By Connor Fleck and Jeremy Torres
With a passion for art and an eye for design, senior Shayla Do is an artist whose interests are unique with her horror-themed artwork.
As a child, Do was scared of the horror genre, but grew to love it as she aged. She feels that the horror genre, and her own artwork in that style, help her to become more confident.
“Being able to conquer my fears like fear of the dark or ghosts helps empower me. That’s why I love creating horror artwork,” Do said.
She now goes to Halloween Horror Nights every year for her birthday.
Do finds inspiration for her gorey artwork in lots of places such as horror manga and special effects makeup.
“A lot of my gore is inspired by the horror manga genre. I love how meticulous the artwork is,” Do said.
Do also has friends in the special effects make up industry and enjoys the way that it can inspire cosplay.
One of Do’s most memorable school art projects was a ceramic chainsaw she created that was so lifelike that it startled her classmates.
“I definitely got a lot of stares when I walked around campus holding it,” Do said. “People avoided me in the halls. After I finished painting it I left it on the table in my art class to dry, and one of the people in one of the next periods got scared because they thought it was an actual chainsaw and my teacher ended up giving me another point for it just because of that.”
The chainsaw was a lifesize model, so it makes sense people would give her a wide berth.
Whether it is a ceramic piece, drawing, or digital, Do is dedicated to her work, spending up to four days per piece.
Her longest work took about a week. For that project, she made a bobblehead for Executive Director Brian Bauer. He collects them and has several on his desk.
“I made a bobble head for Mr. Bauer depicting him and his dog. That took about a week because it involves more than just sculpting,” Do said.
For her art class, students were asked to take staff commissions. Do took the challenge of asking Bauer because he is such a mysterious figure on campus, someone whom many students have not seen in person.
“It worked out well for us. I was able to introduce my little brother to him at the TK8 campus and now they say hi to each other in the halls,” Do said.
The time varies depending on the medium she uses, however.
Despite being very talented and well-recognized for her artwork on campus, she does not see art as a future career. She wants to be able to continue enjoying her creativity without boundaries that a job would enforce.
“Honestly, art is something I want to keep as a hobby. A lot of the time when I’m in an art class, art doesn’t make me happy when I have a deadline. It restricts my creative flow,” Do said.
Instead, Do plans to go into business marketing after hearing about the profession from her cousins.
“Using a creative mind in different outlets can be more challenging. But that’s what makes it more fun,” Do said.
The Plaid Press 