Karen is a horror artist working on some new monsters
for an exhibition as part of Dark Arts - a genre show as part of the Bram
Stoker International Film Festival in Whitby (where Dracula came ashore,
appropriately enough).
They
take a lot of effort to bring into the world - she works literally from the
bones up and spends a huge amount of time researching anatomy to make sure
she's got them right. Only when the structure is sound does she produce a final
drawing. That's when the real work starts. Children and animals may be
difficult to work with - but they're not a patch on monsters. They turn up when
they like, clear off when they like, hide - yes, Stephen, we can see you under
there - and have a nasty habit of waking everyone up in the early hours of the
morning.
Which
is why she's running a Kickstarter campaign to fund further work and an art
book revealing the stories behind each creature.
She
has lived with this horrible lot for as long as she can remember and much to
her parents mortification, has been drawing strange, many legged things since
early childhood too. A few years ago, Karen decided to unleash the original
Stephen on an unsuspecting public.
The response was amazing - he actually gets more attention than she does
now, but that's as it should be. The images of him have gone down a storm - her
favourite sale was to a customer who had bought one for a friends birthday, who
sent before and after photos as the gift was unwrapped to the horrified cry of
'what have you done ???
What
more can a horror artist ask for :)
Over the last year, she has come to realise the personal relationships
other people have with her monsters. She started telling Stephens story from
the music that brought him into being (a cautionary tale of what happens if you
listen to Alice Cooper for several weeks straight), where he lives, what makes
him so special and why they get on so much better now. That touched people more
than she'd imagined it could. It's not just about the drawings- it's about
bringing people into their world, letting them wander around and experience
something strange and wonderful. Everyone needs a little of that now and then.
With
the help of her incredibly understanding partner Rich, Karen made a short video
for the project to show what it's like doing all this from the artists point of
view. They included some stop motion animation featuring the models she uses to
work from and channelling their inner Nosferatu, made the whole thing silent
movie style.
Everyone backing the project gets a unique set of rewards - including
Stephens asylum file, which includes a map of the hospital he lives in, his
patient notes, newspaper cuttings and specially created Rorschach cards amongst
other fun things.
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