I want to start this post by saying that all the pictures used in this post are the property of Lisa Snellings-Clark and are used with her permission, so please don’t use any of them unless you first obtain her permission (she’s very gracious and will most likely say ‘yes’ if you ask nicely 🙂 )
Also, clicking on each picture will open up a larger version of the picture. Click on your ‘back’ button to return to the post.
I am thrilled that the inaugural post in The Artisan Series belongs to Lisa Snellings-Clark. Her amazing work and equally amazing work ethic inspire me each time I visit her site. I first discovered Lisa Snellings-Clark several years ago when I read Neil Gaiman’s short story book Smoke and Mirrors. In it he described the genesis for each story and the stories Don’t Ask Jack, Sweeper of Dreams, and The Sea Change were all inspired by sculptures by someone named Lisa Snellings. Sweeper of Dreams particulary resonated with me because of my career in mental health and I was intrigued by the idea of the statue that was the impetus for this tale so I began searching for information on the internet about Lisa. At the time there was precious little to be found…or at least that is what I recall with my hazy memory. Throughout the last few years Lisa Snellings’ name would pop up on Gaiman’s blog and I would see pictures of her work in the Spectrum book series. Eventually a website emerged when Neil began promoting her Ratbag statues. The first one he posted about was the Edgar Allan Poe Rat:
followed quickly by the Neil Rat: 
I was once again excited because here were two really fun rat statues depicting my two favorite authors and I began craving more of her work. Needless to say I was thrilled to discover that Lisa Snellings-Clark began a blog on January 15th, 2005 entitled Slaughterhouse Studios. In addition she has a companion site here. It was when I began perusing these two sites, reading Lisa’s posts, and gazing at her amazing artwork that a connection was made.
Lisa Snellings-Clark is a true artisan. She works in many mediums with a myriad of materials to create some of the most inspiring pieces I’ve ever seen. She works with wood, metal, resin, paper mache, and many other materials to craft, carve, build, and sculpt her unique works of art. Her art has a mixture of darkness and light in it that appeals to me. The colors and textures of her work are so alive that you just want to touch them…I can envision myself standing before her works like a child in a museum, being dragged out screaming by my mother because I can’t quit touching the exhibits! When I visit her site my head swirls with ideas of things I’d like to try. The subject matter of her work, as you will see in the following examples, is also something that speaks to me on a very deep level and has a similar theme to other creations that are meaningful to me.
(click for larger detail)
Lisa’s biggest project to date, at least as far as her blog is concerned, has been the recreation of this animatronic sculpture for Neil Gaiman.
The comical version of how this piece came to need repair can be found here. Lisa began documenting her work in progress as we, the faithful blog readers, asked and received answers to our questions and impatiently waited for Lisa to be finished. Looking at the pictures you would think that this sculpture is meticulously carved in wood or cast in resin. Here is Lisa’s almost unbelievable explanation of what this is made of: “Under the Neil sculpture is a wooden base with heavy wood dowel supports. The rest of the sculpture is a mix of paper mache, small figures with wire armature, even smaller figures (like the tiny puppets, which are resin) and leather.” Amazing! And yesterday Lisa unveiled the finished work:
The details are absolutely wonderful as can be seen in these pictures:
Lisa is promising a video soon showing the sculpture in action and I will post an update as soon as that occurs. I’m interested in the transformation of this piece from a very dark piece in tone to a much lighter piece and I’m hoping that Lisa will discuss this in more detail on her site. She will be painting a background for it when she returns it to its place of honor in Neil Gaiman’s home and pictures of this event will no doubt be forthcoming as well.
Though many of the recent pictures and posts on Lisa’s site have been about this sculpture, there is so much more to see and experience at both of her sites. There are more angels, and more rats…harlequins, and jack-in-the-boxes, and this latest sculpture that really caught my eye:
You’ll also find really cool furniture, wonder at the enigma of the puzzle pieces in her work, and discover that Lisa Snellings-Clark’s two dimensional art is as amazing as her sculptures. I would be remiss if I didn’t point you to this picture and the post describing its creation….she carved this out of wood! With a dremel tool! If I had a picture of myself standing with my mouth agape, chin on the floor, I’d post it here!
