Have you ever seen an artist take apart a stuffed animal and reintroduce it with a dark aesthetic? No? Well, now you have. Her art is everything to the eye and more. With faux tongues, and large ominous yellow eyes, to mouths filled with blood, Gwen Brown, a female artist originally from Woodstock, Virginia creates her freaky babies! She had moved to Brooklyn back in December of 2023. In an interview with her, Gwen explained her craft, “I make little dolls, I call them freaky babies. I give them new faces made out of clay!” Having gotten into this during the COVID isolation era, she had a lot of free time, and as she states, “We all had lots of it [time] and I have always been into art. I had some left over clay, I made a face and thought, this is really cool! A year later, I just thought about it and then, I created the first one [freaky baby],” Gwen really introduced a new brand of stuffed animal aesthetics. “My now boyfriend had become obsessed, I made more… and sold a few, then it became a thing.” She always had a keen eye when it came to art, and it was only time before she decided to experiment with her leftover supplies.

From frustrating her mom with wall colorings as a child, constructing houses out of cardboard, coloring books, making club houses, to decorations, art had been her passion from a young age. Gwen recalls, “In high school, I took all of the art classes, or as many as I could take…practicing different mediums, I learned to paint. That transferred into makeup later on, and that is one of the main components of the freaky babies,” Designing them is one thing, but the small and intricate details that get thought into for every freaky baby, are all brought together by different looks. Her inspiration stems from “anything weird and creepy, scary movies, I like gore,” There are no pieces that really provide direct inspiration, but rather a collaboration in the mind of all things that she has been exposed to.

Over time, the artistic style has become darker…straying a bit from the beginning of her art career, where these days there are more emotions and thoughts tied into the art and creation of the freaky babies. Explaining further Gwen states, “I like playing with the idea of death and gore, pretty and ugly, the piece I am making now… she is pretty, but there is something slightly unsettling about her… and that’s my favorite part.” Her art is an outlet, a way in which she allows her thoughts to transfer into the art is through emotions. The unsettling feelings portrayed come from experiences put forth upon her through a variety of people in her life. The effects of mental health, and the awareness Gwen brings to her art is through a personal past. She states, “I had an experience with an important person during 2020, and I feel like because of that it just made me aware how mental health affects everything, and how this person had intense delusions of things that were not there. I like to play into what they had talked about, fairies, and monsters, I find it fascinating…” Impactful art does not only stem from one’s mind, but from all that one has experienced up until the creation… and even the evolution of the art, whether the pieces are finished or unfinished.

When asked about her style, she responded with, “…my style is messy. Everything is just messy, my clothing style, my art style, everything is jumbled and weird. Art style wise everything is a little semi-realistic, enough to make someone feel uncomfortable,” And that’s the point of art, am I right? Creative processes are always unique and interesting to learn about. How does an artist come to the visualization of their art, and then the production? What does it take to create a freaky baby?! “Hibernation mode,” Gwen explains. “I don’t talk for hours, if I don’t finish whatever I am making in one sitting, it probably will never get done, which is why that one has been sitting there for weeks,” (photo above). However, Gwen’s best work gets done in the lull of a depression era that unfolds onto her. When she is in a better boat, the work is not the same (to her) or does not feel the same, but not being in her head is most important to her in order to achieve the look for the piece she is searching for. Having large emotions and a multitude of thoughts in her head, Gwen uses art as an outlet. Being a bipolar, female artist, she gets the release that she is looking for in a positive and productive way.

There's no doubt that being a female artist is difficult. But adding the location of New York City makes it even harder. “There is a lot of competition for people who are doing similar things, and some who are better, which is totally fine, [have to give] credit where credit is due, but it is difficult to get your name out there and have others listen to you…people will just brush you off,” Gwen went on to elaborate that there is a difficulty in being taken serious as a woman. For a man to have control over his art, to express and create in uncommon ways, is more acceptable than women having the ability to contribute darker art in the community. Artists likewise can find themselves in the turmoil of the city… looking to break into the industry while facing discrimination, or lack of attention and credibility, simply for their gender. Although most are prone to overthinking, Gwen’s advice that she loves to impose on herself, and brings forth to other artists is not overthinking, it gets the best of all of us. To all female artists, she says, “If you like the piece, it’s good. That is all that matters…always be proud of what you have.” Staying true to oneself and acknowledging that the product at hand is your masterpiece and creation, is what art truly is about.

Check out her work and instagram @freakybabiesbygb !!

— GWEN —

— CINTHIA —