WYOMING — It’s not every day that you’ll find taxidermy artists, tarot card readers and experimental artists in the same room, much less in a fire hall in Wyoming.
This isn’t the set-up for a joke; instead, this was the makings of the NEPA Punk Rock Flea Market, held in the Wyoming Hose Company No. 2 on Sunday.
The Facebook page set up for the event called for “freaks, weirdos, kooks, punx, creeps” and other left-of-center creators to set up shop at the event and sell their goods, all while a deejay spun songs off classic punk records by bands like The Ramones and The Jim Carroll Band.
Erin Sullivan, 32, of Bangor in Northampton County, was one of those artists.
“My husband is very understanding of having a freezer full of carcasses,” said Sullivan.
As a taxidermist, Sullivan uses the bodies of animals to make her art, which she sells through her business, The Mousoleum. According to her business card, Sullivan specializes in “ethically sourced and prepared taxidermy and oddities.”
“I like to do things that are a little bit less traditional,” Sullivan said, pointing out a taxidermied groundhog modeled to be holding a cupcake on her display table. “My teacher isn’t very happy about it.”
Another artist at the flea market specialized in making use out of what others may have just thrown away. Thomas Abrams, 34, of Courtdale, found inspiration to create after an unexpected event.
“I had a piano on the back of my pickup truck, and it fell off and smashed,” Abrams said. “I didn’t want the pieces to go to waste.”
Abrams collected the pieces of the destroyed piano and repurposed them into wall art. Abrams calls the pieces “whale fall creations,” after the new beginning that is given to whale corpses when they sink to the bottom of the ocean and provide an ecosystem for smaller ocean animals.
“We’ve made more pieces since then,” Abrams said. “But we just took that piano apart.”
Other vendors, like Annette Masi, 36, of Exeter, were there to provide an experience instead of selling goods.
“I’ve always had a gift,” Masi said, while shuffling a deck of tarot cards. “People tell me their first and middle name and I know everything about them.”
Masi runs an online paranormal service called “Lady of the Light Soul Readings.” Her online presence has allowed her to do readings for people as far away as Australia, but she says that her main reason for being at the Punk Rock Flea Market was to get more of a foothold in the local area.
Mark Campas, 39, of Larksville, is a local artist who was one of the figures behind the flea market.
“I’d thought about setting it up for a while,” Campas said. “And then one day I woke up and said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Campas was thrilled with the turnout for the event, which was packed full with both vendors and shoppers. But Campas said that the next event would be even bigger.
“We’ll have another one around Memorial Day,” Campas said. “We’ll have more vendors, live bands and more awesomeness.”
One customer, Steven Jester, 26, of Mountain Top, came away with a dragon-shaped lamp, and agreed that the event was as awesome as Campas said.
“I heard about it on Facebook and I thought it sounded like something different. I’m always looking for something different,” Jester said. “And I got this lamp for $30. They normally sell for at least $50 or $60.”
