Behind the Scenes (Making a Monster)

I'm not going to bore you with a play-by-play narration of how I create my monsters. No one wants to read that. But, I can show you what happens when I have Sculpey polymer clay in my hand and cook it for 12 minutes in my oven at home at 275 degrees.

For the record, I still have not named my bear of terror, but these are his origins.

Monster #11 -1/25/16

For this Monday's monster, I polled my friends on social media to figure out what I was going to make. I had several great ideas thrown at me, but two that stuck out to me were "a winged hellhound" and a "purple gargoyle with glasses." I had decided I was going to combine these two options and create a purple, winged, hellhound gargoyle. I decided to not include the glasses for my lack of wire in my supply kit (I've come to realize I really need some) but I'm quite pleased with the results.

There is however, one problem.

He doesn't have a name.

Please feel free to comment on this post, email me at ylimesotrab@gmail.com, or #MonsterMonday on Instagram with your name ideas. I will choose the name that best suits this creature.

xx emily

Monster #10 - (1/18/16)

I always begin planning a creature for Monster Monday a week in advance. Despite the growing list of ideas I had for these monsters, I felt compelled to ask my boyfriend what kind of monster I should make. A teddy bear possessed by the soul of a serial killer was one of these ideas.

Regardless, this little bear turned out pretty frightening. I don't know if he's possessed or demonic, but he is a savage terror bear.

As pictured above, this piece is not yet glazed and he does not yet have a name. Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for a post later this week that will also feature this monster. Maybe he will have a name by then.

Monsters in the Shop this Week! (1/11-1/15, 2016)

Happy Friday!

Starting with this Monday, I FINALLY got a bunch of Monsters into the shop! Although, if you have been following me on social media, you may have noticed my spamming your feeds promoting my monstrosities...(Sorry, not sorry) but I thought I would take the opportunity to summarize what little creatures are for sale in my Etsy Shop.

You may notice that many of these creatures are "Thumbeasts." I came up with this species on my own as my original creation. They are simple "pinch-pots" that I can come up with quickly and be the main body of the stock available in the shop as well as be a trademark of the products I have available. Thumbeast refers to how many of these are not much bigger than many people's thumbs and were created mostly by molding the polymer clay with just my fingertips.

I have a pretty cool monster planned for this coming Monday as well as many more I have ready to glaze and go into the shop. I plan on creating an abundance of these little guys for as long as my Sculpey supply will hold up and for the rest of the month of January. This way, I have a good body of work to get started and have an abundance of ideas that I plan on continuing with sparatically. I would like to see how these sell before adding too many more and purchasing more clay as well.

There are some awesome ideas I have in mind for February. I have some Monster Valentine's ideas planned and am using that month to focus on Illustration to get a good leg up on that category of the shop.

Thank you all for the awesome feedback and support as these monsters have only been in the shop for a few days. Hopefully I sell something soon, but I'm really happy to have rediscovered a style of art that I've loved for so long and worked with as a young girl. Pictured below are the monsters that are currently in the shop. I have many more that need to be glazed and photographed, so stay tuned for everything!

Emily's Monster shop can be found at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/EmilysMonsterShop

xxx emily

Monster #9 - 1/11/16

This Monday, I am ecstatic to share what I consider to be the best monster I've made yet!

This is my own take on a Wereshark (it doesn't have a name yet) which is a lycanthrope most commonly associated with the Dungeons and Dragons series. They aren't as common as other lycan beings such as werewolves, but they've appeared in some fantasy novels, tabletop roleplaying, and in popular culture in tv shows such as the 90's Street Sharks.

Once I figure out a name for this terrible beast, he will be available for sale in my Etsy shop!

Monster #8 - 1/4/16

This week I decided that the first monster of 2016 should be one that pays tribute to a beast that we are all familiar with...well, at least one that most Wisconsinites are.

Have you ever heard of a Hodag?

Hodags are a folkloric monster from Wisconsin, primarily in Rhinelander (which is the city mascot). They appear in several Paul Bunyan stories and newspapers reported a "discovery" which ended up being a hoax in 1893. The alleged capture had occurred in Rhinelander by a land surveyor and timberman named Eugene Shepherd. He had the event photographed as well as the created corpse on display at the county fair. Despite the discovery, capture, and evidence being completely fictitious, the Hodag remains a prominent symbol of Rhinelander and the folklore is still celebrated for its fantasy as any mystical, mythical monster should be.

The above Hodag made from Sculpey will lovingly be named Heinrich and will appear for sale in the Etsy shop soon.

Happy New Year,
xx emily

Monster #6, 7, and Emily's Monster Shop - 12/14/15, 12/28/15

I suppose it is better late than never, but here is a double Monster Monday post (on a Tuesday...I know) that I have been very excited to share. The fact is, I had a bit more to share than just a monster, and I will use the holidays as an excuse for my lack-of-one last week.

For Monday the 28th (which I did start yesterday, by the way) I created a digital illustration of a Beholder from the Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual.

On the fourteenth, I sculpted this little guy. He was the first Monday Monster made from Sculpey. Sculpey was one of my favorite mediums as a child, where I constantly created creatures from my own mind and brought them to "life" through polymer clay. I recently rediscovered my love for this clay and had a happy accident with Amazon...therefore I've begun creating a bunch of these little guys for fun (and as Christmas gifts) and became inspired to finally join Etsy...here is my little Monday Mongrel (he still needs a name!) as well as some of his friends (or enemies) that will soon be available in the Etsy shop once they have a photoshoot.

Many of these monsters were created as Christmas gifts, so now that they have been gifted, I can finally share them! The rest (including this Monday Menace) will be for sale, soon!

My Etsy Shop will feature drawings, sculptures, photographs, and digital illustrations of many whimsical, often creepy, unique creatures and beasts...sometimes not, but mostly it will be of monsters. I am so excited to have a place to sell the fantastical results of my wild imagination. Believe me, this is only the beginning to what I hope will be a successful artistic endavor...and there are more where these critters came from.

xx Emily