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Queen of Groovy Punk Rock Artwork,
Kustom Guitar Building and Kostume Design!
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By Rebecca G. Wilson
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I have been a fan and friend of Rebecca
Sevrin’s for over twenty years and and have always been amazed at her
non-stop creative output. She looks like a star with her mannequin
build, big Betty Boop eyes and dazzling smile but she mostly works
behind the scenes as a painter, illustrator and costume
builder/designer/tailor for rock stars like Motley Crue and Kiss and
Hollywood celebrities like the Osbournes and Raquel Welch. Sevrin got
her start in showbiz and design when she played guitar for punk rock
bands years ago.
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I first met Rebecca Sevrin (formerly
known as Rebecca Tucker) at a punk rock show in San Francisco in the
eighties when she was in the band Frightwig. We became friends and I
would go over to her house and hang out and dish while she taught me
how to sew or play Generation X songs on guitar. Glitter and sequins,
freaky faces with crooked teeth drawn on wig mannequins, a formidable
'industrial'
sewing machine, dolls and platform shoes, fabric and leather scraps
hanging everywhere were crammed into her amazing live/work space. She
lived in a punk rock apartment in the Mission district with different
roommates. At one time, Courtney Love had lived in this same apartment.
Sevrin’s incisive caricature painting of Courtney came out after the
infamous Courtney Love Vanity
Fair interview.
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Sevrin explains about her:“Courtney was
never a roommate but she did give me an awesome leopard dress. I wore
it the first time I played with
Frightwig. She was buds with my roommates Marie and Joe Mama.”
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Sevrin says of her bold painting
technique,”I like to use acrylic -- it dries fast --I know oils look
better, but I like to finish stuff and move on.”
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Her paintings have always reminded me of her and zany apartment back in
the 80s with their bright neon colors, 60s mod psychedelic imagery and
stark, sarcastic, nihilistic punk aesthetic. Sevrin’s punk rock roots
go farther back to her Montreal days (she grew up there – the daughter
of the first black television
newscaster in Canada and his lovely fair haired white British wife.) In
Canada she drew vivid and abstract flyers for punk rock band shows. She
says of the time,
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"I joined a few bands. My favorite was
called No Policy. We were misfits and I loved every second
of it. The singer Ron was one of those guys stupid people don't get. He was too smart for his environment and pissed people off. My favorite kind of person." |
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She also drew fliers for bands like the
Unruled, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, L7 and
Faith No More. |
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I asked her about the roots of her
creativity since her work is infused with so much childhood stuff --
cartoon, comic book and doll imagery and she explained, “I was drawing
as soon as I could hold a pencil. I have two older sisters and I wanted
to copy them. Also, my mom paints, and we always had paper crayons
paint clay to play with.
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I loved Lois Lane comics drawn by Curt
Schaffenberger. My favorite was when she was the insect queen. Little
Dot is very cool. Do you remember Uncle Cuss? @@!!##**!! in almost
every panel. Cool shit. I was a big fan of the kiddie comics. I have
mainstream kiddie comic taste. I loved all Harvey comics -- Casper, Hot
Stuff, Little Dot, Richie Rich...I loved the fluid solid lines going
from thick to thin, the sky was yellow. Some of the trippier ones had
living machines with faces. Those were my favorites -- Archie comics,
Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina, anything Dan Decarlo draws I would
buy. Loved Mad
Magazine, the first one I bought had a parody of "Paper Moon." Loved
Don Martin. I used to draw Mr. Fonebone everywhere. I loved early Dan
Clowes before "Ghost World." I like the movie more than the comic. I
love the Hernandez brothers and their comic "Love and Rockets." I liked
that comic called
"Spank and Idiotland..” |
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Sevrin also collects plastic dolls from
the Sixties called Little Kiddles, vintage and mod Barbies and dolls
that look like Kiddle dolls that have been flattened called Flatseys.
Sevrin customizes many of her dolls with custom outfits and hairdos and
make-up jobs. She
also paints them in her art sometimes.
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Rebecca explains, “I was a loner and my
toys were my friends. I loved Kiddles because they were loud colors,
turquoise blue and neon pink, neon green and orange, purple and green.
Also some Kiddles smelled. I like that. Mostly I think I wanted to have
green hair and purple eyes. All the eyes had cat's eye makeup. Kiddles
also looked like Harvey comics, the big heads and eyes chunky cheeks
and stumpy bodies. I also loved the art that came on the packaging.
Packaging was always important to me -- I love good
commercial art. I kept bits and pieces but eventually bought everything
and more as an adult.”
