Graveyard Smash

Graveyard Smash

MONSTER MAKER HALEY LANE SHOWS US HER TEETH

By Sofia Mongillo

Monster maker Haley Lane’s work can be found scattered around the globe, but the creatures’ beginnings are homegrown: Kansas edition.

For a month, over 20 monsters sat tucked away in the Crossroads’ Upper Level Gallery—all creations of Kansas City’s creepy cute expert and sculptor.

As a young girl growing up in Frontenac, Kansas, Lane was surrounded by the views that come with a small, Midwestern town—farms, crops, and, well, taxidermy.

Fascinated by the animals around her, the aspiring artist took note of their features, stature, and proportions.

“I’d go to sporting goods stores, and they’d have all these exotic creatures on the wall,” says Lane. “I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that they had forms like that, and teeth like that, and claws like that. It was amazing to me.”

After discovering YouTube art channels, Lane’s captivation translated onto paper as she strengthened her drawing skills. Backed by the encouragement of her parents and inspired by biology and taxonomy, she dreamt up her own animals… with a twist.

Surely, she couldn’t have predicted that her knack for creating otherworldly marsupials would end up being not only her passion but her livelihood.

“It started with me drawing these angry dogs with giant teeth,” says Lane. “I thought that the best way to be a good artist was to make the most realistic drawings of things and was stuck in it. I found doodle YouTuber Peter Draws, who was creating art for the process of it. It gave me a whole new perspective on art where I could just enjoy creating instead of putting so much pressure on the final outcome.”

In high school, Lane began dabbling in the art of polymer clay, opening up the world of 3D for her.

“That was what changed everything,” says Lane. “It used to be a real battle to take these forms that were in my mind and place them into 2D paper. But then I unlocked 3D art.”

Outside of drawing, the Lane never received any formal, technical 3D education. This meant relying solely on the help of the internet when learning the process of mold-making in order to create sound structures full of claws and teeth.

“I love combining sapiens and creatures that you want to cuddle, but you’re also kinda scared of,” says Lane. “The animals in our world have crazy defense mechanisms; they might be spiky or gooey. Looking at how different species are classified and their evolutions helps me come up with creatures that I think could have a functional life.”

Soon enough, the DIY critter collector was allowing intrigued neighbors to take a peek at her workspace.

At 24, she created an Etsy shop following her first two commission pieces at the advice of a neighbor.

According to Lane, the first piece sold in her online shop was a faceless poodle with a mouth full of gnarly teeth.

“It was bought instantly by someone in the Philippines,” says Lane. “It was then that I realized there was an audience for my work, and I couldn’t believe it. My full heart is full for those two people who supported my early artwork because they saw the potential in it instead of my technical ability at the time. Because people believed in me from the beginning, I was able to get better art supplies, expand my skills, and actually afford to learn how to create better art.”

Four years and over 2700 Etsy sales later, Lane’s art has expanded from freestanding creatures to wearable pieces like corsets and functional home decor such as ottomans and side tables.

Her TikTok viral monster mirrors, bought by the likes of Rico Nasty, boosted her Etsy traffic even further, establishing Haley Lane Art as a brand. This, she says, was revolutionary for her.

“I wasn’t always convinced that art was a possible path for me,” says Lane. “I thought it was unattainable and that there was very limited access in regards to who got to have that life. But you really get to make your own now with the internet. Any path that you want, it’s just a matter of putting work into it.”

In an effort to stay true to her work and maintain originality, Lane only posts short clips of the final products and less so the process itself.

“It’s incredibly important to me that I always deliver ingenuity in my work,” says Lane. “The problem with TikTok is that posting your original ideas means there’s a chance for them to become a DIY trend, essentially. I don’t want to take away from my creations by encouraging that.”

And when Upper Level Gallery was accepting submissions for a July-Aug. 2023 exhibit in their space, Lane presented her long-time friend, “Angel Dog.” The toothy, horned, blue canine from another dimension worked his charm, and the artist was given six months to prepare a gallery’s-worth of original pieces to debut July 21.

In a period of time Lane calls the “art Olympics,” she whipped up eight colorful outer space dust bunnies, a handful of glowing teleportation portals, and nothing short of a dozen other monster concoctions, creating her own land of misfit toys, also known as Show Me Your Teeth

“My mom used to drive us up here to check out the street together; we’d take photos, and then we’d go to Flanders,” says Lane. “It’s full circle for me now. I would come to the Crossroads to admire all the artists that I thought were the coolest people. To have an art show here is a dream.”

For the Kansas Citian and Monster Dentist, living her truth means creating something each and every day, she says.

“I want to make the world more exciting for everyone to look at and live in,” says Lane. “I want to inspire the childhood awe that I felt while paying homage to monster childhood nightmares. In this universe, we’re constantly hurtling toward the unknown. And I really love this idea of playing around with a monster lurking around the corner.”