MOLLY STANTON, MS
Sculptor/Writer
I had fully intended on giving up creating art altogether. There was an interstitial time during my undergraduate years at Smith College where both my art and the demands of being a paycheck earning adult could co-exist. But everyone has to leave the magic forest at some time, and you can’t stand with a foot in both worlds forever. So just as I had packed up my toys before middle school, I packed away my foolish dreams of living a beautiful artistic life for becoming a Ph.D.
I didn’t dance a step, touch clay, or sketch a line for over 10 years and it nearly ate me alive from the inside. I dreaded having to get up on Monday morning. It was like being punched in the gut. I had a good job helping people, but it felt like I was moving through life with one of my senses missing. I call it the lather, rinse, repeat loop of working life. Great for hair, but death to the soul.
In 2005 I bought one of Wendy Froud’s lovely fairy dolls. The more I looked at it the more I thought about learning to sculpt. She sat on my shelf beckoning me to follow her into less tread paths and strange worlds. For the next 2 years I sculpted every waking moment and by trial and error began to create art dolls. My friends encouraged me to begin selling them and my life began to shift. Not only did I begin to make some money at my artwork, I began to walk a more spiritual path connected to nature. THIS is life. THIS is what it means to be human. Not “lather, rinse, repeat”, but the winding trails deep into the essentially creative nature of your one unique life.
I won’t say it has been easy. I can find myself gnawed by periods of negativity. Fear of not having enough nips at my heels. In those moments it feels safe to retreat back to the world lit by fluorescent light and flickering screen. But a bit of clay and a fistful of LED lights and that pain can be pushed, rolled, and twisted into something magical that sheds the world in a new and miraculous light! I love sharing my magical creations with others and teaching them how to set themselves free via firewalking workshops and sculpting tutorials. Why don’t you take a step off the well worn path by joining me for a class, working a tutorial, or wearing one of my creations?
HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THEIR ELVEN ELYSIUM PIECES
"It doesn't matter where in the country I am- Florida, Pennsylvania, New Orleans.. I always make sure to wear Molly's Jewelry when out and about because I always get comments about it from random strangers. It's so creative- bright, colorful and has such a sense of playfulness and whimsy about it that makes any outfit instantly more fun. Many of her designs are adapted from nature, whether the wings of an insect or a new mythology she creates. I have joked that I am a walking advertisement for her work and I will continue to be as long as I can afford to. You can tell how much effort is put in to her sculptures down to the tiniest details of hands/fingers, clothing, hair and know that the amount of sheer work that goes into each one makes things stand out in such a beautiful way.” - Renee Scattolini, Bethlehem, PA
Sculptor/Writer
I had fully intended on giving up creating art altogether. There was an interstitial time during my undergraduate years at Smith College where both my art and the demands of being a paycheck earning adult could co-exist. But everyone has to leave the magic forest at some time, and you can’t stand with a foot in both worlds forever. So just as I had packed up my toys before middle school, I packed away my foolish dreams of living a beautiful artistic life for becoming a Ph.D.
I didn’t dance a step, touch clay, or sketch a line for over 10 years and it nearly ate me alive from the inside. I dreaded having to get up on Monday morning. It was like being punched in the gut. I had a good job helping people, but it felt like I was moving through life with one of my senses missing. I call it the lather, rinse, repeat loop of working life. Great for hair, but death to the soul.
In 2005 I bought one of Wendy Froud’s lovely fairy dolls. The more I looked at it the more I thought about learning to sculpt. She sat on my shelf beckoning me to follow her into less tread paths and strange worlds. For the next 2 years I sculpted every waking moment and by trial and error began to create art dolls. My friends encouraged me to begin selling them and my life began to shift. Not only did I begin to make some money at my artwork, I began to walk a more spiritual path connected to nature. THIS is life. THIS is what it means to be human. Not “lather, rinse, repeat”, but the winding trails deep into the essentially creative nature of your one unique life.
I won’t say it has been easy. I can find myself gnawed by periods of negativity. Fear of not having enough nips at my heels. In those moments it feels safe to retreat back to the world lit by fluorescent light and flickering screen. But a bit of clay and a fistful of LED lights and that pain can be pushed, rolled, and twisted into something magical that sheds the world in a new and miraculous light! I love sharing my magical creations with others and teaching them how to set themselves free via firewalking workshops and sculpting tutorials. Why don’t you take a step off the well worn path by joining me for a class, working a tutorial, or wearing one of my creations?
HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THEIR ELVEN ELYSIUM PIECES
"It doesn't matter where in the country I am- Florida, Pennsylvania, New Orleans.. I always make sure to wear Molly's Jewelry when out and about because I always get comments about it from random strangers. It's so creative- bright, colorful and has such a sense of playfulness and whimsy about it that makes any outfit instantly more fun. Many of her designs are adapted from nature, whether the wings of an insect or a new mythology she creates. I have joked that I am a walking advertisement for her work and I will continue to be as long as I can afford to. You can tell how much effort is put in to her sculptures down to the tiniest details of hands/fingers, clothing, hair and know that the amount of sheer work that goes into each one makes things stand out in such a beautiful way.” - Renee Scattolini, Bethlehem, PA