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Made in the Hudson Valley: Beacon's 'The Dark Artstress' creates ghoulish goodies by hand just in time for Halloween

You can purchase products from "The Dark Artstress" on her Etsy shop or in person at local craft fairs throughout the Hudson Valley.

Katerina Belales

Oct 22, 2024, 11:31 AM

Updated 29 days ago

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Kailey McEneany sits in the spare bedroom of her house, embracing a bit of her dark side through her small business "The Dark Artstress."
"I've been a lover of the horror genre my whole life, so I figured if I'm gonna do anything, it's probably gonna be spooky and Halloween-related," she said.
Despite being a resin artist for her whole life, McEneany didn’t launch her shop until last year. It wasn't until she came across one online video about glow-in-the-dark "ghosties" that everything changed.
"I saw a video online and I was like, ‘Oh, that's cool. I didn't know you could do this with resin,’" she said. "So, I started to experiment with fluid art…and then I started getting more into resin, and that's when I started with the ghosts."
After perfecting her polymer and resin skills through the ghosts, McEneany started making other products, such as suncatcher portraits that pay homage to classic horror films.
"These portraits are actually all hand sculpted...and then I pour the resin into them and paint on top," she explained.
Each ghoulish goody is one of a kind, which customers believe makes them a perfect way to embrace the spooky season.
"They're all kind of different shapes, so some drip a little more [and] some have some more definition," she explained. "That just depends on how long I let them cure for...[but] I was surprised because obviously these are just little ghosts, but people love them. They're so unique. People have said they've never really seen it before. So I'm really happy that people are wanting to have my art in their home."
You can purchase products from "The Dark Artstress" on her Etsy shop or in person at local craft fairs throughout the Hudson Valley. McEneany's next appearance will be at Moon Serpent and Bone in Montgomery on Friday.