So there’s a category of shell art which uses shells as the medium, rather than the message. I personally regard this as somewhat uninspired, because you can make anything by gluing cone shells to a plastic base. Go to the taxidermy store, get the right frame, and make yourself a shell art antelope.
Please. I’d pay money to see that.
Anyway.
YES! Another shell-art clown! Each time I see a shell-art clown, it stops my breath for a moment, refreshes my soul, and reminds me why I’m doing this. It’s not about the glory, or the riches. It’s about theclowns.
Step one. Cover clown in glue. Step two: Throw into crap tourist shop. See what emerges.
Which is really entirely unfair, as some real love went into Mr. Clown. His hat is made of alternating bands of snail, there’s a lot of color and variety at work. So much that it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s happening. Either he’s clutching a pipe or some flowers to his chest, or has some sort of terrible cyst.
And the eyes are a nice touch. Getting a specimen of the peruvian googly snail must have been an expensive proposition, but it’s for art.
Yarn lips, also a nice touch. Nobody wants to kiss a shell. Or a clown.
Okay, so I’ve made fun of this, but there’s some obvious love here. Note the back-button snails and elegant shell-encrusted waistcoat. This is a clown of some class, a hobo’s hobo.
So, when you OBVIOUSLY leave the beak and duck-toes exposed, it doesn’t look like a shell art duck so much as a duck that’s being nibbled to death by snails. Which would be a terribly slow and stupid way for a duck to die. But what could you do? You couldn’t fly away because snails are heavy. Particularly that many snails. You can’t drown them, because I’m not sure a snail even notices when it’s underwater, or indeed, notices anything. And you can’t interrupt their meal, because that would be rude, and ducks are never, ever rude. So, death by a thousand snails.
“Hello, ladies.”
Shell Clown from Salvation Army on South Congress, Shell Duck from Savers on South Lamar, Austin
One Response to “Cone Shell Tragedies”
Why has it dipped it’s beak in mustard?