In addition to the many photographs of Lisa’s art you’ll get to meet her wonderful son, Orion, and learn about how she creates her art. You will also get to know Lisa Snellings-Clark as a person. She is wonderfully candid on her blog and takes the time to answer questions when she can. I really enjoy the time I spend on her blog as I always come away inspired to do more and be more as regards my own personal creativity. There is something special about an artist who has the courage to open up to friends and strangers alike and I admire this quality in Lisa.
Lisa Snellings-Clark is truly a Master Craftswoman. The effort she puts into each piece is evident in both the shots of the work in progress as well as the final results. As I’ve stated, her work stirs something in me. From her whimsical Ratbag sculptures to her larger, more detailed pieces her work shows her creativity, passion, and dedication to the craft. Her work ethic is one to be mimicked. She does not wait around for inspiration to strike, she rolls her sleeves up and works each day to create something…to do something…and this example is one that I aspire to in my daily pursuits. Like any good artist Lisa Snellings-Clark freely admits to her craft being a work in progress and shares that her style is ever evolving. This too is encouraging as it lets me know that its okay to create right where you are and learn to grow into your style…to not rush things but to not sit idly by waiting for the muse to light a fire in your soul. Lisa Snellings-Clark has become one of my absolute favorite artists and I hope you visit her site today and return often. Share your thoughts on her work as I suspect she, like the rest of us who blog, appreciates the interaction. Lisa Snellings-Clark is an amazing woman with an equally amazing talent and I’m so excited for you to enter her world.
(Editor’s note: I want to thank and congratulate Nora Wright a.k.a Ravyn for her wonderful websites which support and showcase Lisa’s work. Without her I fear that I might still be searching for Lisa’s work. Thank you Ravyn!)
i was following her redesigning of neil gaiman’s moving scuplture for awhile, but i haven’t looked recently. i love artists who can do amazing new things with archetypes & old ideas.
You should go look now, she’s added a ton of pics over the last week!
Very impressive.
Very Interesting. I will have to check out her blog. Looks like art that I would really enjoy.
Awesome! I am on my break, so don’t have time to look. I am looking forwarding to seeing more of her art.
I look forward to more of your comments after you have a chance to check out her site. Its in my blog links as well so check it out often. There are many more pics back through the archives on her sight as well as several more recent pics of the Gaiman sculpture.
Carl, there is more that you haven’t seen. Lisa and i have been slowly putting more of her art on the site. The piece you link to in her blog, “Crowded After Hours”, is actually part of a series of ten pieces, entitled the Dark Caravan. Right now the Dark Caravan is part of the Frank Collection, check out her site here: Worlds of Wonder. We have photographs of most of the pieces (she hasn’t completed the series yet), but getting them onto the site has had to wait a little while. It’s coming, though, i promise.
i would like to thank you for the wonderful article on Lisa. When i first saw the Dark Caravan at the 1998 Worldcon, i did the same thing you did: searched the internet for information on her. With very little success. So when i saw that she had work at the 2001 Worldcon, i approached her at the art show and offered to create a web site for her. She agreed, and the rest, as they say, is history. So stay tuned, there is a lot more coming to the web site, i think you’ll be pleasantly surprised! Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or comments.
– Nora Wright, Lisa Snellings-Clark’s webmaster, graphic artist, and number 1 flunky
Ravyn, its an honor to have your comments, thanks!!! Congrats on the sites, I really enjoy them and thanks for the Worlds of Wonder link. I had read about the Dark Caravan stuff somewhere a while ago, most likely through Neil Gaiman, and am excited that there are more pictures available.
It was my pleasure to do the article and am very thankful that Lisa was willing to let me post some pictures. I’m a very visual person and I much prefer to show people what I’m talking about as well as tell them. I’m so excited about Lisa’s work and am thrilled that you’ve worked so hard to get these websites going…its always very frustrating to discover and artist and then not be able to find out anything about them on the web. That’s really cool that you had the courage to go up and offer your services like that. I’m not really skilled at website mechanics but am slowly learning and there are several local comics creators, etc. that I have wanted to do that exact same thing for only because I’m frustrated that they don’t have a site and know this would increase their exposure. Good for you!
Thanks again, Nora, I really appreciate the comments!
Hey Carl – email me please i have a question for you.
