These colorful creations are a fun upcycling series I started a few years ago. Each one begins with a plastic animal toy that I then sand down any plastic bumps, ridges, or words with a dremmel. Once smooth, I apply 2 to 3 layers of paint primer before carefully hand-painting my detailed designs on them with acrylic paint. Every animal statuette is initialed on the right-front foot and then sealed with a protective coat of varnish.

Some pieces have add-ons sculpted in clay, like the Dalî-inspired giraffe on fire, some pieces are turned into planters by adding a hole in its back, and some have collaged components like the animals wrapped in print outs of USD bills. This series has a lot of overlap with my Endangered Species series as well.