Artist Spotlight

This month in our web exclusive spotlight we bring to you the creations of Ghouls Jewels!

After meeting the crafter, jeweler, and macabre artist Kris Duncan at the Hudson Valley Horrorfest, and seeing the bizarre and uniquely beautiful work she had to offer, I ran right to my editor and demanded that I get to do an interview with such a creative bone-wizard. Once he stopped screaming at me to get out of his bathroom and demanding to know how I got inside his house, he gave me the okay, as long as I never bother him while he's pooping again. I didn't make any promises.

Here's the conversation I had with Kris Duncan of Ghouls Jewels:

Edward Crossman: How would you describe your art and style to the uninitiated?

Kris Duncan: I vend A LOT of oddities markets. While you have your macabre enthusiast attendees, there are a lot of folks there driven by sheer curiosity. To those folks I explain that all of my pieces are hand crafted and one of a kind. The animal remains that I use are obtained by collecting roadkill or nature found remains myself. I then process all of the animals and bones myself in my back yard. I love to add vibrant botanicals to add life to the remains. To me, there is a certain beauty in both life and death. Often times the latter is overlooked. I like to bring that concept to life in my pieces as well as give a, “Second life” to all of the materials.

EC: What first sparked your love for crafting art and jewelry and what draws you to playing with dead things?

KD: If only they would play back! Haha...I have been an artist for my entire life in one way or another. Ghouls Jewels started as just a hobby making necklaces out of human teeth maybe ten years ago? I only started taking it seriously a little over a year ago. During that time I started using animal remains, organs etc and decided that I wanted to collect and process all of the materials myself. This ensures that they are ethically sourced and are handled with love and good intentions. I gain a lot of knowledge and know exactly what bit of bone or whatever came from which animal and where. I also take a lot of pride in doing the dirty and gross work myself.

EC: Your work is simultaneously haunting and beautiful, where do you find the inspiration for such bizarre and creepy pieces?

KD: Thank you. At the risk of sounding super cliche, 9 times outta 10 the inspiration just comes to me. When I start a work day I often have zero ideas of what I am going to do. I sit at my table with all of the materials I am going to use laid out and just do what feels right to me. I feel an instant connection to them. I also name every one of my Misfit Frankenstein Dolls. I don’t think about the names at all. They just come to me when they are complete. One was named, “Viola” because she instantly reminded me of this wild neighbor of my grandparents that would get drunk and go into their kitchen at night, take a snack and leave.

EC: Along with your own unique jewelry and other creations, you also accept commissions. What is the weirdest thing you have been asked to make?

KD: Oh man. What even is weird in my world anymore? Haha...Recently I have been making a lot of memorial pieces utilizing ashes from clients’ pets and loved ones. Also breast milk. I make stones out of the milk or ashes or make beautiful resin pieces with ashes and botanicals. I also have a lot of clients that provide their own teeth for custom pieces. I actually made a piece for a client’s mother for Mothers Day this year. She had saved the client’s baby teeth and gave them to her. The client was repulsed and swore she would get the teeth back to her mother someday. Well, that day came and I made a necklace for her. The pendant contained flowers and a collection of said baby teeth. Oh also my 9 year old niece gave me a stillborn chicken on Easter and asked me to make a piece for her with it. That was interesting haha...

EC: As an artist who uses a lot of remains in their work, (animal, insect, and human) where do you source your material, and what does it mean to you when you say "ethically and sustainably sourced"?

KD: I primarily source all of my materials myself. I do not support hunting, killing nor harming in any capacity. I do have a couple of fellow taxidermy artist friends that I trust and will source from, if need be. I also have a very trusted Entomologist friend and a few others that I work with. I’ve got friends in high and low places.

EC: A lot of your work involves bringing new life to dead material. What would you say is your connection with death and the cycle of rebirth you give each piece?

KD: A huge part of it is based on respect. Every living thing deserves to be honored in some way. This includes animals. These remains would typically be collected by the city and tossed. Or just lay still in any weather conditions wherever they may be. I love taking the time to process and clean them and create beautiful art with them that could last forever.

EC: Your work is tailored to a very unique crowd, which is why you can be found at a lot of niche markets and shows, such as horrorfests, Wiccan and magick conventions, and oddity swaps. Do you ever find yourself at a "regular" craft fair next to old ladies selling knit hats and scarfs? And if so, how is your art received?

KD: Oh god, yes haha...When I first started doing markets a year ago I literally signed up for every and any markets that I could. Several of those I had ZERO business being a part of. Several I sold nothing at and got A LOT of weird looks. Which I am used to and doesn’t bother me. However, I am very grateful to have found my people. I now only do events and markets that represent what I am about.

EC: What about friends and family? how do they view your craft, considering your choice of materials?

KD: I have been, “Out there” for my entire life. I assure you nothing I could do would ever shock my friends and family at this point. My mother was the only one that took awhile to come around. Once she started seeing the elaborate and detailed pieces she became a fan and my biggest supporter. She drew the line at letting me store remains in her extra freezer though.

EC: I assume working with animal remains can be both dangerous, due to bacteria and disease, and disgusting, for obvious reasons. What precautions do you take to protect both yourself and your customers?

KD: Absolutely!! I have been doing this long enough to recognize remains that I should not be handling and at what stage they are in the decomposition process. With that said, I ALWAYS wear a mask and always use good quality gloves. My car always stores gloves, garbage bags and sealable containers. Once I have the remains at home I take the time needed to ensure that everything is processed safely. I conduct a very specific maceration process for bones, mummifying process for animals etc. I also give bones a peroxide bath before finishing. Everything that you find at Ghouls Jewels has been handled responsibly and is safe and sanitary. I actually have a few very large (surgically removed) kidney stones that I have out on my table for patrons to touch and hold. Those bad boys are probably more sanitary than any hands holding them.

EC: Your art not only contains small remains, but in some cases entire mummified corpses. Do you do that all yourself? And if so what is your mummification process?

KD: Yes! I do mummification as well as wet specimens. The mummification process varies based upon the size, condition etc. I often use Borax which is a powder that will dry them out. A taxidermy friend also introduced me to Silica Gel as a great tool as well. I actually prefer that route now as Borax can be a little messy. Amazon sells large bags of the gel. It works PERFECT, faster and you can re-use them! Either way, I inject the specimen with Formalin and cover in either Borax or Silica and let them do their thing. Usually a few weeks is enough time. For wet specimens, I also inject with Formaline then place into a vessel containing at least 70% alcohol. I don’t get to do wet specimens much. I work with a few local farms that have given me still born animals to work with. However, that is not often and that is not a bad thing.

EC: Do you have a physical shop you work and sell out of? If so, where are you located, and if not, how can people browse your wears and contact you for commissions?

KD: I do not have a brick and mortar shop. I will be moving my studio from my house to a shared space with a fellow taxidermy artist and good friend in Troy, NY. I do have a Shopify that is currently being totally revamped. My IG is primarily where I share things currently.

EC: Finally, do you have any up coming events, shows, or projects you would like to tell our readers about?

KD: Market season is currently wrapping up and I will be focusing on the online shop and working on commissions until market season begins again in May. Commission lists have already begun filling up. I also have some very exciting consignment deals to keep an eye out for on my IG!


You can find out more about Ghouls Jewels at Ghouls Jewels