You'll go batty for these stuffies
You can purchase a variety of things over at Megan O'Sullivan's Etsy shop, wineNwhiskeyART. There's pins, banners, floral watercolours, and even a rhinoceros painting. However, the thing that will immediately capture your attention – and your heart – is the variety of handmade felt bats, each one unique, and each one adorable.
The felt bats, aside from being modelled after one of the spookiest animals, are often modelled after horror or Halloween characters like Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the bride of Frankenstein, or Beetlejuice. This isn't surprising, as O'Sullivan is a big fan of all things horror and Halloween related, as I learned when I had a chance to interview her about her work recently. As usual, all quotes from Megan will be italicized.
Hi, I’m Megan the maker/artist/creative behind wine N whiskey studio based in Portland, Oregon. I love all things spooky, I’d live in Tim Burtonville if there was one. I’ve lived in 3 haunted houses as a child, my father still resides in the 3rd. My favorite monsters are really all the classics but I love the headless horseman (My favorite animal is horses), Frankenstein, ghosts and Vampires. Our house Familiars are our black and white cat Bob, who’s a total horror and our neurotic Dog Alt.
That being said, O'Sullivan didn't set out to make and sell felt bats. Initially her store was more focused on animal art prints – which she still has available, if bats aren't your animal.
I started my Etsy shop roughly 5 years ago while I was “nesting” during my 1st pregnancy. Since then it has evolved from a focus on my mixed media animal portraits to children’s clothing, to the birthplace of one of a kind felt bats.
Why bats? Good question. When my eldest daughter was about two years old bats became her favorite animal (still are) and so Lucy Bat was born and spawned all the bats you see today. A bit of a bat colony family tree, Lucy Bat being the Matriarch. Because we love all things Halloween bats just fit perfectly into our lives. We are a bit dark and twisty, a little bit Witchy, blended with a bit of sparkle and rainbow.
O'Sullivan's children not only inspired her to start making bats, they also inspire the individual bats that she makes.
I just love to make and create. Especially with my daughters, my forever muses. My kiddos are a major part in my work and have lots of suggestions when I’m working that make their way into several of my pieces; for example the “sprinkles bats” characteristics were finalized with their approval. And like mentioned above all the bats got their start because of my eldest.
One of the cool things about these bats is the fact that they're one of a kind – each one is a little bit different, and each one is special.
I strive to create unique and detail filled items. Using quality wool blend felt and other materials sourced primarily from other small shops. Each bat is one of a kind, starting with my unique pattern sloper I created individual pattern pieces for each bat's personal details. Then hand cut all felt pieces and constructed with a mix of machine and hand stitching then hand stuffed.
October is my favorite month to design bats in (which starts in August). So much amazing Halloween inspiration to draw from. Monster bats and witchy bats are dear to my heart, my most favorite of them being my Mar-Shi bat from a few years back that was black lagoon creature inspired. I kept her, the only one I haven’t wanted to part with. Well, until now, I just created a Headless horseman inspired bat and he’s a definite favorite but I’ll put him up for someone else to love.
Of course, you may not be a fan of bats – you might still want to check out some of the other art O'Sullivan has available in her shop. I also asked her for her recommendations for other Halloween artists.
Outside of stuffed Bats I also create animal portraits in my signature my style combining ink, watercolor paint, acrylic paint, spray paint and acrylic sealant on canvas to create colorful realism portraits of animals.
If your looking for other fantastic Halloween inspired art and artists now is the perfect time to find them. Check out #mabsdrawlloween#drawlloween or #inktober. One of my favorites is a good friend, Amanda who creates stunning work with white pencils on black paper @kitchen_table_studios_ I’m convinced she can illustrate anything in her black and white style.
If you're interested in buying a bat or other art, you can purchase them through Etsy. If you want to stay up to date with O'Sullivan's future work, you can follow her on Instagram. Be sure to let me know your favourite bat down in the comments!
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