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I asked Sevrin about her background,
since her family is pretty remarkable as well, She explained, "I have
vague memories of the Sixties -- mostly colors, Expo '67 and
silver Mylar, My parents would take us to see the hippies. I grew up in
Toronto, then my family moved to Montreal. My father wrote the news for
the CBC. He was one of the first black newscasters.
He hated being in front of the camera and wrote the news and later
taught journalism.
He wrote a few books. He interviewed many celebs - mostly black
performers like Nat King
Cole, Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt... he was at the "Love In" with John
Lennon and Yoko Ono. He didn't like rock and roll, so he never
talked about meeting them. My brother Julien
played pro baseball."
Life was not all idyllic growing up in such an accomplished family. Sevrin often portrays monsters in her neon-lit horrific canvas worlds and ink drawings. She explains some of the nightmares of her past: |
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“My family moved to the suburbs when I
was in high school it took forever to fit.
I was at my uncle’s house riding a bike and I got pulled off the bike and dragged into the bushes. I got away. The next day they found a body in the same place. My first summer in a new town was ID-ing a serial rapist. Just like "Dead Zone" he lived with his mother and she knew. In high school I drew ugly pictures of my teachers and whoever else bugged me.” |
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Another reason why Sevrin’s artwork is so important and innovative is
the deeper female issues that are portrayed in her work. She is one of
the first, if not the first women, to boldly portray women’s anxieties
about looks and body issues in a cartoon format. She is not afraid to
draw gals with big crooked teeth and fat cellulite butts and thus
depicts the pressure women are under to look thin and perfect in modern
society. Her painting "A Mother’s Worry" is about the guilt and
conflict arising between females when women start to look too good.
Sevrin also pulls no punches in her brave depiction of female-to-female
social bullying and cruelty.
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Her friend and fellow Canadian artist
Rick Trembles first published Sevrin's comix in his 'zine Sugar
Diet in 1984. The gallery can be seen online at:
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Trembles says of Rebecca's early work:
"Her comix always appealed to me, she has a distinct
style and kinda creepy storylines that often deal with body image in a disturbing way." After I saw her self portrait with jagged teeth I asked Sevrin about her portrayal of women’s physiques and faces. She replied: |
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“I bite my nails, I have big teeth. I
bit someone 'til she bled. That was fun. I hated her.”
Luckily art and creativity became her outlet as she grew older and realized violence wasn’t an answer. She explains, “Drawing was my private revenge.” |
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Sherri Cullison included Sevrin’s work
in her book Vicious,
Delicious and Ambitious.
I feel that Sevrin’s work is up there with the big, more famous art stars in Los Angeles. Sevrin gives props to her heroes, |
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“I saw Robert Williams’ art in the
early 90's and I wanted to paint. He has a great sense of humor, style
and colors. He is the only guy that can make me laugh and be in awe at
the same time. I feel you have to tell a story with your work -- it has
to be more
than a girl in a bikini holding a martini glass with hot rod flames
looking like Bettie Page. It's been done into the ground. The newer
style anime cereal box art doesn't do a thing for me. I grew up on
Wacky Packs and Mad
Magazine. Things need an edge because I expect it. I am not into adult
baby land. I love Todd Schorr and his wife, Stacy Schorr. We also have
a Dave Leamon painting and XNO in our collection. I like them. Love the
way Olivia paints nylon stockings and lace I have 90's taste. Can't say
I'm a big fan of anime or Mark Ryden clones. I think Gary Baseman is
very special. I like the feelings his critters evoke. I had his toys
before i met him. I love Andy Warhol. I love his fashion sketches the
most.
His lines are like lace. I even like cocktail napkin art. I like nice lines. I love pen and ink when the lines aren't scratchy I hate nautical art. I love pop art.” |
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I asked her about other cultural
influences in her formative years and she explained,
“I admired Debbie Harry, snappy dresser in a band loved Rip Her to Shreds and X Offender. I loved her Zebra outfit and her bleached hair. I wanted to be like Bebe Buell and Clarinda Fox and surrounded by brilliant exciting rockers that were all in love with me. I am not that type and it never happened. Wendy O. Williams was a fave along with Joan Jett. If I couldn't be precious, I could always be myself which was a tomboy/dork. |
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I devoured New York Rocker, Creem, Rock
Scene, punk magazines I always wanted to live in NYC but I
can't see that now. I love L.A....I am a voyeur.”
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I asked her about the empowered tough
girls with wasp waists and big tits who will kick your ass that she
paints and was not surprised when she
told me,
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“I love Russ Meyer movies. I like
drawing big boobs and tiny waists. It's powerful and feminine.
