Animalteeth

Every culture around the world has wonderful unique scary stories about monsters to scare little children, and “Poj Ntxoog” is our fantastically creepy Hmong monster! So be careful out in those woods! She might be lurking there, ready to trick you and take your soul!

"Celestial Being" is here! Hmong people believe there are good spirits, like angels, and bad spirits, like demons.  Unlike the western belief in one soul, Hmong people have three souls. The bad spirits are always scheming to steal a Hmong soul. Luckily there are angels defending the Hmong souls from the bad spirits.

As a child, I hated wearing Hmong clothes because it seemed so foreign. Now that I'm older, I wholeheartedly disagree with young me, I love the beautiful and unique Hmong clothes and I wish I could wear it everyday. There are a variety of Hmong clans and generally Hmong people will wear a particular style of clothing based on their clan type or region. If all Hmong people from all different clan groups gathered together in one room, most Non-Hmong would assume that they're all from completely different ethnic groups. They wouldn't realize that in fact, everyone is Hmong. There are White Hmong (Hmoob Dawb), Green Mong (Moob Leeg), Black Hmong (Hmoob Dub), Striped Hmong (Hmoob Txaij/Hmoob Quas Npab), Chinese Hmong(Hmoob Suav), Flower Hmong(Hmoob Paj), Hmong Xau etc. The abundant variety in Hmong fashion due to the different clan groups is fantastic!  It is a great source of inspiration and with wonderful references that I draw from when creating my "creepy & romantic" Hmong illustrations and paintings.

Our best sellers, “Hmong Girl” and “Hmong Boy” are classic Animalteeth artwork that brings lots of joy to our customers and adds that little touch of “a little creepy, a little romantic” flavor to your home decor!

Hmong people quite possibly rival the French when it comes to the cultivation of courtship, romance, & love. This painting is inspired by the clandestine romance of young Hmong lovers in East & Southeast Asia.  In this Asian setting, typically lovers live several days away from one another in faraway villages.  Longing for one another but unable to meet in person, they set up an agreed time to "meet" where they'll play poetic love songs to one another with a leaf as the instrument.  The duet song they create can carry and be heard for miles away from mountain top to mountain top. With gorgeous mountains and breathtaking views of nature in the backdrop, the two lovers sing their heart out to one another in a secret language and code only the two lovers can understand. Read more about the tonal language and beautiful music of Hmong people here.

“Just follow your feeling, the feeling that you have when you are painting, that would be the real you. Dont lie, be honest to what you are making”

And I become the real me again, and I begin the work. 

Phase 1 of a fun Tiger painting I worked on a few months ago...and yes, there will be plenty more Tigers in the line up as my body of work grows! MEOW

Hello! I'm alive! Completed this sassy artwork several months ago and finally sharing it. Enjoy!

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When I’m lacking intellectual or stimulating conversation, I can always put on my headphones and escape -to listen to real issues I care about in candid discussions.

Completed my “POJ NTXOOG” wood panel painting a few days ago. 

This is because it serves as an indicator of aspiration. It reflects love, love of something we dream of doing, and desire, desire to do it.  If you find yourself asking yourself, “Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist? Chances are you are.  The counterfeit innovator is wildly self confident. The real one is scared to death.

This is a painting of a monster character called, “Poj Ntxoog” from Hmong folklore. Translated into English, it means Tiger Ghoul or Tiger Girl. The “Poj Ntxoog” is a 9-10 year old Tiger Ghoul living in the jungles of Asia. Her eyes are vertical instead of horizontal, and her feet faces backwards. The saying goes that if you poke a hole through a leaf, and look through the leaf, you will see a “Poj Ntxoog”.