Remedios Varo painted this *Fantastic animal* with oil on canvas. It is likely that Varo built up this composition with thin glazes of paint. The layered appearance gives the whole picture a hazy, otherworldly aura, appropriate to its surreal subject. Consider the wheel: is it natural or man-made? And what of the material of its outer rim? It looks as though the figure has fashioned it out of its own discarded skin. In this way, it is both a record of labor, of movement through space, and of a kind of shedding, or spiritual growth. Varo’s art is a reminder that materials, making, and context all contribute to the meaning of an artwork. She prompts us to look beyond the surface and question established boundaries between art and craft.