Adrian Amiro-Wilson is a macabre artist and jewelry maker out of Texas, who is also a regular contributor at our very own Horror To Culture website. She’s also become a friend over the past year, and today we sit down to discuss her creative insprations, what 2025 has in store, and pay deep respect to the visionary impact of David Lynch.
MAD: Adrian, thanks for taking some time to talk with HORROR TO CULTURE today! First off, and sorry to start with a sad topic, but we unfortunately lost the visionary filmmaker David Lynch on January 16th, after he was forced to evacuate his home due to the California wildfires. Please share your own experience and influences with the works of David Lynch, and how his death has impacted you?
ADRIAN: David Lynch is part of the reason I am the creative person I am today. When I was in 4th grade I moved to New Mexico with my mother and sister. We lived in a hotel room for awhile that actually had a tv, and I started watching this strange and beautiful show called Twin Peaks. I was in 4th grade, and I was a really weird kid. I had already decided I was a monster hunter and would research and look for proof of supernatural things, I even recorded supernatural stories of my fellow classmates…I was weird. When I discovered Twin Peaks, Agent Cooper became one of my first TV heroes. He was intelligent, kind, and totally accepting of the weird magical things around us. It was my first favorite show.
As I got older, my friend Katie Kelton and I would have weirdly themed movie weekends, and I was introduced to Lost Highway. The music, the imagery, the use of color, all of this just haunted me, permeated my soul. I’m pretty sure that as when I knew I was a Lynch girl. All of his films and images helped my brain see the world we live in as this constantly magical mystery hidden behind everyday conversations and dreams. Sometimes I still walk in to places and can almost hear the Angelo Badalamenti music. You probably can not convince me I’m not living in one of his stories.
Later on I became both an artist and jewelry maker, and my life became even more entwined in his works. I have made jewelry for Mariqueen Reznor, I have made jewelry for and editorials with Chrysta Bell (who is possibly one of the kindest, dreamiest, and beautiful humans I have met in my life). My photographer friend Candice Ghai and I seriously always end up doing things that connect to Lynch. It’s our constant joke. Twin Peaks: The Return is exceptionally special to me, not just because I have worked with a few of the actresses…..but because it was so completely personal. I had been taking care of my ex’s grandmother while she was in hospice. When I got home from her funeral, the first two episodes had been released that day. David Lynch had kept his promise to every Twin Peaks fan, he brought us back to that world 25 years later. The Return was so incredibly personal to me, It is the ghosts of everything I have ever loved. He did not replace David Bowie ( which is the only other loss like this I have felt ), he honored him as a spirit. As I said earlier, I worked with some of the amazing humans on the show, and somehow Agent Cooper ended up in Odessa, TX, Where I went to college and was convinced by the great Pam Price to start painting. My hero since 4th grade was in the place I call “where dreams go to die.”
I’m not going to lie, I’m crying as I write this. At one of the hardest times in my life, a divorce where I wasn’t really allowed to paint for 10 years, I watched a series of videos he did when I screwed my courage to the sticking place and left, where Lynch said to pour all your anger and sorrow in to your art so that it could live in the work and not in your soul. I took that so seriously, I haven’t stopped painting my emotions to this day. Even this week I did something brave and got to be part of a film with Caleb Landry Jones ( who is in Twin Peaks:The Return). I sat in the room laughing to myself because in the end, it always comes back to David Lynch.
Two days later, Lynch was gone, although I don’t feel he really is right now. I honestly have no idea who I would be without this creative genius of a man. I always felt he was the only person whose brain I could relate to. I am always going to laugh at fish in percolators, I’m always going to see my coffee as a gift, and moving forward, I hope everyone who loved him keeps creating beautiful and strange things. Our future is so bright we need sunglasses and a weather report.
MAD: On the topic of influences, you are a very talented artist and jewelry maker. Who are some of your artistic influences, and how did you get started on this career path?
ADRIAN: Wow…okay, my influences. I am obsessed with Pre-Raphaelite art. I love how Rossetti, Burne-Jones, De Morgan, Millais, Waterhouse, Hughes, Siddal, and Wells Boyce used romantic imagery and literature to inspire some seriously magical paintings imbued with symbolism and color. Art inspires art, as dreams inspire dreams. I believe in dreams, I once got to be on the panel of the International Summit of Art and Dreams in 2020 where I talked about how my dreams found interpretation in my paintings. I'm also very inspired by costumes and jewelry in films. Watching the new Egger’s Nosferatu had this moment where Ellen wears this broach with a Victorian evil eye for protection. Everything I make has meaning, from jewelry to paintings, although I don’t believe in explaining it. Art is one thing to the creator, but after, what it means to the viewer that really sees it, both of those things belong to the piece.
