Verlene Brooks

Verlene works in a dungeon and the flights of fancy she creates there amaze and delight all who see her creations.

Her "dungeon" is her basement studio and her creations are the one-of-a-kind art dolls, hand sculpted in clay and made without molds or patterns.

A self taught artist, she loves the simplicity and imperfections of folk art. Verlene sells many of her dolls on ebay under the user name of CreakyRocker.

Whether an Old Man Winter, a wickedly wonderful witch, or the Krampus piece that won the HA31 Art Challenge this month, each of her dolls is made one at a time and has its own unique charm and appeal.

Verlene's Krampus shown at right. Q. How long have you been an artist or doing art? A. I have been drawn to some form of art for as long as I can remember. By the time I was tall enough to reach up to the piano keyboard I was tinkling the ivories. At age 4, my mom (to save her sanity) enrolled me in lessons. I continued to play all thru school. I really wanted to draw, like my mom and sisters did, but I just never got the hang of it.

Q. What started you in your craft?

A. I got married when I was 19 and moved from San Jose, CA, where I was born and raised, to Oregon where my new husband joined the Air Force. Because we had no piano in our apartment, I wanted something else creative to do.

A friend enrolled me in her Tole painting class, and from day one, people kept telling me I had done this before. But I hadn't. I loved the feel of the brush in my hand and the cool strokes I could make.

I even took my paints along camping one time; my hubby came back from fishing and I had the clothesline filled with painted pages from my disposable pallet, drying in the wind!

We used oils paints then. That experience started me on a quest to learn and experiment with other art mediums.

Q. Are there certain things that inspire you to create?

A. I have always been drawn to art supplies because of my mom and sisters being artists. What inspires me most are the art supplies themselves...I love being surrounded by them! All my supplies in my studio are out in full view, I couldn't work if they were all closed up behind doors.

Books also inspire me. People at the library think I'm a kindergarten teacher because I'm always on the floor with stacks of kids fairytales all around me. I love spending dark rainy days in the library.

Q. Do you have any tips for other artists who are just starting out?

A. The only thing I know is this: Play with all the art materials you can find until you discover your niche. If you don't like one thing, try something else. If it's boring, stop and try another one. Experiment, walk the aisles of your hardware store, wander in the woods, read books, day dream, journal, listen to inspiring speakers and music, dig in the attic or barn - fill your soul with art food, fill your mind with messages of positive reinforcement, "I can do this", "this will be fun", "I wonder what would happen if" - let your mind go free. For almost 50 years I have played with the arts, but just 12 years ago I started sculpting with clay and it was amazing! It was like I was born with it in my hands. It just felt so comfortable like I knew right away what to do with it. That still amazes me.

Q. What is your favorite medium or tool used in your art?

A. My favorite medium is clay and my favorite tool is my hands. Although fabrics and paints run a close second!

Q. How did you come to be interested in Halloween art?

A. I love making witches best, the old haggard fairy tale witches are my most favorite with long scraggly hair and tall pointy hats almost covering their faces.

The colors of Halloween just drew me to this holiday, I was born in the fall of the year and it has always been my most favorite season.

Once the summer weather begins to change and the wind begins to blow, something inside me just tingles with childish excitement, something akin to "the circus is coming to town!"

Email Verlene and visit her website at: www.verlenebrooks.com, her pages here on HalloweenArtists.com and her ebay auctions.