Knickknacks, memorabilia and antiques fill plenty of spare bedrooms in suburban homes. Oak Parker Sandra Wilcoxon’s second-floor room has something a little more jarring — skulls.
And lots of them.
Wilcoxon, 53, who has been making bead necklaces for the past few years, has taken on a new hobby — finding animal skulls, cleaning them, polishing them, and creating works of art. She knows there is a “yuk factor” to her creations, but she is more than comfortable with her art.
“Some people are a little squeamish, but a lot of people, especially men, say, ‘Wow, that’s cool,’” she said.
Wilcoxon’s work will be featured through November at Marion Street Gallery, 115 N. Marion St. The individual pieces all take animal skulls with beads weaving in and out of the various curves, gaps and rivets. (Photos: Beaded skulls are works of art)
Wilcoxon, who has a charming wit and bubbly personality one might not think would come from a skull aficionado, came up with the idea after the death of her father, Clair, in July. She went to the family farm in southwest Minnesota and something caught her eye — a pile of bison skulls left over from a recent slaughter. She grabbed the skull that was the most decomposed and transported it home. After two weeks of cleaning — a process she didn’t elaborate on for the sake of squeamish newspaper readers — she weaved blue-green beads in and out of the skull, the first piece in a dozen that she has created since.
Some of the skulls are completely covered with beads, while others are more minimalist.
“As I was cleaning (the bison skull), I kept seeing all those beautiful parts,” she said. “I didn’t want to cover that up.”
The skulls themselves come from a variety of places. She has a robin that was killed by a cat in her backyard, chicken skulls she got from a butcher in Chicago and, in one of the stranger Internet purchases, eBay.
The artwork varies wildly in size, from the heavy bison skull to the robin, which is small enough to make into an earring. Other animals include a fox, a cat, a muskrat and a raccoon. Her current project is a skunk. She only has two rules: no road kill and no pets, at least not her own.
Wilcoxon said she simply finds the skulls to be interesting, and given her upbringing on a farm, has little problem using them to create art. She knows people might think it is odd at first, but is confident their minds will change when they see the art. Besides, even her own husband is just fine with seeing her sitting in front of the television, putting beads on a freshly cleaned skull.
“He already knows I’m crazy,” she said with a laugh.
