User:Sharona Deveneaux

Hello...My name is Sharona Deveneaux. I was born and raised in California. I moved to New Orleans in the 80's where I still reside as an artist and I am currently writing my memoirs, "Two Bits of Silver and a Mouthful of Lies" http://sharona-deveneaux.webs.com

I have always been an admirer of anything dark and edgy, odd or disturbing. In my 20's I became intrigued by French and German antique dolls from the 1800's. They were so spectacular. Old, but timeless, enchanting with their life like glass eyes and their hauntingly beautiful stare. They had that wonderful creepiness that I find so appealing. I then found out I could make reproductions of these dolls.

Since then I have made and sold over 200 dolls. Many were child size and were dressed in actual antique children's clothing. Among my clients were Stevie Nick of Fleetwood Mac and Yvonne Le Fleur of New Orleans. Those were the pre-Katrina days.

Then came the post-Katrina days. By then my husband had been killed and our home had been completely burned down by arsonists and there wasn't any insurance for either. I lost my studio and my personal doll collection in the fire. People wonder about the name of my studio, "Stella's House of Dirty Children",http://stellashouseofdirtychildren.webs.com wonder no more, and there's more to that story, but I guess you will just have to read my book. Gradually I became insanely depressed and gave up on dolls and drifted into killer clown and serial killer art. From there came the suicide art...

Gradually things started changing in my life and here I am in 2011. This has been a most incredible and bountiful year for me. I have everything I could possibly want or need. I am currently working on a collection of portraits on aluminum sheet metal, screwed onto big pieces of wood and there is a huge Frank the Bunny on an old rusty, graffiti-ized corrugated piece of sheet metal. There will also be a more dramatic collection of portraits that will be framed with a Gothic flare.

Sharona Deveneaux New Orleans 2011