Interesting stuff. I just visited her blog and seeing all the ” behind the scenes ” of the pieces develop was very cool. The image of the angel in just black and white really didn’t do much for me but then when I saw the finished painted piece it was stunning. It did stir my emotions. The faces in the background were fairly unsettleing, similar to how some of Mike Mignola’s work has made me feel. Creepy but in a good way. The angel though seems so comforting like she if going to bring peace to there pleas. I don’t know how to explain it but that’s the cool thing about art. It stirs something different in all of us and it changes over time. As we go through our lives and gain new experiences we can come back to an image or piece and we may see something completely different than we did before because we bring something new in our selves to the piece.
I also liked the puzzles pieces she incorporated into the Gaiman statue and a couple of other pieces on her site. I haven’t seen anyone do that and I love it. Those pieces convey a message in themselves and it’s a cool idea.
The ferris wheel piece and the story behind it is also incredible. Carl are there anymore close up photos of that piece on her site. I didn’t find. I probably passed right over them by mistake.
I didn’t care for the rat statues or harlequins so much but that’s just me. I think they are very well done though, but I didn’t like them as much myself as other pieces. Maybe rats just creep me out. 🙂
Thank you so much for pointing out her work. I will try to pop in on her blog in the future.
I really need to put pen to paper and write. A little everyday. I can’t paint or draw or sculpt but I can type. That is where I must focus my creativity. One of the things I love about your blog is all the different subject matter and hopefuly it’s going to help spur on myself to be a contributor as well as admirer to the creative community someday.
Nice comments, Jeff. If you look up a few comments you’ll find the Worlds of Wonder link that Ravyn put in her comments. If you go there, click on artists, and find Lisa Snellings you can see several other art pieces. Actually, here is a direct link. Ravyn promises more pics of the Dark Caravan stuff soon.
I agree, art is different things to different people and I’m really okay with knowing that some of the stuff I post about will not appeal to everyone who reads this blog. That’s really cool. I also can’t always describe why something appeals to me. There is alot about Lisa’s art that is ‘creepy but in a good way’ as you said…that is a big part of its appeal to me. There is also some very non-creepy and still cool stuff. She’s just really, really great. If I had an Official Artist of the Stainless Steel Droppings blog it would definitely be Lisa Snellings, just as Neil Gaiman would be Official Author of the Stainless Steel Droppings blog!
I’d encourage you to practice your writing if that’s what you feel is an outlet for your creativity. I don’t consider myself as a writer though one of my dream scenarios would be to write great stories, but I love to put my creativity to work in writing these posts. Although it may not seem like it I put alot of time into each one, I agonize over words and phrases, and frequently change things even after I’ve posted it….I’ve changed things in this post several times! It is fun. I really need to just have the courage to start practicing my drawing again and I’m really getting inspired to try some 3 dimensional stuff just to do it and see what happens!
I love the Paper Dolls on that Worlds of Wonder link I just posted above. I’ve seen some of those in the Spectrum books before and really like them a great deal.
I neglected to check on the –Clark portion of Lisa’s name before starting this article. Neil Gaiman always writes ‘Lisa Snellings’ and so I didn’t think about it. Last night, however, it occurred to me that if she is indeed Lisa Snellings-Clark that she may actually like her name to read that way! I know I like people to get my name correct and I always sign things Carl V. Anderson and I think my name looks weird without the V when I see it in print. So, I emailed Ravyn and got her opinion about it and went back and changed it where appropriate. You will see a few Lisa Snellings’ still in the post because that was the name I knew when I was first made aware of her work, again because of Neil Gaiman. That is my new mantra…when all else fails, blame Neil Gaiman! 🙂
Incidentally, Lisa did comment about the dark to light transformation of Gaiman’s piece here.
She is incredible. I had seen the rats before…I assume you showed them to me at some time. What range – to go from them to those wonderful angels. Their faces are so angelic. I want to know how she does the hair. Is that leather? Thank you for sharing her work. I like finding someone else to be amazed by.
Glad you got a chance to look at her stuff, Pat. She is indeed incredible. I’m not sure of how she manages to do any of what she does. The fact that many things are paper mache still blows me away! If you haven’t been to her two sites that I link to in the article you should go as there are many more amazing pictures with no doubt more on the way! I’m looking forward to talking to you more about her work over lunch this week!
u so amazingly art n design like it all.