Gatorhead
is Jessica Stratton, an artist and teacher residing and working in Ithaca, NY. A close friend gave the nickname Gatorhead to Jessica in her undergraduate college years. The concept of an original came about when the aforementioned artist began painting everything in sight during those same years. If it stood in one place long enough, Jessica simply put paint on it. And every piece she painted had its own unique style. In other words, each piece was an "original." And she's not only been painting fine art, but wooden furniture and craft pieces regularly for more than three years now. In fact, here's a little story about how the first original came to be:

Everyone goes through "the-first-apartment" phase. For use in her first apartment, Jessica’s uncle gave her a dark-brown, high-gloss, varnished captain's chair that left more than a ton to be desired. Disgusted with looking at it day in and day out, Jessica began painting it one day until it was covered in colorful patterns and childlike imagery. "Wow!" she thought. "A new chair!" Now, Jessica rescues sturdy furniture in dire need of a makeover (some might consider her a modern-day heroine). Each piece is selected for artistic conversion based on its quality and its potential to become a Gatorhead Original.