Life & Work with Stephanie Cornelson of Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Cornelson.

Hi Stephanie, can you introduce yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Originally from California, I moved out at 18, struggled to make ends meet with multiple working jobs, and put aside my dreams of being an artist. During 2020 I started sharing my art via social media and growing a following that pushed me to sell my work. From then till now has been life-changing. Most of my work is pop culture/horror based. My artist name is cult creep because of that, and slowly over the past year, I’ve grown my cult following. Many of my friends and followers call me the cult leader, my most known work is my bleached skeleton shirts, and that’s the official uniform of the cult. Going out around town, I always run into people wearing my work or recognizing me. People often tell me how they run into other “cult members” and how it’s helped them feel part of something bigger than themselves. I didn’t realize the impact I was making; I just wanted a place where I could fit in and make a difference. I’ve been overwhelmed by the love and support in this community. I feel imperfect in the making and keep pushing the boundaries of my reality.

Right now, my husband and I still work full-time jobs during the day, creating at night and vending as many weekends as possible. I’ve recently got my work into multiple stores, including Terror Trader in Chandler, the Jerome heritage shop up in Jerome, and Ugly baby up in Seattle. I’m a strong believer in trying everything! I’m a multimedia artist. I do screen printing, bleach/dye, painting, stamp making, sculpting, and digital work. Everything that is sold is made in-house or I out source to another local artist, so everything is kept within the community. I’ve also been teaching other artists new skills and how they can expand their work.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been far from smooth. I’ve struggled with mental health and worked toward my sobriety. These have been some of the important things that push me to keep creating and sharing my story because not everyone is perfect, and real-life struggles will always be there, but they shouldn’t stop us from pushing to be our best selves. For the last few months, I’ve been dealing with plumbing issues at home which has caused us to lose a lot of workspace and basic living amenities. We had a plumbing company (precision) do work in 2020, which caused major issues damaging our kitchen and bathrooms. Since July, we’ve been going back n forth to get our home back in order. We had a new plumber here who got most of the work done, but we’ve been stuck on hold for the last 2 months. All we have for running water is the shower and toilet. The last time we had a kitchen was in July. We are still trying to get precision to show up and have an inspector okay the put-back, but they keep canceling or now showing us. This has caused us to stay caught up in work and lose motivation. Still, we keep going the best that we can.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m best known for my bleached skeleton shirts. They are all hand-painted and resemble old x-rays. I make them in a wide variety of colors, my most popular has been our pride rainbow skeleton shirts. We’ve received such heartfelt messages of how this was the shirt they got at their first pride event or parents who brought them for their kid who just came out, and there’s just something out right there that makes me feel like I’m making a mark. Anyone could throw bleach on a shirt, but I’m proud of these. Since each is hand-painted, none look the same, giving them their unique meaning.

We love surprises, fun facts, and incredible stories. Can you share something that might surprise us?
I’m an open book, so I don’t know if there is much that could surprise anyone. Most people are shocked when I say I taught myself how to do everything artistic aside from the basics I learned in school. I didn’t get a chance to go to college, so I relied on YouTube and instructions from kits to learn different mixed media. Oh, I’m also an amateur ghost hunter! Most people who know me know I’m a paranormal junky, but I’ve recently been hosting ghost tours and joining in on investigations with local groups like east valley supernatural.

Pricing:

• $25 for our basic skeleton short sleeve
• $30 for our basic skeleton long sleeve
• Specialty skeletons range $30-$50

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cultcreepart.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cult_creep?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCXgl1-MjZe3OOe1mvQC2gOw

Image Credits
The personal photo and photo with the Rocky cast were by @longestnightintheworld