Sonja Howard - Creature Artist

Sonja grew up in the Australian rainforest where her imagination was set alight by the weird and wonderful creatures around her. As a child, she was intensely passionate about her interests and relentless in her curiosity. This lead to many adventures–and more than a few misadventures.

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Sonja began selling her artwork at age eight at the local markets, and had her work first exhibited in local galleries during high school. Before long, she had opened an online store. Her creatures have landed all over the world, and have been featured in places like the Royal Australian Mint, North American Bigfoot Center, and Wētā Workshop Unleashed.

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In 2020, Sonja moved to New Zealand. As well as creating her own artwork, she works in the NZ film industry at Wētā Workshop in the prosthetics department and artist stage. Her debut solo exhibition, Impossible Things, launched in January 2022. She is also a World of Wearable Arts 2024 finalist. 

 

From creatures to costumes, she is constantly working on a variety of weird and wonderful projects. In fact, she is most likely hard at work making monsters as you read this. Or walking her dogs.

 

...Or feeding her colony of flesh-eating beetles.

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Sonja is passionate about the environment, and queer and disability advocacy. Through her work, she hopes to promote a more sustainable and equitable society.

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