Building a Better Mousetrap

Art takes many forms, and is not usually created in a vacuum. We who create in this modern age of the Internet are constantly looking for images and articles to inspire us in our work, be it writing, music, painting or sculpture.

So when I logged in to Hauntspace yesterday to catch up on a few things, I was really pleased to see the artwork of Scott Campbell of Mama Tried Studios. In their words, "Mama Tried is a creative movement, fueled by a constantly evolving team and alliances, and guided by the vision and art direction of Scott Campbell."

Scott is one of those truly gifted people whose creativity manifests itself in many different forms. He is an art director whose advertising artwork has graced such companies as Camel and Yellowtail. He has also designed for ZZ Top and FEARnet.

Additionally, Scott is a tattoo artist who does both his own and old-school designs. What interested me most, was his leatherwork. Scott tattoos such things as chairs and leather pillows, which take him just as long as tattooing a person's skin. The woodwork on the chairs alone is graceful, and adding his intricate artwork to the cushions brings those pieces together to make an eye-catching whole. I would, sadly, ruin them by drooling all over them.

He has a line of laser laptop designs that would easily grace any steampunk aficionado's, and "burn books" that almost make you sad to open the cover to read the contents. And who on earth would think to create a design on the humble mousetrap?

I would love to have a table of his in my home office. It would make the lonely task of writing a more fun prospect.


I'd like to thank Spooky Madison from HauntSpace for posting this artist's work for our inspiration.

I'd also like to thank Othelo Gervacio from Mama Tried Studios for his quick response to my e-mail and for the pictures you're enjoying right now. Please, remember these images belong to Mama Tried Studios and Scott Campbell and are being published here with their very kind permission.

Enjoy!