Though October has come to an end, the spirit of the season has not yet died away within my soul. One of the things I have been looking forward to for a long, long time is the opportunity to interview Lisa Snellings. Lisa is an artist whose work both artistically and through her blog has had a tremendous influence on my life, particularly the parts of me that I share via this blog and my online relationships. The variety and creativity showcased in her creations makes her an artist that I am continually aware of, wondering what she will be making next. I had determined during the last R.I.P. Challenge that I was going to make sure to include Lisa Snellings more in this year’s challenge…so it couldn’t be more fitting to end this incredibly well attended third R.I.P. Challenge with an interview, a sale, and some giveaways from Lisa Snellings.

Without further adieu, I give you Lisa Snellings.

1. The perfect place to start, of course, is with the obvious question: Who is Lisa Snellings?

A little about who Lisa Snellings is would have to include her childhood, for which the term “Southern Gothic” might even be an understatement. My parents were each survivors of families destroyed by the Great Depression. I grew up in a small, grey textile mill town in South Carolina. Our household was a weird mix of poverty and remnants of my parent‘s more fortunate pasts. I wore hand-me-downs and we lived very simply with a garden and fishing, yet we had a good piano, some excellent silver and a woman who came in to do our laundry. My mother was brilliant by any standard, but plagued by mental illness, so that my childhood was perforated with episodes and mysterious absences. Breast cancer took her at a young age. Witnessing her demise and her grace and humor even during the worst of it probably laid the foundation for the tone of my art, even to this day. My sister and brother were much older than me, so I spent loads of time alone. I became an astute observer very early on. Once I learned to read, everything changed. My dad took me to the library every Saturday morning. I’ll always be grateful for that. I read for countless hours lying on a metal porch bench (I still have the bench) and had a book with me everywhere I went.

[Carl: How very cool that you still have that bench, I love that you’ve kept that physical connection to that part of your life close]

I was graduated early, started college at sixteen. My first job was in the county hospital morgue, a position I ‘inherited’ from my brother, who ‘inherited’ it from our sister. All three of us went to college on scholarships. My sister became a medical specialist in geriatrics. My brother earned two doctorate degrees and spent a decade turning a local swamp into an ecological park and teaching facility. He’s currently a professor at Clemson University in South Carolina.

Now I live a life completely alien to that of my earlier years. For all the reading I did, I never could have imagined this sort of future for myself. The desert is an extreme environment, and Palm Springs can be surreal and even sublime. I’ve been a professional artist for 18 years now. I’m extremely comfortable with some aspects of my work. Experience has defined my style and many technical skills are almost muscle memory. This frees me to stretch my vision. This is a very exciting time for me, artistically. I feel myself moving into new territories, heading into a new growth phase.
In addition I’ve recently become aware that I am more interested in teaching. I’ve learned. It’s time to give back, pass it on.

2. Where you an artistic child, always running around making and drawing stuff or did the muse strike later in life?

I was always artistic. Always making weird stuff out of whatever was at hand. Earliest were costumes made from paper grocery store bags, and houses and ships made from boxes, chalk drawings on the sidewalks and on garages when I could get away with it. Short stories and playing piano and pencil drawings.

2. b. If it came on as a child, did you always want to be an artist or did you have other youthful dreams and aspirations before the muse took over?

My parents praised my work, generally, but didn’t encourage me to become an artist. They were very conventional in some ways, and didn’t consider art a legitimate career choice. I actually dreamed of being a musician, but believed that real life would put me in some other sort of job. That belief put me in a number of ‘real’ jobs —pathology assistant, laboratory technician, karyotype technician etc.
If I’d had the ability to overthrow belief for reason, I would likely have made very different choices. But I don’t waste time thinking about that anymore.

3. I am always interested in hearing how an artist views their work. How would you describe your art?

Describing my art without visuals is always difficult. It doesn’t quite fit any one genre. I work in many mediums. My style has become recognizable, with many elements carried through the years and phases of my work. These elements—like Poppets, puzzle pieces and spheres, have become a sort of personal alphabet.