As far as how I got started, I was a teenager who wrote really bad poetry and thought she was going to teach English. I found this amazing book called Sandman: Dream Hunters, by Neil Gaiman ( who has broken me more than I can express ) and Yoshitaka Amano. The dreamy watercolors were the most magical things I had ever seen. I was taking some seriously hardcore classes when Warren Taylor, the Watercolor professor at Midland College talked me into taking a watercolor class to take the edge off of all the crazy papers I was writing. After two days, I would put on my favorite vampire film, Immortality (or Tears of the Crocodile) and paint every night. By the time I transferred to UTPB (University of the Permian Basin), Pam Price spent two semesters with me and convinced me to switch my major to art. That woman knew me before I did. It was my junior year of college and that woman would deal with me having breakdowns in her office, seriously crying “ What am I going to do with my life? It’s not like I’m going to be an artist! Who does that????” The answer was me. I do that. Life is funny.
As far as jewelry goes, I started my Shalottlilly label in college as well. My uncle died my last year of college and my aunt took apart this crazy trunk covered in costume jewelry. The week he died she showed up to my apartment and handed me all of the broken costume jewelry from the trunk and said “you’re an artist, do something with it”. Thus, Shalottlilly was born. I named my jewelry line after the Lady of Shalott and the first thing other than Lancelot she saw with her own eyes.
MAD: Over the past several months you’ve started contributing some great articles and interviews for our HORROR TO CULTURE website! You have admitted that the writing aspect of things is fairly new to you. How do you balance all of your various creative endeavors, and has writing become a useful outlet for you?
ADRIAN: I LOVE HORROR. I have loved horror since I was 5. I have done so much crazy research and have had so many adventures all in the name of horror. I have seen films that have challenged me, read books that have made me question things, but Horror to Culture gives me a place to really see and talk about the things I love. I am definitely not in college anymore, and it didn’t take me that long (actually longer than most probably do) to realize, I’m not good at words. I relate to things in images. However, finding the words and critical thinking for Horror to Culture is one of the most passionate things I have done in a long time. As far as balance…..let's face it, there is no balance, only Zuul. As a creative creature, you do what you feel. I believe in magic, and balance feels like one of those concepts that everyone has heard of, but no one has seen.
MAD: You recently co-founded a new podcast/vidcast called MONSTER FANGS. Please tell us a little bit more about that, and how it came about.
ADRIAN: My dad died this year, it was a weird thing and I got to go back to Massachusetts, where I’m from, and when I came back, I had these sort of beautiful, scary ideas for my life. I decided to do all the brave things I have been afraid of my whole life when I got back to Texas. I answered a call for a podcast discussing Poe and all other kinds of things. Daniel Sokoloff was interviewing people for the Demon Toast podcast and, although scary, I did my interview, I knew immediately we would be best friends. We discuss literature, Christmas folklore, and tarot decks. After discussing all this and many other magical stories that shall be told another time…..we created Monster Fangs to discuss our love for all things monsters. This journey has taken me down some really hard roads that I feel are breaking me out of my folklore scope and allowing me to see real world implications.
MAD: You had a pretty busy convention and event schedule in 2024, displaying and selling your artwork. Anything exciting that you’re looking forward to in 2025?
ADRIAN: Well, I have signed up for Yellow City Comic Con, Lubbock Con, Ama-con, Bomb City con, Bizzare Bizzare, a few Goth Swap meets, and Bad Magik Musik festival. Cons are so much fun.
MAD: I have to ask, because I’ve interviewed a few other artists before, and this is currently a “hot button” topic. What are your thoughts on the use of AI, particularly when it comes to artwork? What are your thoughts on the emergence of AI technology in General?
ADRIAN: OMG you went there! I mean, at what point does Skynet take over? Honestly, I'm sure AI has some practical value….however, art is complicated. I have seen some weird beautiful shit created by AI …..but seriously, it has zero feeling. I did this weird thing where I took AI images and created art from them. Art always finds a way, being human is art, art is being human. We might have computers that create art….but without feeling, it's empty. Art always finds away.
MAD: What are your personal artistic and creative goals over the next year?
