We’re so pumped about our conversation with Brittany Spriet. Brittany is the Owner of Art Macabre and is also a content partner. Content partners help Voyage in so many ways from spreading the word about the work that we do, sponsoring our mission and collaborating with us on content like this. Check out our conversation with Brittany below.
Hi Brittany, so great to have you join us again. For folks who might have missed our earlier conversations, can you please take a minute to briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Brittany and I am a bone artist and taxidermist. I work both out of my home and at a commercial taxidermy shop. My goal is to bring beauty and a second life to the dead.
Did you apprentice with someone or are you self-taught?
A little of both actually. I started cleaning skulls and working with bone about 10 years ago. That was all self-taught. Then I progressed to soft mount taxidermy little by little which I learned from online research and my doing on my own. A couple years ago I started at the shop to apprentice under a traditional taxidermist.
What is the oddest thing someone has asked you to create?
I’ve made a lot of crazy and weird stuff. I have to say there was one commission that even creeped me out a little. A woman asked me to basically build her infant daughter’s name in bone. I ultimately made it so it stood upright on a bed of river rocks on a glass base. I have to say though, having a name written in bone on my table for that few days was not something I got used to.
Do you have any “lines in the sand” that you will not cross when it comes to your art?
I do not work with or own or deal in human parts of any kind. Even though there is plenty that is perfectly legal to buy and own, I just won’t. I also will not violate the MBTA laws that deal with protected birds or any other wildlife laws.
How has covid affected your art or progress over the last year?
I use to do a lot of in person events, craft fairs, conventions and such. Naturally that all stopped. So that income source died out. Then online sales dropped off as millions were losing jobs across the country. Thankfully the taxidermy shop never fully shut down and we had enough back log work to keep us all paid and employed. Since I was working more than doing art, that side of things slowed down a lot and I just focused on my day job and keeping bills paid and my daughter in school.
Any upcoming projects?
I do have a few things in the works. Slowly but surely. I have a ring neck pheasant piece I’m working on that’s going to be a phoenix looking wall piece. I also have a lot of pelts different species at the tannery that is going to serve as practice for me and become a wild multi-headed multi-species mythical creature piece. It’s going to be a huge endeavor and require a lot of creative adjustments and ingenuity to put together.
Thank you so much again for sharing all of this with us. Before we go, can you share with our readers how they can connect with you, learn more or show support?
I am in a few places in fact! My own website is: https://www.artmacabre.shop/
I’m on Facebook at: https://facebook.com/macabregenius
My Instagram is @macabregenius Or just email at Macabregenius@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: artmacabre.shop
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/macabregenius