Yes, I own a bullet bra -- tore it apart and made a pattern. I love lingerie. The crazier and the more seams and bones the more I like it. I like exaggerated things. I also like drawing heavy people.” |
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It also came as no surprise when Sevrin
told me she had also made outfits for Russ Meyer legendary starlets
Haji, who played Tura Satana in "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill," and Kitten
Natividad. She quips:
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”Kitten is a very funny lady. She gave
me some costumes. I went to Glamor Con and she ripped her pants. You
should have seen the lineup of men she had waiting to serve her. Pot
bellies and toupees.”
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Along with Russ Meyer films, Sevrin
loves other movies as well. She explains, "I love movies that look
great or are just trashy as hell. 'The Tenth Victim' is in my fave
five, 'The Unholy Three' with Lon Chaney, 'Freaks,' 'The Swimmer,' 'Day
of the Locust,' 'Kiss me Deadly,' 'Valley of the Dolls,' 'Sexy Beast,'
'Shampoo,' 'The Hole,' 'Heartbreakers' with Peter Coyote as a painter;
'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,' all 80's movies with Richard Hell
being a selfish bastard like Smithereens and Blank Generation. Mostly I
like noir and freaky 60's movies with big parties. Loved The Monks
documentary. What a great band. Also I love Roky Erikson’s documentary.
I will watch any documentary...”
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In her formative years Rebecca got into
playing music and woodworking, which later lead to her guitar building.
Sevrin explains:
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”I hated being in high school -- went
to an art program in college and hated that. I was raised to be
creative and had access to all kinds of art supplies like my mother’s
paints. I had no patience relearning how to mix colors. My technical
drawing class was bogus. College was slower that what I already knew. I
got into a music program. I was playing the guitar since I was 14. I
had a good ear and I graduated in two years - everyone thought I
dropped out. I got my college degree in creative arts. It's the nice
way of saying I indulged myself in various art forms with no real
direction. I had some creative writing courses, art, art history and
music. All of those plus the required courses equaled a degree. I hated
every day in school I was such a smart ass. I did get asked to leave my
painting class.
My teacher who was hounding me about polishing up my art and I said, "They'll be polished mediocre. I'll always be good.. That's when I transferred into music and drove my teacher wild. I brought in an electric bass as my instrument. Bass is not my bag but it had two less strings to memorize the notes on, He also had a loud amp. My other hobby was wood. My dad's tools were my friends -- I made so much crap, club houses, dog houses, go karts - I was always building stuff. I always liked puzzles and problem solving and helped my mother assemble my younger brother’s Xmas presents. I’m still a dork who likes to put together Ikea crap.” |
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Sevrin became a trained luthier after
college. She has built badass guitars for years. She explains:
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“I read about a place called GRD - guitar research and design. It was
in south Stafford, Vermont and you lived in yurts. I took the electric
guitar building course. I had a great teacher. His name is Charles Fox,
and he still teaches but it is mostly acoustic guitar. I made a
6-string, a 12-string and a bass, while everyone else made barely one
guitar. I had so much wood and drafting experience. The teacher was
amazing, and I blew everyone out of the water. Give me some logs I'll
give you a guitar. I don't use kits. It's all geometry, math and elbow
grease. I will cop to using a joiner planer and a band saw and a router
but all the body carving is done with rasps, files, chisels and sanding
blocks. It takes days of sanding -- up to 600 before laquer. I shape
the neck with a spoke shave my grandfather gave me. It's an antique. He
had it when he was a teenager. He also gave me a piece of
walnut he was storing for something special. I used some of it as inlay
in a guitar.”
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Sevrin was in for a rude awakening
after guitar building school though, she explains --
"I thought I was going to rule the world with my new trade.... nope,
luthiers are supposed to look like Gepetto or Bob Seger. I was a
bleached blonde punk rocker. Guys are still sexist about guitars. I
worked in repair shops and always managed to find a private client to
keep me going. Renowned Northern California bass player of Dave Chavez
of Verbal Abuse was my biggest repair client. What a great guy for
trusting me. Most guys won't let me touch their
stuff."
Although Sevrin’s guitar building business did not take off her guitar playing skills caught attention in the Bay Area in the 80s. She explains of her guitar playing singing and songwriting years: |
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“I tried out for a lame girl hair metal band, played in a 60's band --
had a boring Goth-type band, then I heard Frightwig and had to join. I
loved the music. That's when you met me. When I joined Frightwig, it
was to fill the void from Mia. Not long after I joined, Susan quit, and
we were a three piece. I never wanted to sing but I ended up writing
songs, lyrics and music; and playing the guitar. When Cecelia left I
got more vocals. It was like jumping off a high diving board. I was
petrified. I am not a performer -- just an annoying drunk with a loud
guitar. Frightwig’s record "Cat Farm Faboo" was before me. That is the
LP that sucked me in. It was on Subterranean Records.
