ART
This is what 88 hours during the COVID pandemic and 24.628 pop tops look like…. Photo Credit: Peter Finger
…these are pop tops.
Short Bio
Kris Manning was once a buttoned up businesswoman - but - somewhere along the way, she went feral and never looked back. Now a full-time artist, she creates mixed media sculptures and mythical creatures that blur the line between fantasy and reality. Drawing on a deep well of imagination (and a healthy disregard for the expected), her work invites viewers to wander off the path into strange, sparkling, otherworldly territory. Manning’s art has appeared in movies, galleries, private collections, and immersive exhibitions across the U.S.
Artist Statement
My work is what happens when you leave the boardroom and head into the wilds of your imagination. I build creatures and worlds out of ideas that I find in the warehouse of my mind, a place stacked with half-formed thoughts, glittering scraps, cryptid blueprints, and forgotten daydreams. Some of it is on fire. Some of it is alive. I never know what I’ll pull off the shelf, but I follow the spark and start building. I work with materials that feel like they already have a story to tell; clay, mirrors, taxidermy forms, paint, everyday objects. The result is part myth, part mischief, and a little bit madness. I’m not making reality, I’m making what’s next to it. I’m not trying to explain everything, I’m just holding the door open to the magic.
The Long Version
Kris is a founding member and two-time past president of the Art Guild of Daniel Island, and a co-founder and curator of the Daniel Island Art Gallery. From 2013-2022, she was a Piccolo Spoleto performing musician and artist. Kris is a published author, a MOJA Arts Festival award-winning painter and a nationally recognized sculptor. Today, Kris occupies her hours with creature and prop fabrication for feature films.
In 2018, Kris learned some of her signature fabrication techniques from intensive study with Roy Wooley of Syfy's FaceOff , known for work on The Hunger Games, Zombieland and Netherworld. She has studied puppetry with the internationally acclaimed, Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Kris was awarded "Best Social Commentary" for her piece Compassion at the 2017 MOJA Art Festival Juried Art Exhibition. In 2017 she was a presenter/performer for TEDx Charleston where she wrote the script, developed animation, composed music, fabricated puppets, costumes and sets and created “Mind Your Monkeys."
In 2019, Kris collaborated with renowned artist Jonathan Green, Pure Theater and producer Carol Antman in the theater production of Osceola’s Muse. Inspired by the connenction between the Seminole and African history, Kris created an immersive experience as part of the production and a large body of paintings featuring the Seminole people. In 2019 she was commissioned by the Town of Mount Pleasant to paint a large public mural and large oyster shell sculpture to contribute to the town’s artistic flair. The wildly popular Steeple Chase of Charleston commissioned Kris to create a striking artistic focal point for the event - a life-sized horse covered in over 50,000 feathers.
In 2020, Kris took a deep dive into found object art and collaborated with many Charleston artists to create poignant pieces during the COVID pandemic. Artists include miniature artist Ken Hamilton and watercolorist Barbara Meierhusby. In 2021, with the publication of The Field Guide to Fabulous Food, she is also earning recognition as a culinary artist and cookbook author. In 2022, Kris toured the US with the Vienna Light Orchestra playing the drums for the Greatest Showman Tour. In 2023, she and her family moved to Barnard, Vermont where she and her husband are building a 26 acre music and artist farm called Rock n Rolling Hills Farm.
In 2024, with a focus on creature fabrication, Kris has developed skills in sculpting, mold-making, and working with materials like foam, silicone and 3-D printing. These techniques led to work on feature films, creating lifelike creatures and detailed props. Her ability to combine traditional craftsmanship with modern technology has been key to bringing imaginative designs to life on screen. 2025 is shaping up to be a wonderful year in the art studio, The Dream Theatre, at Rock n Rolling Hills Farm. Stay tuned for project reveals!
Project Highlights
A “Horse of a Different Feather.” Over 50,000 feathers adorn this horse sculpture fabricated for the Post and Courier. It has been featured at the 2019, 2020 and 2021 Steeplechase and South Eastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC
“Disco Bunny” was the last commission of 2024 with over 100,000 mirrors. This giant 3 foot rabbit lights up the room when the sun hits it in a way the Space Station would notice.
Paintings & Murals
Creatures, Costumes, Puppets & Props
Pen & Ink Skylines
Glass Work
More Funky Stuff
Children’s Book Illustrations
