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There’s the kind of work that looks good in a highlight reel, and then there’s the kind that smells like bleach in July, stretches four feet from tip to tip, and requires the audacity to keep going when it would be easier to quit. This week we sit down with Cassie Everson of Wanderlust Skulls to talk about the ditch, the mountaintop, and the discipline of making art that endures.
Artist and entrepreneur Cassie Everson has been shaping the modern Western aesthetic for nearly a decade through her work as Wanderlust Skulls. If you’ve ever saved an image of a painted longhorn skull to your Pinterest board, chances are you’ve already encountered her signature pieces: bold, abstract, distinctly Western, and always authentic.
But this conversation isn’t a how-to on creative business, it’s a rare look into the unglamorous, cyclical reality behind it. Cassie shares the unlikely origins of her work, from finding her first skull in a secondhand shop to teaching herself taxidermy with YouTube and grit. She talks candidly about debt, slow shows, and why art requires you to sell not just an object but a feeling. What emerges is not a formula but a paradox: the work isn’t easy, yet over time it generates a surprising sense of ease if you can resist both the panic of failure and the intoxication of quick wins.
Listen In For …- How Cassie defines her “modern Western abstract” style and why authenticity matters in both art and business.
- The early, unvarnished realities of teaching yourself taxidermy.
- What art reveals about selling feeling rather than product, and why story is central to connection.
- A candid look at the cycles of business: the moments of debt, the long seasons of silence, and the resilience required to keep going.
- Why meeting both the ditch and the mountaintop with the same determination becomes a critical entrepreneurial skill.
- The paradox of ease versus easy, and how structure allows a business to feel lighter without diminishing the work.
- The Vault: Cassie’s forthcoming collection of jumbo longhorns with rare shape and scale, designed as bespoke heirloom pieces.
TL;DR (Minute by Minute)
- 00:00 Why conversation dissolves comparison.
- 05:30 Cassie’s origin story: from a thrifted skull to a modern Western aesthetic.
- 12:00 Real vs. replica: how to identify authentic skulls and why it matters.
- 18:40 The messy middle: early shows, financial setbacks, and learning to continue.
- 24:15 Art as feeling: commissions, story, and connecting beyond the visual.
- 29:50 The difference between ease and easy, and what it demands of us.
- 34:30 The Vault preview: jumbo longhorns, rare breeding, and bespoke design.
- 39:00 Closing: seasons, sovereignty, and the practice of mastering your craft.
Where to Go From Here
- Your turn: what hit home? Tag @cowgirlsovercoffee and @wanderlustskulls, and let’s prove that real talk travels farther than highlight reels.
- Trade scrolling for structure: Download the Routine Playbook. A quick-win guide to creating sustainable practices that feel less like obligation and more like sovereignty.
- Collect the art, meet the artist: Explore Cassie’s pieces at wanderlustskulls.com and follow her on Instagram @wanderlustskulls for a behind-the-scenes look at grit and grandeur.
- You've entered the group chat: Subscribe to the podcast, share this episode with a friend, and keep coming back for conversations that fuel capacity, not just momentum.
