Biography

 

My name is Lillian Minix and I am a pyrography artist and licensed taxidermist working mainly with bone and flora. I am originally from Salem, Virginia but moved to Emory, Virginia in 2011 where I graduated with Bachelor's degrees in Philosophy and Fine Art from Emory & Henry College in May of 2015. I currently reside in Abingdon, Virginia with my husband, Brett, and our black lab, Rixey. I work part-time at William King Museum of Art in Abingdon as a Marketing Associate when I am not working on my pyrography art and taxidermy.

 

Having lived in the Appalachian region all my life, I am familiar with the arts and crafts of the culture and heritage in the area. I grew up working in ceramics, wood carving, and salvage sculpture because it was a vital part of Appalachian culture. Woodburning is a common art form in Appalachia as well, among others like basket weaving, quilt making, and barn painting, and has been for hundreds of years. The craft is very popular because of easy access to many types of resources, like most Appalachian crafts. Deciduous and evergreen trees in the region like birch, basswood, pine, and poplar are easily found in the thick forests of Southwest Virginia, so woodburning is a prominent craft of the region.

 

Though woodburning has been recognized as an Appalachian craft for hundreds of years, it is only recently being widely accepted as a fine art form and not simply a craft. I work the way I do so that others may acknowledge the fine art principles that can be found in woodburning. I include fine detail in my works and mount them for gallery display so that they might be seen as formal fine art rather than only backcountry craft.

 

I have been woodburning for several years, but only recently began working on bone. I have always been very fond of working with bone in my artwork and have been a collector of biological specimens like pressed flowers, dried bugs, shells, and seeds all my life. My inspirations for my designs come from my interest in natural things as well. My designs often include floral bouquets and I use lots of real flowers and bugs as reference when I am drawing or sketching, most from my personal collections.

 

I work in small scale taxidermy as well, focusing on European Mounting, the mounting process that displays the skull and horns or antlers only of an animal. I am a licensed Virginia Commonwealth taxidermist.