I tend to animate objects, and objectify emotions. People tell me they can’t often put what they see in my art into words, but they do describe feelings . That so many good stories have been written about the art reassures me that communication is going on.

4. When I look at your works I see pieces that are whimsical and others that are deliciously dark, though often the line between the two can be quite blurred. Do you think it is accurate to say that you have pieces that fall on both ends of this spectrum and can you talk about your works in light of this?

My work tends to be stories that are either dark with elements of whimsy, or whimsical with elements of darkness. Over the years, this particular dichotomy has infiltrated the building blocks of my work, even my palette. Many of my pieces are toy-like at first glance. Others look scary from a distance but on closer inspection, hold elements of humor. Some look benign until closer inspection shows dark twists and turns. This is a reflection of my life view, shaped by my own experiences and observations.

Even in darkest moments, there can be found bits of beauty. It’s never all of one or the other. And, I’ll never get tired of laughing at myself, at all of us. Silly humans.

5. For many of us who are long time fans of your work, we were introduced to it because of the stories your pieces inspired in Neil Gaiman. In what ways, if any, did/has this association changed your life/your work and does it still affect it today?

Of course my association with Neil has affected my life. He’s two years younger than me, but started his career much earlier, so that over the years he’s given me a great deal of advice. I didn’t always listen, of course, but in hindsight (yes, oh wise one, you were right) I could’ve listened more. We recognized early on that we shared a similar vision, and clicked immediately. We’ve been friends for a long time and are comfortable enough to take each other for granted until we take time to consider each other’s work. It’s after I read whatever new thing he’s written that I truly appreciate the talent he has. It’s formidable. I’m looking forward to working with him again soon.

[Carl: Just the thought that there is another Lisa-Neil collaboration coming at some point in the future thrills me more than I can express and I’m sure I am not alone in those feelings!]

6. Please correct me if I am wrong, but in my recollection it was not long after your entrance into the blogging community that you birthed from that fantastic imagination what is arguably your most popular creation: the Poppet. How did Poppets come in to being?

Poppets have taken over my life.

At least, sometimes it seems that way.

The first poppet was created as part of a toy-themed chess set. Poppet was to be the pawn. I decided I didn’t want to make a chess set. There are too many chess sets already . The little poppets sat around on my desk long enough for me to become fond of the little buggers. Everyone that came by would pick them up and say some form of “there’s just something about these things.” They would turn them over in their hands, trying to figure it out. I began to incorporate them into the gallery works. Some works have hundreds of poppets. Some people thought they were the most endearing creatures ever created, some were totally creeped out by them. Perfection.

6.b. Did you have any idea that Poppets would be such a long lasting and involved part of who you are artistically?

I offered a few up for sale right after I started my blog. I had no idea they would become so well loved or so popular. They took off so fast that we were all affected. Instead of a couple of artists (Ben Warren and myself) hanging out in my garage working on kinetic pieces, we became a business, with employees and vision insurance and accountants and all that entails.

And of course, everything has a price.

6.c. Has Poppet mania been an entirely good thing or have there been unforeseen side effects from Poppets taking over the world?

Sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work involved. Still, I see Poppets as a very positive force. They’re worth it.

6. d. What is in the future for Poppets?

Since I didn’t really plan the Poppet explosion, it happened backwards in a way. Now there are thousands of Poppets out there, all over the planet, but no single, poppet-defining entity. They grace the covers of books and magazines and few truly understand them. For now, they are tiny mysteries.

That’s not a terrible thing, but I think the everyone will enjoy looking into the Poppet universe with two future projects; One will be my own contribution to the Strange chapbook series with DreamHaven Books. The other will be a series of animated shorts.

[Carl: Both very, very exciting future projects]

6.f. What do Poppets mean to you?

