Cheryl Burkart of Off My Rocker

"I like to joke that I was born with a pencil in my hand and was drawing before I could write. But that's not so far from the truth. I set out to be an artist but took a little detour into health care first. After many years of denying my muse an outlet, I began creating and selling at local craft shows. The muse took me down many paths: wood crafts, sewing, rug hooking and others. I must confess, I am a technique junky and always looking for something new to teach myself. About 11 years ago, I decided to give the muse full reign and quit my day job. I thought, I must be off my rocker to do this and this little business was born.

I love and am inspired by all things vintage. My paper mache figures are mostly made from vintage or reproduction chocolate molds but I have also begun casting my own molds from my growing collection of vintage pieces. Sometimes I'm inspired to do my own hand sculpted pieces as well, and these are always sculpted one at a time, not molded. Each piece is made by me, start to finish. A multistep process is often required to give each figure the appearance of an antique and a little something from my stash of vintage supplies completes the look. From my collectables, I have created a collection that I hope you will be delighted to add to your own."