We did a Star Wars marathon before going to see the new movie, Star Wars Rogue One, and throughout the different movie versions, there they were – horns! – on so many of the characters. I began to see horns everywhere. My son’s video games, movies, TV shows. The new Disney movie Maleficent. Other artists like Crystal Morey and even in house decor!

Of course it didn’t help when my daughter prepared for Renaissance Festival earlier this Spring, and once again she was determined to wear horns with her costume. This concept of altering your persona and acquiring “super powers” by placing horns on your head began to brew inside, and the idea of exploring that concept with spirituality in my new body of work was becoming more defined each day.

I love creating characters. To me they each have a story and personality. My challenge was to create a body of work cohesive enough, but individual to each sculpture. So each figure has a slightly separate theme – a different story.

For instance, Mystic Strength is more personal. I am a Taurus (yay for all Taurus’ out there!) – one of the traits of Taurus is that they are gentle yet strong which I captured with the pose and expression. The tarot card of strength ties in the mystical trope with another Taurean trait. The clothing is reminiscent of native South Americans, which is part of my heritage.

The Seer was inspired by both Cosplay and Game of Thrones. I am a huge fan! The Warg is someone that can see through the eyes of animals, so when this happens their eyes go blank! And Bran makes a great Warg!

Then, there is the Stag. This one was more about the balance between mischief and sweetness, which I believe most young boys like my son embody at a pre-teen age.

Ram Conceivable was inspired by a few of the star wars horned figures. The struggle with this piece was to keep it from becoming too Sci-Fi looking, while exploring what embodies the feminine.

Deer Mystic – How much time do you have to scroll through countless images of deer antlers on people’s heads on Pinterest? What caught my attention was the way the antlers were decorated with flowers and such. Very delicate, feminine, playful and innocent which are all characteristics I wanted to portray.

Each piece has a story. My own personal story, BUT as with all my work… you make your own story and interpretation. If you are curious about the story behind a piece that I did not cover here, please contact me. I’ll be more than happy to tell you my story.

The horn obsession continues. Halloween this year was no different!