Lochlan O'neil
Design
My design process, like everything else in my life, is messy, confusing, and tangled up. I often compare my brain to a birds nest–woven together with schemes, mundane thoughts, scientific observations, and narcoleptic dreams.
I hoard knowledge away like a greedy dragon until I am given a project, and then I am flooded with inspiration. I sort out my nest and am able to find exactly what I need. Then, I start visualizing. The visualization process lasts a while as I piece together my knowledge, what I wish to create, and how I picture both the creative and technical elements. When it finally comes time to create, I know exactly what I want. I may rework the piece a few times to get it to look like how it does in my brain, but in the end, I am generally happy with my creations.
All my life, I was told I had to choose between art and science. While working in STEM fields, I was constantly told that art is pointless and only perused by foolish individuals who were happy to be broke their whole lives. In art school, it was the other way around. I was told not to think logically, but to “just be creative.” I was chastised for using the scientific terms for bones and muscles, for reading research journals while searching for fashion inspiration.
I never understood this fight between “creativity” and “logic,” because I believe they go hand in hand. I find my greatest inspirations in STEM fields–Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. How could I not? It makes up everything!
Animal Educator
Since I was a small child, I’ve had a habit of sharing my “fun facts” with whoever I could trap long enough to listen. As I grew older, I realized that if I wanted people to be as interested in the things I had to say, I actually had to find a way to make my “fun facts” fun. This realization is what led to my current interpretive approach to my work. My intense passions for both science and art have enabled me to tell an engaging story with everything I create, whether it be a 10 foot light up owl costume, or an educational presentation on proper raccoon husbandry.
I began working as an animal educator at age 14, staffing smallstock barns at fairs and assisting with animal birthday parties for children. Now, I help run Exotic Pet Wonderland–a sanctuary for captive-bred wildlife in Knoxville. I work with and teach about animals such as raccoons, bobcats, and foxes, and educate through Tiktok, blog posts, and at in person events.
My areas of expertise are related to the care of small native carnivora in captivity, animal law, human social fear learning as it relates to animals, and the intersection of the tourism industry and wildlife conservation.
Talking about animals comes naturally to me. I have always found it easier to communicate with animals than with people anyway, so talking to people about animals is the next closest thing. I am a firm believer that there really are no stupid questions when it comes to animals. Silly? Sure. But not stupid. After all, how else is someone supposed to learn if they don’t ask? My goal as an educator is to ensure people feel comfortable coming to me with questions and know that I want them to be as excited about animals as I am.
Selected Educational Content
Writings
Social Media’s Exotic Pet Problem
How to Litter Box Train a Raccoon
Cozumel Raccoon Information Page
Videos
The Only Panda Not Owned by China
Educational Website
Professional Internet Werido
"I WANT TO PUT YOU UNDER A MICROSCOPE AND STUDY YOU LIKE A VIRUS" - SOME RANDOM PERSON ON TIKTOK
If you’re on this website, it is probably because you either a) read about me in a news article or b) saw one of my tiktok videos where I dropped some insane personal lore in a 7 second clip. I am the product of having unlimited, unsupervised access to the internet during my formative years. During this time I managed to create the one of the most well known fandom disasters on the internet, and also gained a startling amount of popularity as a My Little Pony cosplayer. While both of these things are pretty cursed, they aren’t things I am ashamed of or try to hide. All of this is a part of me and made me who I am today.
You can find me on tiktok as LochnessOfficial where I have amassed over 100,000 followers for simply sharing little snippets of my life. People know me as “that raccoon lady,” “the Amish Time girl,” and “the person who tried to unalive her roommate by feeding him almond ice cream.” I should note, I did not actually attempt to murder a man. My biggest crime there was my passive aggressive stickie notes on the fridge.
While I devote most of my time now to making costumes professionally and doing animal stuff, I do still attend pop culture conventions and fandom events when invited. I tend to judge cosplay contests and run panels on costume design and construction, but am willing to talk about Dashcon if you are polite about it.
If you are interested in having me at your event, please send me a message.
