Perhaps when most people see road kill we cringe, or let out the occasional “aw, so sad.” 

One Lubbock woman, however, sees an opportunity for art. 

Since 2009, Kristin Bunyard has been making elaborate jewelry out of bones harvested from road kill, created numerous pieces of bracelets, necklaces and more, which can be found at her online shop.

She says the hobby all spurred from a trip to the ranch with her family.

“The ranch hand shot a really large snake and it kept moving for about 45 minutes, and I was really interested as to why, and so I wanted to get in there and look,” said Bunyard, who has a background in dissection. “I just thought ‘this is absolutely gorgeous.'”

Bunyard says a childhood spent growing up on her grandparent’s farm in San Angelo is what led to her deep appreciation and respect for wildlife. In addition to road kill, Bunyard says farmers have given her animals that have died of natural causes on their land, and friends have even asked her to make them jewelry out of their deceased pets.

“I have gotten to do a couple of pet memorial pieces, and that, that is one of the most gratifying things I’ve done,” shared Bunyard. “It’s incredible to have someone trust me with their pet that’s a real gift.” 

From Los Angeles to Dallas and even Germany, Bunyard’s jewelry has been featured in galleries, magazines and TV spots across the country, and even the globe. 

“I never thought that it would go this far. I thought it was going to be something that my friends would like some of it, and you know, maybe I’d sell a few pieces. I didn’t think it would end up being a big deal.” 

Although her pieces have proven to be a large success and are fun to create, she says she would much rather see less animals on the road.

“It is my preference that I would run out of material to work with. I would rather they be alive and happy and running around doing their thing.”

One of her most recent projects presented itself as a challenge, creating a prosthetic leg out of various animal bones. In the coming weeks, the leg will be auctioned off with all the proceeds going to “Warriors Pathfinder,” a nonprofit benefiting our veterans. 

“You know I’m used to making necklaces and earrings I knew this was going to be something completely out of my comfort zone,” said Bunyard. “‘That for me was huge. There are probably not a lot of charities that I would have put as much time and effort in to, but I love it. That they were so interested in helping our veterans out.”

The auction is being put on by the Painted Prosthetic Project, which aims to bring artists from across the nation together to help raise money for veterans through their art pieces, which can all be viewed collectively one last time at the Arch Enemy Art gallery in Philadelphia on January 6. On January 21 an online auction will kick off. 

“It means so much to see all these artists want to help our veterans, to see them want to use art for good. This project has been a personal project for me. Art has helped me so much over the years.  It was amazing that there was so many artists wanting to be involved. It is reaffirming to see art being used for good and art helping others” said John Palestini in a statement with EverythinngLubbock.com. Palestini is one of the Painted Prosthetic Project’s co-founders who says they were excited to feature Bunyard’s work.

“We had a panel help select artists from our open artists call, over 300 artists applied and we could only choose five artists.  Kristen’s work stood out because of her use of materials.  She may use bones and skulls in her work, but she does it unconventionally and pieces don’t look dark or morbid or kitschy like many other people who work with bones. Her leg stands out because of her use of materials and her eye for aesthetics.  It is refreshing to find an artist doing something not many others are doing in a way no other artist is doing it.”

While Bunyard realizes the jewelry may not be for everyone, she hopes her work can help other artists to learn to look for inspiration anywhere.