My name is Misty Benson (a.k.a. gossamerfaery). I live, breathe, and conjure my Morbidly Adorable Creations into being from Gossamerfaery’s Attic in curiouser and curiouser Idaho. I was hatched from a skelly egg on March 23 in the year of the United States bicentennial, 1976. Although Halloween is my favorite time of year, my hatching on the bicentennial has a lot to do with my love of outrageous parties, demolition derbies, and blowing up things on the 4th of July. For a good part of my life, I lived on a dairy farm. Running wild and reading lots of books is a wonderful memory. When I was 12, my family moved to Washington. This was the first of many moves and the beginning of the traveling lifestyle to which I grew accustomed. I later lived in Colorado and spent a short stint in New York. I have been to Nepal, Thailand, Costa Rica, Spain, England, Wales, China, and South Africa. I hope to add many, many more countries to my itinerary! I have traveled the world, lived in many states, but once again, I am back in Idaho!

From the Attic, the creations and I can smell the sugary scent of coffin cake on the winds. The rustle of leaves sound like hollow bones rattling on pavement. Rain is actually skeletons tap dancing on the roof. Here we vehemently hold onto the ghosts in our dreams. Faeries may be spotted in the dying light. We are not afraid to muddy our white dresses in order to witness the mysterious lives of bugs. Halloween is our favorite time of year, so we spend Christmas decorating our tree with skulls. Life leaves us feeling a little haunted but always enchanted. This is a place where beauty borders on strange and the strange is beautiful.

I love all things sweet and spooky, sugar and sour, morbid and adorable! Big eyes fit all those categories and have influeced both my faery and skelly art. I first saw the big eye art of Gig as a child. My grandmother had one of his famous "Pity Kitties" on her wall. Besides Gig, a lot of my inspiration comes from big-eyed dolls such as Pullips and Dollfies. Oh, and don't let me forget to mention insects. I have a love and respect for all life, and it even extends to a somewhat obsessive love for insects and their giant eyes. Many of my girls eyes reflect those of bugs. I also grew up dreaming away while reading Serendipity books and traveling to the World of Two Moons of the ElfQuest novels where the characters all had big, luminous eyes. My love of faeries was deepened by the magickal world of Brian and Wendy Froud while enjoying the art style of Junko Mizuno.

Although the skellies don't have big eyes, they have big eye sockets! Even they remember a time when their eyes were large. As the skellies are the otherworldly counterparts of the faeries, it is only fitting that they are born out of a darker beauty. Although my life has been colored by wonderful adventures, it has also been muddied with personal tragedies. These experiences make their way into my art. Skellies really are my way of commemorating experiences and ideas. They have a way of laughing in the face of death and celebrating their own existence. Each one represents a smile, a laugh, or even a tear. I have always loved all things skeleton, Day of the Dead, and Halloween-inspired. Frida Kahlo is a HUGE influence on the darker side of my art. My favorite painting is "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale." I have always appreciated the literal story telling in art no matter how disturbing. I don't always post my darker art here, but it is something I have been wanting to open up on my site.

Even though most people can claim that they were born holding a paintbrush, I haven't painted all my life. When I was a kid, I would beg my mom and aunt to draw pictures for me. I was in awe of their talents, but it never occured to me that I could create such wonderful pieces myself. I left that to the "experts". I eventually went off to college where I was to become a veterinarian. Growing up on a farm reading and James Herriot novels made taking care of animals my dream. About a year in, I realized that I had really shortchanged myself when it came to a more liberal education and experience. I had taken all science courses all my life. I never even took one art class in high school. I really needed a break from all the biology, chemistry and physics, so I enrolled in an anthropology course called "Myth, Ritual, Magic" as well as my first Art History course. That was the death of the veterinary career that I had been planning since I was five. I wanted to take more anthropology and more art! I was addicted!! I went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Cultural Anthropology and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Studio Arts. Neither discipline really taught me how to paint, prepare for becoming an artist, running my own business, or selling on the internet. They just allowed me to experience the world and think in ways that I may have never learned on my own.

Today, I primarily paint in acrylics and sculpt in paperclay. I love them for their ease and speed. In the dry Idaho climate, acrylics dry pretty much the moment I lay them on canvas. Paperclay, which is a mixture of volcanic ash and paper pulp, also air dries. I don't have to bake it or worry about it becoming too heavy like sculpey. I have tried many different mediums, but these are my favorites.

From Gossamerfaery’s Attic, I paint and sculpt dreamy big-eyed faeries and delightful Day of the Dead skeletons. My dark and delicious little minions have made their way into homes around the world. They have been featured in paintings, prints, one of a kind sculptures, magnets, stickers, and cards causing sweet mischief wherever they go. Both the faeries and skellies have also found themselves published in the books ”500 Fairy Motifs”, "Big Eye Art: Resurrected and Transformed", and my solo book "The Morbidly Adorable Skelly"!!

I, Misty*, gossamerfaery, your skull-loving, slightly unhinged, sweetly spooky artist love all of my Morbidly Adorable children. Take my hand. Come in and play. Just make sure you leave all rational thoughts at the door.

If you would like to learn more about me in my daily life, you may read my LiveJournal!!