What do Poppets mean to me? A lot. When I explain poppets on my website, I say “watching the evening news is not the same as watching the evening news with a poppet.” Poppet Vision is the vision I work toward every day. An unbiased but compassionate observer, moving through the human experience, trying to understand and be a positive force on whatever level one tiny being can be.

7. One of your earlier works that caught my attention did so first and foremost because of the name: Dark Caravan. What is the Dark Caravan project, where did the inspiration come from?

The inspiration for Dark Caravan came from a very stormy afternoon years ago. We lived in a towering old wooden house that was once a school. It was drafty and full of creaks and echoes. In a word, it was wonderful. I was working in my studio downstairs, listening to Prokofiev’s Symphony No 3 in C minor, Op 44, also known as the Fiery Angel Symphony. It’s built around the legend of Joan d’Arc. I write about the experience in my chapter from Great Fantasy Art Themes from The Frank Collection. (Paper Tiger) This was a singular experience. I saw the entire carnival universe in those moments.

What it became was a series of original works, beginning with “Don’t Ask Jack” which is the most well known single character from Dark Caravan. Neil’s story of the same title is still one of my favorites. A casting of Jack still sits on the corner of Stephen King’s desk in Bangor—or so I’m told.

Then I made the first kinetic piece, the carousel, which was purchased by Howard and Jane Frank, who are avid collectors of Science Fiction and Fantasy art and books. I next created the Ferris wheel, titled “Crowded After Midnight,” which spawned the Strange Attraction anthology (Bereshith, 2000) [which can also be found fully autographed in a special edition in Lisa’s Ebay Store] where a great number of extremely talented authors pen stories based on the wheel’s passengers.

7. b. From what I have seen this project, as well as others you have made, involve a degree of animatronics. Did integrating machinery into your art come naturally or was this something that you had to do a lot of research into before you started including moving parts as a facet of your art?

It was the carnival pieces that caused me to seek out Ed Clements (the late) who helped me with the engineering for the roller coaster. I enjoy collaborating—always the process fascinates me–and I’m always associating with makers, geeks and other like-minds. That, and my love for machines, makes it inevitable that I’d want to add movement to some of the work. Later, after moving to the desert, I met Ben and began collaborating with him. Nearly a decade later, we started what is now Strange Studios.

“Crowded” prompted the commission by the Franks of a long-running series of kinetic carnival works. I began the series in 1995. The collection has expanded to 10 large-scaled pieces, including a roller coaster, midway and swings. It’s found a home now with the American Museum of Visionary Art in Baltimore Maryland. The exhibit will open (I’m told) in early 2010.

8. Let’s talk a little bit about your process. First off, where do you get your inspiration? Where do your ideas come from?

My inspiration comes from experience and observation, and whatever brain function drives me to make things. I gather/glean from everything I read or listen to, as well as from my own personal emotions . Sometimes the art is based on scientific theory, sometimes social observation and sometimes it’s cathartic on a very personal level.

8. b. When you begin work on a three dimensional project, do you do a lot of pre-planning and sketching out of ideas or do you just go forth and see what happens?

When I work on a three dimensional piece, the armature is my sketch. I tend to see sculpture in three dimensions. I can usually mock up a model for something faster than I could sketch it out. More complex or kinetic works require a bit more planning.

8.c. Do your artworks change a lot in the making from your initial ideas or do you tend to stick to a plan once it has taken shape?

The more complex a work is, the more opportunity there is for change. The more time involved—in a week it’s possible to run through a gamut of input–the more change as well. Materials themselves can lend to change; I can be inspired by headlines when working with newsprint, or I can accidentally discover some property of a particular clay or find a gearing mechanism that I’ll want to incorporate into a piece.

A finished work is an object, but the creation of that work is a living thing, an idea, subject to influence by everything around it. It can also be a fragile thing that can be destroyed by interference, or indifference, or time.

