Meet the woman behind this hilariously disturbing art

Visit Facebook Marketplace on any normal day and you’ll see a laundry list of homes for rent, used vehicles for sale, and parents peddling children’s clothes.

But a recent addition to the home goods section has piqued the interest of quite a few curious consumers.

Wedged between an ad for a chest of drawers and a bed frame are nightmare fuelling pieces of art that draw both allure and alarm.

Named Eyelash Elvis, Hoity-toity Hailey, Biker Wife Wendy and Barking Bart, the clay handy work of Hailey Welch is advertised alongside obscure descriptions.

“Absolutely LOVES lady bugs and avocados,” Hoity-Toity Hailey is billed as. “Her sass and Kylie Jenner lip gloss will have all your house guests in awe as she lights up your children's room or dinner table.”

Eyelash Elvis, on the other hand, “has a burning passion for ice skating” and can be “hung above your bed to keep guard while you sleep at night.”

Welch admits the pieces are creepy, no thanks to the bulging eyes, hair extensions and fake eyelashes, but loves them all the same. The works are less intentional, and more born from a cobbled mess of beginner pottery wheel failures.

The clay pieces only found their way online thanks to a not far-fetched underappreciation from her roommates.

“It was a joke,” Welch told Kelowna10. “My roommates hid them on me because they were so creepy.”

While browsing the often-serious Marketplace, Welch thought, ‘why not brighten some days’ and posted the pieces online. It came with an instant and overwhelming response. Hundreds of comments poured in with a range of reaction.

“It's hilarious, disturbing, and amazing,” one user wrote, while another sarcastically praised the work.

But Welch said several buyers have approached her, with a few even requesting custom pieces.

“It’s wild,” she laughed.

When not maintaining Canadian Pacific rail lines, she directs her energy towards obscure art, not limited to the clay masterpieces.

“I like colour. I like weird. And I don’t like boring,” she said. “The weirder the better. I get a lot of ideas from festivals. The weirdness attracts me and whatever I make seems to attract the right people as well.”

Welch started to commit more heavily to her art in 2020, admitting severe ADHD stymied her ability to complete a task.

“But now I’m medicated and can get stuff done. I have all these amazing ideas and I want to try different outlets for different things. And I am able to piece everything together and add and add and add,” she said. “I am always thinking about things I can create. I enjoy it. That’s my Zen.”

Inside her room, which has a ceiling covered in records, bright yellow walls, and a plethora of dog-themed art, sits her other creations. The most notable, a set of hydro-dipped mannequin legs that acts as a plant holder.

It’s all for her own pleasure, she says, admitting she could never pursue art full time.

Her message to others working to balance art and work: Just do it.

“Make things. Ask questions. Put them on Marketplace as a joke and see if people like it or not.”