Welcome! I'm Amelia Arenson, the sole artist behind Haunts of Nature. I create pyrography (wood burned) artwork and also burn on real animal skulls. While most nature artists focus on animals, landscapes, and scenery, I capture the more overlooked parts of the natural world and the hidden gems that most people tend to walk right past.
Although I graduated from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee with a BFA in Graphic Design, I am completely self-taught with the medium of pyrography. About four or five years ago I bought a basic soldering-style wood burner from the craft store. I tried my hand at a few simple line designs, but being a realism artist it just didn't satisfy me. The cheap burner pen was also extremely limiting, so I jumped online and purchased a more professional pyrography machine that allowed for far better temperature ranges and pen control. It made a night and day difference.
My passion for nature has always been a fundamental part of my life. As a kid I would always find interesting bugs, rocks, and seeds and recess time. My teenage years were spent exploring my parents' woods where I collected turkey feathers, various animal bones and skulls, and discovered the diverse world of fungi. In more recent years I have showcased these little treasures in my artwork as a way of educating others and bringing more awareness to their existences. Mother Nature is an artist all on her own.
Aside from the obvious beauty of flowers, for example, there is also a peculiar beauty behind the lesser appreciated parts of our natural world, such as bone piles and insects. After hitting a rough patch in my mid-twenties, I used my artwork as a way of overcoming and working through a lot of dark thoughts. My favorite subject matter in my art are different types of skulls, and although most people associate them with death, I see an opportunity for growth, rebirth, and new life. In the same way, our lives may not go as planned and our relationships, jobs, etc. may decay and come to an end. However, nature has showed us time and again that those conditions make for the richest environments for new opportunities and possibilities to grow from that decay.
Thank you for visiting my store and learning about the artwork! If you are interested in following my work, please join my VIP Facebook group "Haunts of Nature - Pyrography by Amelia Arenson" for new art releases, in progress works, weekly live demos, sale announcements, and more!