North Georgia Arts Guild - Eric Hollifield

The Arts North Georgia Arts Guild

Creativity Unleashed: A Look Into the Magical World of Eric Hollifield

By Tricia Moore

Walking into Eric Hollifield’s workshop gives the impression that one has entered some sort of fantasy world where creativity runs rampant. Monster themed papier mache’ masks made with toilet paper, plushies, toys made from various other materials, including resin, rubber and latex, and stylized drawings for comic books are just a few of the creations one encounters here. Eric has even created his own unique cardboard backed plastic bubble packaging for some of the toys Eric also uses a number of other mediums in his creations, including acrylic paint, spray paint, colored pens and inks, and stickers. He is truly the consummate multi-media artist. Eric states that he especially loves working with molds. He also uses a 3-D printer for some of his designs. Using his computer and a software program that instructs the printer, he draws an image on the computer and prints it out as a 3-D object. His excitement was apparent as he talked about this process and how he truly feels that the use of this would grow exponentially in the future Eric is training his young son Oryn to use his own creative abilities, and at the tender age of eight, Oryn has already collaborated with his father in several father-son projects. Oryn has even been the mastermind behind some of these! Eric’s love and affection for Oryn is obvious when he talks about his son. Eric’s wife Jessica has also been drawn into participation in the world of fantastic toy creation by sewing the plushies he designed. As with most artists, Eric has always been interested in creating, even though he states that he kept art at an “arm’s length” for most of his life. In high school he did yearbook covers and page

Tricia Moore is a retired teacher, having taught both English and Art in public and private school settings.

She is currently an active member of the NGAG and has held several positions on the board. With her background in both art and writing, she feels that writing the NGAG featured artist article in the Laurel of Northeast Georgia is a good fit and something that she will greatly enjoy doing.

illustrations and in college, he “hung around the ceramics department.” But he states that art was “stigmatized back then” so he earned a Masters in Education from UGA with an emphasis in counseling instead of studying art. He has spent almost thirty years mentoring teenagers in various boarding facilities. However, Eric relates that a few years ago a friend challenged him when he told people “as sort of a sad joke” that he didn’t know what he wanted to do when he grew up. His friend replied, “Eric, you always wanted to be an artist when we were kids. You still do.” Eric states that that “hit him like a ton of bricks,” and since then he has tried to do something creative every day.

One can see many cultural influences in Eric’s work. He states that he was inspired by street artists like Banksy, KAWS, Shepard Fairy, Big Daddy Roth, “lowbrow” art from the 50’s and 60’s, Tales from the Crypt, Stephen King, Mattel’s Master of the Universe, Conan the Barbarian, vintage Dungeons and Dragons, and Godzilla.

Eric’s prolific creativity includes toys, comic books and films. He just had a limited run art toy called “The McAngel of Death” featured at San Diego Comic-Con. He and his wife made a bunch of original plush toys (plushies) in 2019. They even did design to order for a few birthday parties. He prototyped a line of action figures called “Champions of Eternity” and shopped a two-headed elf named “Naughty and Nice” to Hasbro. He also did some art trading cards for Island Dreams and development samples for a trading card RPG (role playing game). He is currently working on, among other things, an independent film he scripted called “Dead Format.” Some of the objects Eric creates are intended to make a statement or are critical of something in our society. Two examples of this are his “McAngel of Death” and “California Raisin.” Eric’s work can be found at Doubleheadart on Instagram, and he can be reached at Doubleheadart@gmail.com. He also has an E-store that can be found at doubleheadart.gumroad.com. Eric’s artist statement, as creative as his work, is as follows: “Doublehead” was born to the dirt roads and creatured wilderness of the Southern Appalachians. Following work, his family bounced through central Florida for much of his youth. As a perpetual transfer student/latch-key kid/only child, science fiction novels, horror movies and action figures became his social network. Not much has changed. “The art of Doublehead is a mixed media exploration of 80’s and 90’s commercial youth propaganda. Cartoons, toys, food adverts… What is their effect on developing personhood? How do we evolve beyond nostalgia?”