Local woman uses ‘creepy art’ as therapy during cancer battle

A local artist has taken her work to the dark side.

Victoria Potter has been an artist for more than 20 years, initially working in mixed media and canvas, but a life-changing cancer diagnosis five years ago forced her to put her gallery work on the back burner — and ultimately saw her move toward the macabre.

As a way to deal with the hurt and anger she felt following her 2017 diagnosis of lymphatic cancer, Potter found a very different way to express herself artistically..

“I got depressed and then I started making creepy dolls,” she said, admitting taking normal items and creating something a little bit more sinister out of them has been very therapeutic.

“Art has always been my therapy. I still wanted to create something and get out the frustration I felt because of the diagnosis,” said Potter.

As she began to share photos of her new creations on her Facebook page, she was surprised by the feedback.

“People started asking how much they were. I wasn’t thinking of selling them, but I decided to see what people thought,” she said.

Seeing the response felt like a bit of a lifeline during a very difficult time in her life, Potter added.

This “creepy art,” which ranges from dolls to furniture, is a far cry from what she had been doing for most of her career.

“I do bears, moose, lots of steampunk work, but this is completely the opposite direction,” she said. “It’s nothing like the other stuff.”

Potter, who finished monthly rounds chemotherapy late last year, said she is now only needing to go for treatment once every three months to help keep the cancer at bay, but still enjoys creating her specialized artwork, which ranges anywhere from “gothic” style to full-on “gore.”

“I have different clientele who just want beautiful but still creepy — so the blacks and whites with some flowers, so I will do that kind of work,” she said. “Then you have the broad spectrum of people that really want the blood, guts and gore.”

And although she still does the odd custom painting, she has yet to return to creating her “old” style of art on a regular basis.

“When you’re in galleries, you have to keep up with things constantly changing and what the curator wants and I can’t do that right now,” Potter said.

One of the best things about this kind of work, she acknowledged, is that no matter what you do, you simply can’t mess it up.

“I bought a porcelain doll and when it came into the house I broke the doll’s leg off — and then when I went to move it I snapped her head off. I thought ‘this is ruined’.”

That accident ultimately gave Potter an even better idea on how to create this latest piece.

“Now she’s beheaded. She’s holding her own head and then I gave her crutches,” she said. “You can’t screw anything up. You just get more creative. You have to reach into your imagination and try to figure out how to salvage anything that you ruin.

“Even if something you are painting is not right then you just re-create it. Nothing is ruined (and) that’s what I like about it more, because when you are doing canvas work you have to be right on.”

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