Get to know me

I’m Erin. I am a 34 year old artist, mother of two, and pediatric nurse. I’m a Disney enthusiast and lover of Walt Disney World. I started painting jean jackets and pant pockets as a way to incorporate my favorite characters into my wardrobe for the parks. In my opinion, denim paintings are the perfect addition to any set of Mickey ears.

IMPORTANCE OF WEARABLE ART

As previously mentioned, I am a pediatric nurse. Last year, one of my patients had a hemorrhagic stroke, which means she had bleeding in her brain. She needed an emergency craniectomy and had to have a portion of skull removed in order to evacuate her brain bleed. As part of her recovery, she needed to wear a helmet when she was out of bed to protect her head from further injury. She was told that she would need to wear this helmet until her brain had healed enough for her skull bone to be reinserted.

She hated her helmet and how “boring” it looked. Stitch was her favorite character and she asked if I’d paint her helmet. I used the cheap paints, sharpies, and plastic paintbrushes that we had available on the pediatric floor to make some improvements on her helmet.

Six months later, when she no longer needed the helmet, her mother returned the heltmet to me and asked me to make it beautiful again for her.

These are some “after” photos of the helmet after I repainted it for my patient after she had recovered and no longer needed it. She wanted to keep it as a memento to remember how strong she was and all she had been through.

Her mother asked that I incorporate Wonder Woman elements along with Stitch as a testament to her strength over the course of her recovery. I, also, included elements of Ohana in reference to their family and all that they had been through over the past six months.

It was an incredible blessing to be put into each other’s lives. I was already on this journey to create wearable art for myself and to create this portfolio but had never painted anything like this before. Both my patient and her mother told me how important the Stitch painting on her helmet was to her and how it helped her on her road to recovery.

WEARABLE ART

Disney characters bring a smile to your face. Whether it’s Stitch giving you strength in the face of recovery or a child’s face lighting up when they meet their favorite character in the park, these characters are loved by many.

Many Disney fans value self expression and dress with their favorite characters in mind as they dress for the parks.

Hand painted apparel gives Disney fans the opportunity for self expression and allows them bring their love of the parks home with them.

Even Donald was a fan of my Gran Fiesta jacket!

I brought some of my favorite characters to life and made them apart of my park wardrobe.

My love of painting Disney characters is not just exclusive to wearable art. I love creating pieces that takes the magic home with you. I often paint things to display around my home.

To the left, is a painting of The Little Mermaid that I completed on plywood. Can you find the hidden Mickey?

JACKETS

ADDITIONAL WORK

Address

104 Highland Ave

Leominster, MA 01453

erin.makes.magic

email

Erin.mangsen@gmail.com

I'd love to hear from you