It’s a beautiful, precious thing that will be communicated in the finished work if the execution is successful.

8. d. Do you generally have many projects going on at once or do you start and finish one project before moving on to the next?

You have no idea…. This studio is bigger inside than out.

8. e. In addition to your three dimensional works you also do lovely 2 dimensional drawings and paintings. Did one come before the other? Do you prefer one medium of creation over the other?

Except for kid stuff, three dimensional was first. I’m in love with the process of creating. The medium matters very little to me, so I usually work in whatever I think will suit the vision best. I’ve always wanted to try a commission where I’m sent a mixed bag of stuff and asked to make art from it. I don’t know exactly how to make that happen. Perhaps I should offer it up. I would truly, truly dig doing that.

[Carl: That would be a fascinating process to see, if my vote counts I certainly think you should give that a try.]

8.f. Do you do most of your work in your studio space or can projects be found all over your place?

Definitely in my studio space. Otherwise, it will (from experience) take over and drive everyone crazy.

8. g. Do you have any specific rituals when you are working on a piece? Play music, etc.?

In a perfect world, (or on a very good day) I have several hours in studio. Then I would make a pot of coffee, put on the music I’m in the mood for, tie on my apron and let it all go.

But life is messy, and Poppet Planet exists, so on a daily basis—that ain’t happenin’. I’m a parent, with a studio business to run. There are interruptions aplenty. There is yak shaving galore. I’ve taught myself to get into “the zone” pretty fast. It takes willpower and practice. Ray Bradbury told me it could be done, many years ago. I believed him. Now experience tells me he is entirely correct.

8. h. How do you know when a work is completed? Do you ever go back long after you feel something is done and make changes? If so or if not, what are your feelings about this?

I just know. So far, I’ve never gone back. With few exceptions, I don’t care for cover songs and in my mind Hans Solo will always shoot first. [Carl: Is it too gushing to say that I love you? 😉 ]

9. There is a lot going on in our world today. Are you an artist who tries to address national or global issues with your art and/or do the things going on in the world effect your work?

Exactly. There is a lot going on in our world. Of course there is. As evolution goes, we’re infants. We’re infants with sharp objects and we’re evolving very quickly. Unfortunately, evolution doesn’t necessarily happen in a straight line. There are too many causes, too many issues to address. Jane Frank gave me a great piece of advice once. She said, “Lisa, just because you can do anything doesn’t mean you can do everything.”

I had to choose what I’d support. So I did. I like thinking and learning. I believe that freedom of thought and expression is at the heart of human potential and survival. My own explorations give me a sense of purpose and meaning. I want to protect the right to freedom of information, thought and expression and I want to encourage people to exercise that freedom with enthusiasm.

9.b. I am curious about your opinions regarding whether or not art needs to address or be informed by the events going on around one, even personal life events, and if there is a place for art that is made purely for the love of creation. What exactly is the role of the artist in society and should they have a defined role?

Does art need to address personal emotions and global events? I’d say that any art created for the love of creation will automatically address issues of its creator. How could it not?

9.c. Are there specific themes, symbolic imagery, ideas that you see cropping up in your work? If so are these conscious things that you are including or unconscious and feel free to elaborate on the whys.

It’s all in there. If I could explain the symbols in words, I wouldn’t need the symbols. The visual alphabet I use seems to be effective. After all, I’m not unique. If I’m strongly affected by my own work, chances are there are a number of others who will be as well. Our human experiences, honed down to the basics, are not so dissimilar. Translating visual symbols to words would destroy their power. Consider the reverse. A menace, described in a book, derives its power from the reader’s imagination. Our imagined menace carries our secret childhood fears, pushes our hind-brain’s buttons. Show the menace (think every Stephen King movie ever made) and you erase the viewer’s associated emotions.

Someone who responds to a visual symbol or work of art will be most personally affected because of his/her own associations with the symbols. Rendering these symbols to words will reduce them to a generic definition, stripping it of deeper meaning for the viewer. It will become truly artificial and prosaic.

