CLEVER COTTONTAIL

I’m Chelsea Schiavone (she/they) and I’m the artist behind Clever Cottontail. I work primarily in watercolor, gouache, ink, and love to create illustrative pieces full of bold color and whimsicality.

 

I was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. During the global Covid-19 pandemic, I left my long time career in defense contracting to create art full time. Like many, I realized during the lockdowns where my passion and happiness could truly be found. Some in my life have told me that I still have a childlike sense of wonder towards the natural world, and that outlook on life has fueled many of my artistic pursuits. 

 

When I'm not making art, you'll find me doing typical grandpa activities, like cultivating my native plant garden, reading a book on the porch, watching and maintaining my many bird feeders, or crocheting a new sweater for my dog. 

 

Through my work I aim to showcase the way I see the world. I often find myself feeling pulled between walking companionably hand-in-hand with my demons, and trying to escape them. As an artist living with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, my work explores the dichotomy of my deepest pain, and the beauty I have discovered in reclaiming everything that was taken from me.   Each piece is inspired by my desire to convey an emotion or powerful feeling I have moved through in my journey of healing from childhood trauma. I am not afraid of the darkness anymore, from it come the most colorful dreams, filled with hope.