"Two weeks after I joined we recorded 'Faster Frightwig Kill Kill' for Caroline Records. Later we had 'Phone Sexy' on Boner, recorded for an LA compilation that I can't remember the name of -- and a single for Teriyaki Asthma. My favorite was covering Shonen Knife's song 'Public Baths.' Bill Bartell gave me a crappy Radio Shack tape and said, 'Pick a song, record it and it will be on an album.' The original version was fast and had no groove so I slowed down the tempo and thought dirty things while I did the vocals...We recorded a single for Sub Pop. I liked it, but they wanted us to cover 'Crazy Horses' with Redd Kross. Deanna could shriek like a horse. I also was in the Tater Tots and played guitar on one or two songs and sang 'Sisters O Sisters,' a Yoko Ono song. I got a fan letter from Yoko Ono - hahaha. Vickie Berndt styled me and shot my photo. I loved that photo. I looked like Ronnie Spector. I played with Gwynne Kahn (now Nipper Sea Turtle) in a band called Boo. I joined Frightwig right before Kim Foley stepped in. I heard that was an interesting experience - he basically insulted everyone. Not long after the band broke up." |
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I asked her about what music she likes
nowadays and she replied, "I am fussy. I love guitar-driven rock -- The
Stooges, MC5, Bad Brains, 3-chord punk rock, Babes in Toyland, the
Voidoids, 60's pysche, garage, Misfits, Motley Crue's first LP, the
Turtles, the Hollies, the Monkees, the Damned's first LP, Cheap Trick.
I'm sure there's more. . . .PME -- Pedro Muriel and Ester - Two drag
queens and a drummer who play punk rock! My MP3 player gives people
panic attacks. It just makes me feel like I'm the machine i am
driving.”
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I asked Sevrin about the origins of
femme core music in punk rock and who came first, Frightwig or Bikini
Kill and Rebecca responded:
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"Fuck Bikini Kill! Frightwig was first
and better. The singer sounds like Deanna. I don't call it femme core.
I was used to playing with guys. Didn't enjoy hanging with girls. When
the band wasn't getting any further i jumped ship and moved to Los
Angeles."
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After moving to Los Angeles she got
into costume design and tailoring full time and met the love of her
life, husband Andy Sevrin. Rebecca explains:
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"I met Andy at Golden Apple. It's a
comic book store on Melrose. I was dating a guy that was an art
collector and we went to get signed copies of Adam Parfrey’s book CAD. Andy stuck out
like a sore thumb - he had style. He saw me and asked who I was and
when he found out I was Rebecca from Frightwig he said, 'Nom Rebecca
from Frightwig is a gypsy punk. He saw my photo on the back of 'Faster
Frightwig' and wasn't impressed.
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"I asked Andy about his meeting with
his future wife and he said, 'I wasn't a Frightwig fan, and when I
first saw them perform it was opening up for The Jesus & Mary
Chain at The Roxy, and you weren't in the band yet. I thought they were
ugly and untalented. They tried so hard to be anti-punk rock ('Delta
Dawn' -- trailer park schmaltz/Freedom -- whitey trying to sound
gospel, yuck!/'My Crotch Does Not Say Go' -- sounds very
Broadway-rock -- 'Hair') -- that I hated them. When I saw your picture
on the back cover of "Faster Frightwig' I thought you looked like a
gypsy street hippie shopping cart hag.
"When I saw that cutie in Golden Apple I couldn't believe it was the same girl, I thought she was hotter than the Russ Meyer starlets and Bettie Page imitators that were at the book opening. 'When I saw her at Golden Apple I thought she had the prettiest black hair and sweet coffee colored skin. She wore the three hottest things I like to see on a girl: large hoop earrings, a purple velvet dress, and sheer black stockings, which are all turn-ons for me. "The scary thing was I almost didn't go that night because I was pretty tired from work that day, but I had to go so I could drop off some record art for my first album. Lucky me!" |
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Sevrin continues about their courtship
-- "Anyway, Long Gone John set us up. Probably to stir up trouble with
the dud I was dating and we hit it off so well we both lost a lot of
friends. Andy is a snappy dresser, he is funny and always has some
random comment that makes me laugh. He is very smart. We had the same
background -- punk rock. I didn't have to explain my past to him. He
had loads of things to tell me about the LA scene. He has a
fantastic record, book and movie collection. Most important he never
cared about my blonde friends. I
was everything to him and it's nice hearing that."
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It should come as no surprise that
Sevrin met her match in her husband.