10. I’ve asked you about what inspires your ideas. Who are artists that inspire you or that you admire? I would include authors and musicians as artists in this question as well.

The entire Dada movement. Rene Magritte. Pink Floyd. Henry James. Ray Bradbury. Henry Kuttner. Stanley Kubrick, Sam Harris, Jim Henson, Bill Hicks, Richard Adams, Carl Sagan, The writers and creators of The Daily Show, The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live. Ludwig Von Beethoven, John Cage, Glenn Gould. William Blake. Many more, no doubt. These are names currently popping up to answer the question.

11. If I am not mistaken, you’ve either recently changed your studio space to a new one or made some physical and/or philosophical changes to your studio. Talk to us about that.

11. b. You have other artists working in your studio. Are these artists working on projects with/for you, working on their own artistic endeavors or a little of both?

11. c. Do you have plans to expand this workforce or studio sharing in the future?

[Answering all three parts] We are indeed growing in space and numbers. We’re still working out logistics and divisions of labor, but yes to all. There are collaborations going on both within the studios and without—most notably the Strange Series ongoing with Gene Wolfe, Peter Beagle, Larry Niven and Neil Gaiman. I’m working on a poppet poetry book with Derek Ash and an extremely long overdue project with David Niall Wilson (who is not responsible for its overdue-ness.)

And yes, the art is evolving. It’s too early to say exactly, but the next six months or so is looking very, very interesting.

Yes, we hope to expand quite a bit.

12. Talk to us, if you would, about the business or work of being an artist. I think many of us have a romantic view of what it would be like to be an artist. When, if ever, is it every bit the romantic ideal and is it difficult to be creative when it feels more like work?

There are those times when I’m working when all the world seems to ‘fit.’ I can have that artist’s ideal when I’m in ‘the zone’ working on a piece, inspired and challenging. I also have that moment when collaborating and the ideas are pinging back and forth. If I didn’t have those occasionally, I might forget why I’m doing this in the first place.

12. b. Are there different times of the year when you feel more or less creative, inspired, etc.?

I love the change of seasons, especially fall and winter. Summer in the desert is very oppressive. Best answer to that it to get away for a bit, see something new.

12. c. As a creative person do you feel like you are always ‘on’, ideas pouring through your head or are you able to/do you need to ‘switch off’ sometimes?

I do. I am. Sometimes it can be a real problem. I can best describe it as ‘noise.” Think of a ringing bell—I can turn my attention to other things, like my family, or non-art related tasks or even recreation, but the bell is always there, in the background. I’ve learned some tricks to shut it down for short periods. One thing that always works is water—being submerged in it–or getting really involved in an activity–like skating with Orion—or getting lost in a good book or movie. I’m grateful for the flow of ideas. I can accept that it comes with a price.

13. Has the creative gene been passed on to your children? If so are they a current part of your studio process/business?

It’s hard to say what is genetic and what is environmental. Certainly all of them have been exposed to music and books and art. And yes, each of them has shown interest and abilities in several different creative disciplines—writing, music and visual arts. Of course they’re all my children and I must be biased at least to some degree. But I’d consider each of them to be talented. Definitely they are all thinkers. Definitely they are all readers.

14. You have recently become a grandmother. Has that changed your perspective on life, art, etc.?

The child of my child. It’s a unique and powerful love that is indescribable. It was indeed an awakening, and not an easy one. If one hasn’t come to grips with mortality, having a grandchild is a real wake up. Logan’s birth changed my views about how I will spend the rest of my time here. It taught me to decide what is important. To realize that my time is indeed limited. To be present in my daily life. To become more of a teacher than student. To consider what I’m offering, what I’ll leave behind.

15. Recently I have seen intriguing images of a project entitled Blast Radius on your site. Is this part of a larger work?