ADRIAN: Goals are like that really big thing I’m scared to do. Expectations are where hope really goes to die. I still want to create jewelry for a film. Films are magic and inspire people. I’d like to do something for Fangoria someday. Really, everything I do is so fulfilling and exciting I try not to want much.
MAD: Do you have any advice for other independent artists and creative individuals who might be struggling to find their voice and audience?
ADRIAN: Do what you feel. Put everything you are, everything you imagine, just everything in to your work. Trust yourself, have fun, and never stay stagnant. We are the choices we make in life and art. If something scares you, it probably matters, Always do what matters to you.
MAD: Any horror films you’re really looking forward to in 2025?
ADRIAN: Neverland, Death of a Unicorn (I'm pretty sure this movie was made for me), Presence looks really pretty, Frankenstein, The Bride, and Dracula; a Love Tale (with Caleb Landry Jones, who was in Twin Peaks…I sat in a room with Dracula while he preached at me). My life is so weird.
MAD: What was the last truly great horror novel that you’ve read?
ADRIAN: Lisey’s Story by Stephen King, that book became super personal to me.
MAD: How do you stay motivated to keep painting and putting out content? Also, what kind of music do you listen to? Favorite bands and musicians?
ADRIAN: Motivation is one day at a time. Even if you don’t feel like something, try. I love that I get to create. I have feelings I want to put out in to the world. I do get burnout, but as soon as I hit it find things that get me excited. As for as music…..I will always love David Bowie. Bowie is king and has always made my life magical in moments where I thought it was impossible. I also love Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails (who did the sound track for Lost Highway by David Lynch…and also had a song by David Bowie…my life always comes back to this), I love Concrete Blonde (Bloodletting is magical), Annie Lennox (who did my favorite, Love Song for a Vampire), I also love The Cure, and Peter Cetera.
MAD: What truly scares and disturbs you?
ADRIAN: Jack the Ripper and throat slittings. Also, I get scared sometimes that I’m not a real person….but that is another story and should be told another time. Mullholand Dr is one of the most terrifying films I have ever seen for that reason.
MAD: Adrian, we're kinda kindred souls in the fact that we're both extreme horror buffs who do our best to keep up on the latest films, not only to enjoy them, but to evaluate and review them. I'm sure it's safe to say that, so far in 2025, we share in the fact that one of our favorite new releases so far has been RED ROOMS, which came out in 2023, but just hit SHUDDER here in the states. RED ROOMS is a very provocative crime thriller that keeps you guessing and thinking about it long after the final credits have rolled. There are a lot of open ended interpretations to this film, with many viewers dissecting it over on Reddit. Having had a little time to reflect on it, how do you interpret the message, and finale, of RED ROOMS?
ADRIAN: Red Rooms is a morbid retelling of the Lady of Shalott. Yes, the same Lady of Shalott I mentioned earlier, the one I named my jewelry line after. The story of The Lady of Shalott is about a girl trapped in a tower only allowed to see the world through reflections from a mirror. If she looks at the world without the mirrors she will die. She weaves beautiful tapestries from the reflections until one day, seeing Lancelot, The Lady of Shalott decides to see him with her own eyes. This choice seals her fate. Realizing her death is imminent, She decides to see as much of the world as she can. Kelly Ann is a woman who doesn’t really interact with the world around her. She develops an unhealthy obsession with a killer on trial. Instead of viewing the world through mirrors, she uses her computers to see the world, which of course have images of a The Lady of Shalott painted by John Atkinson Grimshaw.
After gaining some empathy through her interactions with Clementine, she decides to put herself into the story. She dresses like one of the victims in court, and gains access to the missing video of the victim's death. She saves this information and leaves it for the victim’s mother. She very disturbingly takes pictures of herself dressed as the victim in her room before leaving. Like I said, she is making herself part of the story. With the evidence she left for the girl’s mother, The killer is convicted. Kelly Ann is the Lady of Shalott.
MAD: Adrian, thanks so much again for the discussion, and for your continued contributions at HORROR TO CULTURE! It’s much appreciated, and you always provide some interesting content! In close, is there anything you’d like to leave the readers with today?
ADRIAN: I have learned so much working on articles for HORROR TO CULTURE. It is amazing to celebrate my love for all things horror here. Life is crazy and beautiful, guys. Do the scary things, see the beauty in everything and remember, “your future’s so bright you gotta wear shades”.
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Michael A. Dyer is the host of the HORROR TO CULTURE podcast, vidcast, and website.
