Where Creativity Runs Wild

Artist and entrepreneur Erika Tully builds a vibrant creative life with help from her painting horse, Blue

By JOE JANCSURAK   »   Photos by Madeline Gray

She’s a mixed-media artist specializing in necktie art; a jigsaw-puzzle-competition and sip-and-paint-party organizer; a mosaic-tiling and soap-molding instructor; a children’s book author; and a flight crew member for a local airline. Oh, and her horse paints abstracts. If prizes were given for multitasking, Wilmington’s Erika Tully would be a sure bet.

“Knot” your typical artist, some might say the art of Erika Tully, 58, is to “tie” for. The walls of her studio at theArtWorks feature myriad scenes and subjects—cityscapes, beach scenes, florals, forests, an American flag , Venus flytraps, and more—all fashioned with recycled neckties against spray-painted backdrops on re-purposed canvases. Literally hundreds of ties, some donated, others thrift-shop finds, reside in Tully’s studio, grouped according to color and pattern, including one of testosterone molecules for which Tully hasn’t yet found her muse.

“I began by making tie-covered purses and pillows,” says the Chicagoland transplant (she moved here five years ago) and mother of three adult “Neapolitan” daughters (blonde, brunette and redhead). “When a customer commissioned me to make a Chicago skyline out of his deceased dad’s neckties, I thought why make purses and pillows when I can be doing this? That was 2011 and I’ve sold about 40 since then.”

When not creating her own art, Tully may be found mentoring her artistic horse, Blue, a 22-year-old thoroughbred. Shortly after rescuing Blue from a kill pen four years ago, Tully found a hobby for the mischievous Blue, known to pick up hoses from the water trough and whisking them  around, giving everything and everyone around him an unexpected soaking. Or he’ll stop Tully from sweeping by grabbing the broom handle.

“I figured I would channel this energy and give him something productive to do. That something productive was painting,” says Tully, a lifelong (except college) horse owner, whose mom gifted Tully first horse when she was six. Blue is Tully’s seventh horse and she’s ridden more than 50 “though I really never competed.” 

Back to redirecting Blue’s misguided energy. “I tried getting him to pick up a paint-brush handle with his mouth, but that didn’t work until I taped a carrot to the brush. When he figured out that I wanted him to spread paint across the canvass I was holding we began collaborating. That was in 2023 and now we paint every few weeks, with Blue swaying his head and putting on the strokes.  Tully says about 40 of Blue’s paintings have been sold online and from her studio.

A Woman of Many Talents

When she’s not creating necktie art and collaborating with Blue, Tully may be organizing jigsaw puzzle competitions and sip and paint parties; working at theArtWorks gift shop or volunteering at the Cape Fear ArtXchange, where  affordable and gently used art materials can be found; teaching mosaic tiling and soap molding classes; working as an Avelo Airlines crew member at the airport; or presenting her children’s book to elementary-school groups throughout the Cape Fear region.

“I am the ultimate multitasker,” says Tully, who likes to practice  yoga in the mornings before heading to her studio. “I dabble in many things, but I give my best effort to all my tasks. Making art and doing events, that’s how I relax.”

As for the previously mentioned children’s book, “Glorious Gloria” reflects Tully’s love for the environment. The book features photographs of underwater scenes using repurposed materials, including neckties, of course. And the main character is a Parrotfish, a species of fish with a special job: she protects coral by eating the algae that attach themselves. As a bonus, her teeth allow her to take bites of coral while removing the algae. And her digestive tract expels the coral bits as sand. Or as the author likes to tell elementary-school groups, “Gloria poops sand.” Of course, decomposed rocks and shells also comprise beach sand, but fish poop makes for a better story.

Though it was published in 2024, Tully says she began writing “Glorious Gloria” more than 10 years ago. “I knew the setting and the story,” she says, “but I didn’t know the character was going to be a Parrotfish until I made her out of a necktie.  When I looked up what type of fish she might be, Parrotfish fit the description.  Once I delved into Parrotfish and all that they do, the story changed. I decided to make it a story about how giving back to the environment and making a difference is important.”   

When asked what else she would like readers of this article to know about her and her art, Tully says, “I live by this motto: In a world of roses and thorns, be a dandelion and spread kindness. It is my life’s purpose to try to make the world a better place by giving back, being nice and protecting our environment. Re-purposing and re-using are steps in the right direction.”

For more on art by Erika Tully and her collaborator Blue, as well as Tully’s jigsaw puzzle competitions and paint parties, and “Glorious Gloria,” visit eclecticdandelion.com.