Blast Radius is me, simply put, after the experiences of this summer. It was extremely cathartic. This sculpture is going into my personal collection, but we are incorporating her character into one of the animation projects and I’ll have some prints available soon.

16.You have done some book projects with authors like Gene Wolfe and Peter S. Beagle. How have these projects been received and are their plans to do more? Are there any particular authors that you would like to work with? What other future collaborations do you have on the horizon.

I’m currently working with Larry Niven on Strange Light. He’s been so great to work with. I can’t even describe how cool it is that he shares thoughts and ideas with me as he’s working. His first story for the book, Doubling Rate, is done. I’m also collaborating with Ben Warren to create a kinetic piece for Neil’s Strange Machines. Spencer Andersen and I are working on a series of ‘beyond steam punk’ pieces—mad Poppet scientists in bell jars and other strangeness, and a series of short animated pieces. We hope to release the first short in January. And then there are the book projects mentioned above and preparing for the museum opening and continuing to grow Poppet Planet and….I need coffee.

[Carl: Again, something else to really look forward to. Larry Niven is a favorite dating back to my early years of discovering science fiction.]

17. You are not an artist who works in one single medium, so the answer to this question may be that you are already working in every area that you would like to, but what other artistic/creative arenas would you like to work in? Are their any types of projects that are dream projects that you hope to get involved in someday?

I’m not nearly finished exploring the media I’m currently working now. I’d like to do more kinetics, more large-scale paper mache and some furniture. And we’re just starting with books and animation. After taking nearly 2 years ‘off’ to get Poppet Planet going, I’m seriously ready to get back to larger works. Most of all, I’d like to resume work on the Poppet book and animation.

20. Are there any upcoming events that you will be at in which people could meet you and see more of your art in person?

I don’t have a schedule yet for 2009. I drastically cut my convention attendance. Other than a couple of GoH spots, I’ve been focusing on the studios and Poppet Planet. I do plan to get out to some conventions in the coming year. As soon as I know what those are, I’ll put them up on the site. A lot of things happened this year. An awful lot of it is going into the work. I’ve changed, my vision has changed. Next year should be interesting and…indeed very strange.

All that said, I want to thank everyone who reads the blog, emails me, gives homes to Poppets and other art and who send in POT photos. The forums are back up, thanks to Ravyn, with the help of DanGuy and Michael Bender.

And Carl—-you’re too cool for color TV. Thanks.
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Lisa, I cannot thank you enough. The interview turned out even better than I had hoped. I appreciate the time you took to answer these questions in a thoughtful, honest manner and am so thrilled with all that I have learned during the process of reading and digesting your answers. I have no doubt the other readers feel exactly the same. Thank you!!! This has been a great thrill. Thank you also, Ben, for sending me a bunch of great pictures to sift through for inclusion in this post. I really appreciate it.

(Ben hard at work on some, no doubt, fantastic creation)

Lisa Snellings has been very generous with Stainless Steel Droppings readers this year. She has donated a Neil Rat:

A couple of copies of Strange Roads:

and other goodies that make up the final giveaway items for the R.I.P. III Challenge. All three of these items will be given away by random drawing from those who actively participate in the comments on this post. You have until Sunday, November 9th at 11:59 p.m. CST to leave your comments. On Monday (God and the gods of technology willing) I will post the third annual Grave Times newsletter announcing the winners of these wonderful items plus the entries and winners for the Tiny Stories contest and the entries and winners in the Something Sinister II photo contest.

In addition Lisa has a sale going on in her Ebay Store right now. You need to head over there, there are some amazing Poppets and other goodies just awaiting adoption by you!
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You are the very best Lisa. I applaud your courage and creativity and I look forward to seeing what manner of strange, whimsical, magical things come out of your studio in the coming years. I plan on coming along for the ride and encourage everyone else to do so as well.

For further information about Lisa Snellings I point you to the original Artisan Series post I wrote about her here and I highly encourage you to visit her website regularly.