SEATTLE — Stacia Joy is used to people doing a double take at her art. After all, realism is the goal. So, if someone thinks one of her cut paper specimens is a real-life insect, she considers it a compliment.
"Vegan taxidermy is what I call it," Joy says.
She's the mind behind Beastie + Bone, a collection of cut-paper art and art prints. Joy takes inspiration from nature, science and mortality - but one of her greatest passions is insects, inspired by her childhood.
"I've always loved nature and specimens. I grew up in an area that did a lot of hunting," Joy says. "I kind of always thought if you love something that much, and especially if it's rare or endangered, why are we sticking pins through it?"
Her cut paper sculptures usually take hours and hours of cutting, tearing and drawing, a process as delicate and intricate as the creatures Joy mimics. Joy is drawn to strange creatures, like the Island Marble butterflies - found on a single island in the San Juans. She also takes commissions.
If you want to see her art, her Horned and Winged collection is on display in Nomadia Creatives until the pieces are sold out.
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As the name Beastie + Bone suggests, Joy doesn't stray away from dark imagery. Many of her pieces feature the skulls of unique animals, such as the vampire deer. But there's a hopeful message in many of her pieces, as well.
"One of the mottos I have for Beastie + Bone is art inspired by nature and good nurture," Joy says.
Over the years, Joy has lived with chronic pain and depression. Art was one of the ways she coped - but she realized what she was producing was tied to her frustration.
"Unfortunately, what I was feeling at the time was a lot of bitterness and heaviness, and so, unfortunately, the art I was making at that time was very bitter," Joy says.
It was only when she realized this - and slowly began to feel better - that she began to look at life differently.
"Yes, life is difficult, and yes, life is finite, but that makes it precious," Joy says. "That makes it more important to see what we're putting our time into."
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