About the Artist

photo by Debi McFerren

So why Antemortem? Well, my other business is called Not Dead Yet Studios (a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail), and I wanted to stick with the theme. I watch a lot of CSI-type shows, so at first I thought maybe perimortem (immediately prior to death), since I hear it all the time, but finally decided on antemortem.

I’m not dead yet, and I’m not anywhere close — so I’m Antemortem Arts!

13 Things About Me

  1. I am a huge geek. D&D, board games, card games, anime, manga, books and movies and tv — I have embraced my inner fangirl.
  2. These days I primarily work in oil on canvas, or ink and Copic markers on paper. I also do digital art, watercolor, sumi-e, and even polymer clay sculptures. I’ve studied jewelry, painting, drawing, metal sculpture, printmaking, bookmaking and even costuming and puppetry.
  3. I tend to be snarky and have a very dry, biting wit, occasionally to my detriment. I’m also often a little too blunt; I’ve decided it’s a secret asset.
  4. I have 2 cats and no kids — I would talk about & photograph my cats less if my friends didn’t shamelessly encourage me.
  5. I make art for the sake of adding beauty to the world, or making someone smile. I love the thought that something I made is responsible for improving someone’s environment.
  6. People stop me on the street to tell me my hair is long. The length is natural, the color is not.
  7. I’m a graphic designer by trade, and starting to do more illustration work. My goal is to bring more creativity into my everyday work life, so that my art is what supports me the best.
  8. I have a Grover puppet on top of my easel. Right now he’s wearing a lei, but sometimes it’s Mardi Gras beads.
  9. I’m torn between the desire to declutter and a deep love of those rooms you see in movies with books and interesting things lining the walls and piled everywhere, something fascinating wherever you look.
  10. I’m transportationally challenged — I can’t drive, swim or ride a bike. Despite not driving, I love cars, especially fast ones.
  11. I have my own art hung all over my house. Sometimes when I’m pricing art, I take into account how much I would miss the piece if it went to live with someone else.
  12. Halloween and Christmas are my favorite holidays, so The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my all-time favorite movies. I make my own holiday cards every year, and send off 50+ of them to various friends, clients and family members.
  13. 13 is my lucky number.

Artist Me by Amy Crook