The Wolf in DebiLynn Fendley

There's a saying I'm fond of, “lions and tigers may be powerful, but the wolf doesn't perform in the circus”. I hope I am always a wolf — the Native America symbol of the gatekeeper to and the teacher of all things spiritual.

Words to live by: "The art is the most important thing." This is what a dear sculptor friend told me at the entrance to what was and has become a very dark time for me. When I am panicking and terribly sad, those are the words I hang on to. I've found that when I'm working in the studio, everything else pales. Art is my drug.

About Three Little Pigs featured left

Since childhood, I've been fascinated with the sideshow. By the time I was born, human sideshow freaks had almost been eliminated, replaced by animals, many of them suffering and in poor condition: two-nosed cows that could barely eat, sheep with multiple extra limbs, two-headed snakes, weird animal hybrids, and two headed cadavers of all kinds housed in formaldehyde jars. Thankfully, such animals are now much more humanely treated, and the sideshow has all but been eliminated — however, the vision of it haunts me till this day.

What am I presently inspired by? I have to go back to my artist statement: My work comes from the premise that I can — and do — use my art as a means of social and spiritual exploration. I work with cultural subgroups, and the process of forming bonds with them and of listening to their stories and ideas is as much a part of my art as the end product. I work predominately with male models, exploring the objectification of the male nude and the discrepancies in modern culture between the acceptance of the female nude as opposed to the often shunned male nude. In addition, I also espouse the validity of Southern art and culture and its presence as a viable force in American art. The work I produce — prints, paintings, drawings, and photographs — is a direct result of the way the interaction with my models change me as a person, either strengthening my ideas or altering them altogether.

DebiLynn Fendley is a featured artist in our current exhibition, Creatures-real and imagined.