LivingDeadGirlNicole

Artist Nicole (Birmingham) Garcia AKA Living Dead Girl Nicole has been doing art since she was a young gelfling. Walking in her Dad's artistic footsteps and learning skills from him at a young age, she knew her passion for creating ran deep in her blood. As she got older she began to realize her  admiration for the strange and unusual could also be her inspiration.

When she was little she would enter and win almost every coloring contest imaginable but was especially proud of the time she won tickets to one of her favorite places... the circus! Even more so when they presented the winners with their prizes in the ring! So proud, that her Dad kept that winning piece which she still has today. When she was not coloring she was the type of child that would be day dreaming of the day when her "I Wish" would call on Jareth to take her away to his castle beyond the Goblin City or when Pee Wee would get her letter and invite her to his Playhouse in Puppetland. During playtime she would often use her markers to change her doll's blonde hair into different colors of the rainbow and when her friends would talk about wanting to be ballerinas (she tried it and hated it) or growing up to look like Barbie she was the one that wanted to be Jem (even though she couldn't carry a tune) and grow up to look like her Dad's cardboard cut out of Elvira. 

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Nicole picked up early on that creating was not just putting pencil on paper, but a tool to release and express  herself beyond what some considered norm. In 5th grade when all the other kids in her class did their project drawings of pretty birds, Nicole's owl in mid flight hunting a mouse was the one that stood out  amongst all of them. Especially when they were all displayed for Parent-Teacher Night. The attention she got from something that came so natural to her really opened her eyes to what she was capable of with her artistic abilities.

In Junior High Nicole started to feel a deeper appreciation for music as a form of escape and it started to inspire her artistically. When her art teacher assigned the class a project to do of a black and white graphite pencil drawing in the subject mature of their choice, she decided to do a portrait in memory of Kurt Cobain. It was her very first attempt at doing a portrait and even though she knew her teacher wouldn't put it in the showcase (due to the controversy surrounding his recent suicide and drug use) she challenged herself to do it anyways. Later she was pulled into the Principal's office to discuss her work, only to find out that he was not questioning her subject matter but was impressed by it so much that he gave her a Student of the Week Award and requested that the art teacher display it.

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In High School Nicole challenged another art teacher when she did a very tripped out self portrait with various things she loved incorporated into her face, hair and the background. Her art teacher really wanted to enter it into a gallery show and told her that the little cartoonish alien she drew hiding in her hair would not be a fan with the judges and suggested that she take it out. The Jane Lane in her stuck to her guns and she didn't change her vision and submitted it for the show (cartoon alien and all). Not only was it accepted by the gallery but she also won the Congressional High School Art Competition. A judge from the show actually came up to her to tell her how impressed they all were with her piece and that they couldn't take their eyes off all the little details she hidden throughout it. The award was later announced in her local town and city newspapers.

Now that Nicole is "grown up" she ironically turned out to be a little of both Elvira and Jem (minus the singing) after all. If its spooky and covered in glitter she probably owns it or she probably made it!

Nicole uses her creativity to work in various mediums and has become known for her portrait drawings, wearable Dead Girl Decay accessories and her creepy corpsified creations. She also enjoys just about anything that gets her creative blood flowing as long as it allows her to stay true to who she is as an artist. She continues to be drawn (pun intended) to finding the beauty in the odd and macabre and lives her life still hoping that the mythical worlds of Jim Henson and Tim Burton may actually still turn out to be real one day. A dusting of their magic and how they have inspired her can be found in many of her creations. 

Nicole can often be found geeking out and networking at horror movie and comic conventions where at times she gives back to those who inspired her work by gifting them her original pieces. She then writes about these incredible encounters in her blog for her "Freaky Fanatic" followers to enjoy. Nicole currently uses her out-of-the-box thinking and creative skills as a full time Marketing Assistant and for using her talents to raise money for good causes through benefits, fundraisers and online auctions.

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Nicole is a prime example that no matter how sideways people may look at you or how they think you or the subject matter of your art should be, there are no limits to what a creative mind can do if you stay true to who you are and stay passionate about what inspires you. 

Shop Nicole's artwork at: https://www.amazon.com/handmade/Artwork-By-Living-Dead-Girl-Nicole