Artist Profile

ME

My name is Danielle and I live in Lansing, Michigan with my husband and two boys. I used to manage a fabric store until about two and a half years ago, when it was closed. I took that opportunity to really dive into the world of crafting.

I have always been a creative and artistic person. I love to draw. I could sew some, too, but drawing was more my thing. I got a bachelor's degree in fine arts (emphasis: drawing) and promptly went into retail. I could never really see how to use my talents and continue to eat, so I treated them as more of a hobby. Until about ten years ago...

I got married, bought my first house and started a new job in a home fabrics/decorating store all in the same breath! I started to get into sewing again; mostly for the purpose of decorating my new home. I also started to be exposed to fiber arts of all kinds but most especially wool applique. I tried my hand at what I was seeing and discovered a natural ability with hand stitching and, more importantly a love (passion) for the art. Eight years later, my store closed and I was given the chance to take my art in a more public direction.

A few months ago I found myself a little dissatisfied with what I was creating. I had a feeling that something was missing and that the artist in me was still lying dormant. I wanted to wake her up but didn't know how. And then it happened. Inspiration...





MY INSPIRATION

I have always been a great reader, my most favorite genre being murder mysteries. And, I have always loved old movies. Especially old horror movies. Now, I do scare easily and, with my imagination, I can easily conjure up monsters both under my bed and in my closet. I don't like blood and gore in the strictly shocking sense. I never watched "Friday the 13th" or "Nightmare on Elm Street". However, give me Dracula, Frankenstein or anything with Vincent Price in it. Give me Edgar Allen Poe or Christopher Lee in all of those vampire movies from the sixties and seventies. Give me "The Wax Museum", "Tales of Terror" or "The House on Haunted Hill". That's what I'm talkin' about!

When I was in college, I would often turn to my Big Book of Edgar Allen Poe for inspiration or material. I have always found great pleasure and challenge in illustrating what he put into words. Even without Poe's help, I've always had Gothic (as the word was originally intended) tendencies and a sometimes morbid sense of humor. I don't think there is a literary character more romantic than Dracula or more tragic than Frankenstein's monster. I also love a good ghost story and found the life of Lizzie Borden most fascinating. Needless to say, I looooooove Halloween. Love!

And, I have always preferred drawing portraits. But not of real people. That's kinda boring. There are plenty of portraits rolling around my head that don't require any actual human contact.  However, until recently, they've only been brought to life on paper, in black and white.

There had to be a way that I could bring all of this together. All of this 'stuff' that made me... me. Right?



MY ART


It started with Marie Antoinette. Post-guillotine, of course. I could picture her in my mind looking a little grey but still beautiful. Still stylish and fetching, even with her head stitched back on. 'Cause if anyone can pull off that look, it has to be Marie Antoinette.

She came together amazingly fast ( a good sign). And she was everything I imagined. From there, I envisioned Lizzie Borden, Ophelia and Priscilla Moore (a ghost I grew up with). And from there...

So here I am, knowing with every fiber of my being, that I am doing what I should be!

I love what I do and I hope you do, too. If you haven't already, please take the time to scroll through the gallery of portraits I have created. They each have a back story; either created by me or inspired by other authors or real lives (or deaths, as the case may be). Enjoy!