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She adds,
“Andy was around the early LA punk scene. When he was a teenager he hit
Rodney's English disco. He saw Iggy wearing his legendary silver
leather pants at the donut shop after a wild night of boozing. He went
to England and met Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at SEX. I own
the leather t-shirt he bought, and treasure it. He saw the Sex Pistols,
the Damned - -all the stuff I wanted to experience, he did. Andy Played
with Arthur J and the Gold Cups and played his sax with several other
LA punk bands. He is quoted in The Germs book and another early LA punk
book. In the Eighties, he was the leader of Trashcan School. They
toured with L7 and made some great records. He works for the Board of
Supervisors in Los Angeles - this happened after he scored a perfect
score on an exam. His blog "Out Demons Out" is one of my favorite
blogs, but I even love his
Amazon reviews. I'm just a big fan, I love the way he sees things. We
had a band called Cock Fight -- the video is on YouTube. Ron Jeremy is
a gogo boy in it."
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Prior to Sevrin’s move to Los Angeles
in the early 90s, she was getting more into sewing in the Bay Area. She
says, "I kind of knew how to sew before I moved to CA. . . .
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Liz Fairbairn helped me. She gave me my
first real sewing machine. Philippe from Wahumba Swamp got me into
pattern making. I love Philippe -- he has the foulest mouth and always
made me laugh, he always called me fuckface or fuckface cunt... nice
man. We would troll the dumpsters in the Garment District and make
clothes. Some things I designed sold the next day. I went to the Mab
and saw a trendy girl wearing my "Stevie Nicks" skirt shredded
leather and lace with a thick waist cinching belt."
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I asked her about some of the
celebrities she has sewn elaborate outfits for, and she said, "Rob
Zombie -- he came over and told me he saw Frightwig play in NYC years
ago. . . .Julie Newmar, I made a corset for her – she still has a
25-inch waist! Raquel Welch - I love her -- she loaned me an Azzedine
Alaia dress to wear to a party. Rachel Lee Cook. I worked on the
Osbournes show. Mostly I have made outfits for rock icons from the 80's
– WASP, Motley Crue, the guitar player from Alice Cooper (Jason Hook),
Chuck Wright was in Quiet Riot and House of Lords. I made outfits and
guitar straps for KISS. If they are in Adam Parfrey’s hair metal book
-- they have been in my work room. Recently I worked on costumes for
artist Gary Baseman’s show. Right now I am working making costumes for
Sony Playstation, and getting ready for E3 Video Gamers Expo."
About her current projects and inspirations she said --
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"When I see something good I wished I
made it. I get paid to sew so I have to fight for time to get creative
for myself. I do my best to put a little of myself in jobs for others
just to keep it fun. If I were a kept woman I would make crafts.
Sometimes I feel like a factory. I would like to produce more art and
have it shown in more galleries. I have a good painting showroom going
on in my workroom and have sold stuff right off the walls. I have to be
more aggressive, but I have a full time job. Hopefully I'll be able to
manage my time a little better, and make new things. I like all
galleries where the people aren't a bunch of snobs or worse, just there
to talk about themselves and not look at the art. There's a nice place
on Wilshire. I saw Doogie Howser
there."
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I had to close this article with some
random questions. I asked her if she’s ever been mistaken for any
celebrities in Hollywood?
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Sevrin quipped, "I hear all kinds of
comments from Jeff Goldblum’s sister to Illeana Douglas,
to a lost member of the Jackson family. Nothing super flattering --
just strange. I know I look like a stripper that was around about ten
years ago. Corey Feldman mistook me for some girl he must have partied
with...."
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I steered back to the groovy Sixties
monster world we both love. OMG, Rebecca Sevrin knows her trivia! I
asked her who she would rather live with The Munsters or The Addams
Family and Rebecca, replied, "It's really a tie. I love both shows for
different reasons. One had the Standells on it, them Herman as a rock
star and the other had Jackie Coogan, whom I love. He was married to
Betty Grable and when he met people he'd say, 'This is the hand that
touched the cock that fucked Betty Grable. hahaha!' Then she pauses and
adds, "I pick the Addams family -- they are calm and dead pan. Thing
would help me. Gomez reminds me of Dave Naz -- hahahaha But I'd prefer
to be Mrs. Munster - she is not afraid to let her hair down and get
sloppy. I'd feel constipated as Mrs. Addams.... I know I contradicted
myself. I LOVE Uncle Fester - shove him in a corner to light up my
room. Love his voice. I'd make him sing for me."
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Inquiries about Rebecca Sevrin's work
please check out her website at
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Check out her brilliant husband Andy
Sevrin’s scathing wit at
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