▼ Culture some free time due to the pandemic, but his interest in art started long before last year. Thrift Creeper says he’s been inter- ested in art since infancy. And still, his ar- tistic process is flexible, to say the least. In just nine months, Thrift Creeper has amassed over 2,000 followers, but doesn’t take commissions or orders — for the most part. His only accepted commission came from a fifth-grade class. He read them a book about accepting monsters as they are and the students asked for a monster of their own — a five-eyed penguin named Blueberry. “I say no to commissions, but I couldn’t say no to that. A bunch of 10-year-olds re- questing monsters?” he says with a laugh. Thrift Creeper’s passion for the ghoul- ish and spooky has been present for nearly as long as his interest in art in general. He loves horror movies and calls Ed Roth one of his biggest artistic inspirations. Thrift Creeper Freaky Finds How Phoenix’s Thrift Creeper turns second- hand figurines into ghoulish works of art. BY GANNON HANEVOLD ing a replacement or a refund, but a reac- tion would be nice. Thrift Creeper, who chooses not to re- veal his real name, sets the item, once a gentle ballerina figurine, back on the shelf where he found it. Except now, the dancer en and loo A 26 is named Karen and looks nothing like her original self. Gone are her arms, legs, and red hair. Karen’s back is ribbed, pink, and porous. She has a body encompassed by a long, vertical mouth with 16 sharp teeth and beady black eyes. Put simply: Karen is creepy. The artist behind her appearance wouldn’t have it any other way. Thrift Creeper is a Phoenix artist gain- ing traction on Instagram for his anoma- lous and accessible approach to painting and sculpting. He travels around to thrift stores in the Valley, purchasing small figu- rines and repurposing them as spooky one- t a local Goodwill, Phoenix artist Thrift Creeper slinks inside with a knick-knack he purchased there just weeks earlier. He’s not seek- of-a-kind collectibles. After finishing the project, Thrift Creeper returns his new cre- ation to a thrift store and shares the loca- tion on social metion on social media. His follo His followers will compete to find the figurine first, the figurine firs with some even arriving just five minutes after he drops it off. e minutes “If any- body from any background or economic sta- tus can find a om an piece and own a piece of art that somebody put a lot of time into, regardless of age, gender, race, any- thing, that’s just amazing to me,” he says. costs Thrift Creeper be- tween $2 and $10, but he asks that whoe he asks that whoever finds it donates to the store or charitable or- Each piece typically ts Thrift Creeper be $2 and $10, but ganization wherganization where it was lo- cated. “I just like to have fun,” he said. “People ask me if I have a plan when I’m making things and I don’t. Usually, I just play around like a 4-year-old with Play-Doh un- til I think something looks interesting.” Thrift Creeper first started this adven- ture in December 2020 as a way to occupy “My earliest memories when I was about 4 was just being obsessed with Frankenstein,” he says. “And that just stuck with me.” Now, making monsters of his own, Thrift Creeper is finding new ways to escape mundanity, still working a full-time job and pursuing his figurine art on the side. But that contrast can make for a complicated experience. tuck with me.” his own, Thrift finding time job and pursuing h e side. But that contr “What’s unfortunate is it does make the other side of your life more difficult,” he said. “When you start this thing that brings you so much joy and passion, they and passion, the other thing looks a little said. “When y other thing looks bit dimmer.” to turn this into time gig do Thrift Creeper hopes to turn this into a full- time gig down the eeper hopes selves. But for now, the artist is just en- joying the “mis- chief.” t en- “I think that’s the word that best fits what I feel and what I want in my pieces,,” said Thrift Creeper. ” eeper Thrift Creeper captures hearts. After dropping his monster “It’s just mischief, some- thing that’s going to stir the pot a little bit pot a little bit, anything to throw people off-kilter from their usual expectations.” It’s in that obscurity that eeper captures heart ything t w people off named Karen at Goodwill, Thriften at Goodwill, Thrift Creeper stuck around for a bit to see who might notice. An older man took interest and called a friend over to check it out. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen at a Goodwill,” the man exclaimed. “And that is the best compliment that I think I can ever get,” Thrift Creeper says. road, aspiring to cre- ate his own line of figurines that othersnes that others can paint them- es. B rt this SEPT 23RD – SEPT 29TH, 2021 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
