If you expected Lesley DeSantis of Burlington, Massachusetts to settle into the corporate world after she left college, you’ll discover her response to be, “When Guinea Pigs Fly!”. Her Etsy shop supplies her customers with “guinea pig art, cute animal art and guinea pig ACEOs.” She knows her guinea pig loving customers simply adore items featuring the faces they’ve grown to love.

DeSantis was a buyer on Etsy for a couple of years, dabbled in art, and played piano to keep herself occupied. The memory of a visit to an animal shelter in college stuck with her as she discovered her muse was “an herbivorous rodent shaped like an eggplant.” DeSantis adopted her first guinea pig, Gus, in 2005 and it was love at first sight. She found the courage to begin her own Etsy store on January 12, 2010 and stock it with original art prints from her home studio. She uses pencil, acrylic paint, conte, chalk pastel, paper, felt, wool, kneaded eraser, and watercolor to bring her cuddly critters to life. The prints range in size from ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) to 11 x 14 and are available upon request. While her Etsy shop includes many guinea pigs, she also has gerbils, otters, raccoons, and many other creatures.

It was a delight to see one of her most recent works, a painting of the guinea pig version of Johann Sebastian Bach, develop from sketch to final product through her Facebook page. The delicate lines in the first concept sketch matched well with her other paintings of Ludpig Van Beethoven and Guinea Pig Mozart. The first painting appeared perfect as his white wig fell in adorable curls around his guinea pig face. The final included a single pink ear peaking out from behind the wig of curls. Johann was complete! The adorable ear certainly made it.

When DeSantis isn’t creating pigs that fly, she’s a talented musician for Cellar Door Stage, a Greater Boston theatre company. She also does freelance web design and consulting in social media. Her blog gives regular updates on what’s happening in all aspects of DeSantis life including her art, theater, baking, video games and her Siamese cat Clover.

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