Art of the Skull

Art of the Skull

250 fun and fabulous depictions of a pop-culture icon From Day of the Dead to motorcycles and the “sickest headphones”―skulls rule! Laugh at Death over and over again through more than 250 fun, fabulous pictures of skulls in action―on the dance floor, in the parlor, zooming out of the garage, dangling from silver chains. These artisan-designed skulls range from heavy metal to granny-sweet dancing skeletons for wearing, decorating homes, scaring up shivers, and attracting a gawking crowd at every turn of the head. Mary Emmerling is the best-selling author of more than 25 books. She was the creative director of Country Home Magazine for ten years. She hosted HGTV’s Country At Home show, worked as the decorating editor for House Beautiful, and was editor-in-chief of her own Mary Emmerling Country Magazine for the New York Times. She now lives in Santa Fe. She authored Art of the Cross and Art of Turquoise with Jim Arndt. Jim Arndt is the author of How to Be a Cowboy and photographed Art of the Cross, Art of Turquoise, and several Cowboy Boot books. He lives in Santa Fe. One of the best-known names in American decorating, Mary Emmerling is the author of twenty books, many of them part of her American Country series. She is creative director of Country Home magazine and host of the Country at Home series on HGTV as well as a designer and collector. She lives in Des Moines, Iowa; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Phoenix, Arizona. Jim Arndt is the author of How to Be a Cowboy and coauthor with Mary Emmerling of Art of the Cross, Art of Turquoise, Art of the Skull and Art of the Heart. He coauthored several Cowboy Boot books. He lives in Santa Fe. Skulls, skulls, skulls―they are everywhere! Of course, I first saw them on Johnny Depp―I love to see what he is wearing on a TV show, movie, walking down the street―in my dreams! I guess I had been collecting for about ten to fifteen years when I first decided I wanted to do a book on skulls. My first skull was a bracelet, then a belt buckle, a ring, and on and on. I only collect “happy skulls”―no depressing ones for me. When did skulls become art? Apparently, collecting skulls has been going on for quite some time. I have been surprised at how many collectors there are and who does collect skulls. They are quite the conversation piece, just like crosses or turquoise. Skulls are on tennis shoes, bracelets, scarves, rings, necklaces, pendants, etc. Lately children's clothes have put a broad smile on my face. One of my favorites is a turquoise skull from Doug Magnus. It was a ring, but I asked him to convert it to a pendant. I wear it almost every day!