It’s got a pretty mouth/to swallow you whole
It’s got a pretty mouth/to swallow you whole

Thank you, JoCo, for the title… I will assume that there’s a market for photographs of oldish dolls. Wherever it is, I don’t shop there. Except obviously I DO shop there, but I don’t enjoy it. Because even on a good day, loving close-up photographs of dolls are a little unsettling, and the older ones…they’re […]

Angry new god
Angry new god

There are many things at Savers that I wouldn’t want to anger. In most cases, these are employees, who sail the aisles like mighty warships or float like mines tethered to their registers. But occasionally, I find a piece of merchandise that I would, on the whole, prefer to maintain a good relationship with. And […]

Bear in mind, this IS folk art
Bear in mind, this IS folk art

So in sixth grade, when I was briefly in a program for the criminally insane, the nice ladies with calm, soothing voices gave me a book of arts and crafts. No, really, it’s all true, just dull. Anyway, it had a suggestion for making apple-headed dolls. I thought, “well, that sounds cute.”  But my love […]

There’s something wrong with that bunny…
There’s something wrong with that bunny…

The poor thing clearly has some sort of condition. One that made his entire body break out into tiny pink donuts. Or those little pink and yellow gummy rings, very seasonal, and probably pretty tasty, but if you’re covered with them, you might want to see a specialist. In the last scene of the  movie adaptation of […]

Mardi Gras homunculus
Mardi Gras homunculus

It’s Mardi Gras. Everybody’s pretty darn liquored up, busy making decisions they’ll regret either tomorrow morning or for the next 18-25 years, depending. Swept away in the magic of the moment, a young swain meets the eye of a lady who catches his fancy. He, being the consummate gentleman, finds the choicest string of beads […]

Separated at birth?
Separated at birth?

  In most cases, I can deny any sort of involvement in these projects, and just pretend that my home town is a hip little oasis in the middle of Texas, but once in a while I get a grim reminder that there really isn’t an escape from country craft. It’s everywhere. And it has […]

Mysterious girl from space
Mysterious girl from space

Is she a magical girl freshly emerged from the sea dressed in ceremonial starfish garb, preparing to summon Mothra? Is she an anthropomorphic star, a visitor from the heavens come to spread joy and happiness? Is she a cake decoration from Lady Gaga’s Quinceañera, the one with the ill-fated “everybody dress in bundt pans” theme? […]

Formless stuffed things
Formless stuffed things

The Goodwill on 2222 recently, maybe six months ago, putting discount bins in the front. I’m guessing it’s to give a bit of shape to the cash register area, or maybe just to slow down the occasional mad rush toward Women’s Sleeveless Tops. We are not sure. Mostly, it’s filled with religious devotionals and textbooks, […]

Big heart, tiny head
Big heart, tiny head

When I was a wee little kid my mother bought me a book called “Amy’s Eyes,” wherein we learn the secret of bringing a toy to life, and also, why you shouldn’t have removable eyes. Little books that are filled with nursery magic might give you a fleeting wish that such a thing might be […]

The stage takes its toll.
The stage takes its toll.

She really let herself go after her stage career fell apart. Frankly, not just anyone can wear gold body paint like that. And not just anyone should. But points for style. At least two points, maybe even three. I’m digging on the strange ear-buds. They’re kind of like something I saw Martha Stewart make out […]