MacKenzie Hurd has always worked under a moniker.
Hurd, known as Tiny Chasm, is a multimedia artist who preserves the appearance of life, using resin to maintain butterflies, flowers, ferns, mushrooms, and much of what you might find on the forest floor.
“I actually knew that I wanted to be a full-time artist when I was really young,” she said. “I always loved art in school. It’s really the only subject I ever liked.”
Hurd’s other handles include Wild Coyote Murals, a painting duo consisting of herself and her friend Shii Kaina, and Sonic Tonic, a solo venture where she incorporates chimes, gongs, harps and crystal sound bowls to create a soundscape for relaxation and meditation.
She also started offering “permanent” jewelry this summer, featuring bracelets and anklets that are welded on. Hurd found the permanent jewelry was less time-intensive than things like paintings, allowing her more time for her many other interests.
“I thought to myself, like, ‘How can I create less physical art and have a way to put my art on, something that I’m not making with my hands?’” she said. “So that’s where the permanent jewelry was born.”
Hurd says she was “really blessed” to have some amazing teachers who embraced multimedia art, but definitely was met with resistance from other professors who pushed her to focus on one skill.
“Tiny Chasm was born, kind of in rebellion of that,” she said. “At the time, I was just starting epoxy, I was doing murals, I was still having my painting practice, and I wanted to do all of them. It was a tiny chasm, a big chasm between my mediums but made small by the fact that they all have me at the center.”
Hurd has an online storefront where she sells everything from stickers and earrings to light catchers and resin tables. She is a vendor at local markets in Anchorage and the valley, most recently Double Shovel Cider Company’s Summer Market, the Sunday Fresh Market at O’Malley and the Alaska State Fair.
“I think it’s super important to point out that I have had so many ups and downs over the years but every time I crash into the earth, I choose to start over,” Hurd said. “This journey has not been easy and is not for the faint of heart. The constant unknowns of artists and small businesses owners is not a secret but I think it helps to remind folks in the thick of it to not give up! I’m so glad I didn’t.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
