Kellie Hastings is a neighborhood glass and ceramic artist and the proprietor of Frightened Bones Studio. With a lot of her creations impressed by the autumn season and Halloween, Hastings has put her personal cute twist on what some would possibly think about to be spooky or scary. Her ornamental and useful designs embody an array of ceramic mugs, blown glass pumpkins and extra.
Hastings sells her items on-line by her Etsy store which could be discovered at etsy.com/shop/worriedbones. She additionally sells her items in individual throughout Gallery Night time in downtown Pensacola and at different native arts markets all year long. Hastings proclaims the occasions she’s going to attend by way of her Instagram web page, @Worried.Bones.
Let’s begin with you telling me just a little bit about your self and your skilled background.
KH: I grew up right here on the Gulf Coast in Fairhope, Alabama. I began finding out on the College of South Alabama initially as a portray main, planning to switch to a faculty with an animation focus after knocking out some credit. I ended up taking an Introduction to Glassblowing course my second semester, and it didn’t take lengthy for me to change into enthralled with the medium. I ended up graduating with a BFA with a focus in glass from South Alabama, after which went on to earn an MFA in glass from Kent State College in Ohio.
I went into faculty not figuring out something about glassblowing, a lot much less that you can get a level in it. Curiosity led me to take that first-class, and I haven’t stopped working with the fabric since. Whereas at South Alabama, I additionally had the chance to strive different mediums, together with ceramics, which gave me a basis of data about ceramics.
Inform me concerning the inspiration or affect behind your work and designs.
KH: Oddly sufficient, I type of stumbled into the aesthetic of Frightened Bones. That’s not to say that I’m not very proud or excited by the work, as a result of I actually am, however extra in order that it occurred extra organically. I started making the primary ceramic skulls within the fall of 2021 and so they have remained a year-round favourite. I saved on making them primarily as a result of they introduced me quite a lot of pleasure.
I’ve all the time held a fond place in my coronary heart for issues which might be cute, but melancholy. I attempt to discover the overlap between the 2 and make work from there a lot of the time. I make a number of deliberately seasonal fall objects, however I actually attempt to create well-designed work that may reside in the best house year-round. They positively aren’t everybody’s aesthetic, however I’ve been lucky to seek out fellow people who recognize the distinctive overlap in my work and have given my items good houses.
Inform me just a little bit concerning the several types of items you create.
KH: I work in quite a lot of completely different processes, and so they have some overlap whereas additionally being a superb bit completely different from one another. The entire glasswork is handblown and created utilizing molten glass gathered on the top of a hole metal pipe. It’s gathered from a furnace that retains the glass above 2000 levels and at concerning the consistency of honey. It’s then formed, tooled and reheated again and again till it’s at its closing form. Glass must be labored from begin to end—multi function go. To brighten my items, I exploit concentrated coloration in varied kinds. Usually for cups or bowls that is within the type of frit, which seems and acts a bit like coloured glass sprinkles, including pops of coloration onto the floor of the glass. For bigger and extra ornamental kinds I exploit coloration bar, which permits for a strong and extra uniform software of coloration. Clay is quite a bit slower of a course of compared, because it requires being left alone at many phases. It’s a bit much less mentally and bodily demanding, however requires cautious supervision to work the fabric within the right state for various elements of the method, often over the course of some days. I exploit a number of completely different sorts of ceramic processes. I throw a lot of my mugs and bowls on a pottery wheel and enhance their surfaces with coloured slip, a specialty ceramic pencil and/or glaze.
Can you are taking me by your inventive course of and describe what all goes into creating one in all your items?
KH: My inventive course of is twofold and may very well be divided between “making” and “considering.” I bounce back-and-forth between these two very often. “Making,” whether or not it’s making with glass or clay, is extra of an computerized course of for me. Each of those mediums lend themselves to a form of bodily rhythm. Whereas I’m making, my ideas are usually extra targeted on my actions and the fabric in entrance of me. A lot of my “considering” occurs separate from the making, however continues to be deeply knowledgeable by the method of creating. I sketch quite a bit to get concepts out of my head and someplace bodily. I are inclined to get shapes and colours caught in my head. I attempt to switch this onto paper after which switch the concepts on paper into glass and clay.
In all honesty, a superb chunk of my inventive course of begins with a stream of consciousness given to Siri to translate right into a notice on my telephone after I’m not ready to really draw or sort out an concept that has come to me. I then decipher the gibberish in a while. Makes for a enjoyable sport of, “What Was I Making an attempt to Inform My Future Self?”
What are a few of your hottest objects, and is there presently a selected piece or design that you’re receiving quite a lot of requests for?
KH: The porcelain skulls I make, or “skullies” as I usually seek advice from them, stay my hottest merchandise yr spherical; a lot in order that I’ve needed to alter my complete workflow to be able to make them extra effectively and to maintain them at a worth level that I believe is truthful and approachable. The enjoyment of watching individuals see and course of a desk filled with lovely skullies by no means will get previous. It makes my day everytime. I actually wished them to be completely different from simply some other cranium, and I believe I’ve struck a cuteness that you just don’t usually discover in most skull-themed decor. The most well-liked of all of them is my cranium with a black chook. It’s one in all my private favorites. I believe it hits the overlap of playful and stylized, whereas additionally feeling barely melancholic.
