When Art Has Wheels

When art has wheels you are presented with some rather unique options.
There's the obvious....you could go places with it, hang out around town with it, show it to strangers, haul heavy items with it.
But for me, skimming across the surface of planet earth atop one of my most cherished art pieces would result in some cuts, contusions, and possibly breaks.  Hopefully mine and not the Ugly skate decks!

The latter possibility that harm could befall my new lovely Ugly deck inspired me to ride it all of 4 to 6 inches across the hardwood floor of my living room, then reverently elevate it to a tabletop to admire it for what it really is.  ART.

So now I have an art piece with wheels.  Wheels on the wall will have it's own unique effect in my life. People will wonder, people will ask, why do you have a skateboard on your wall.  And I will explain that it is not a skateboard, but a fine piece of Uglydoll art on wheels.  One that will never again touch the ground.

Arrivals at the Uglydoll Clinic

When we saw this sad group of Ugly refugees, we pooled our cookie money and adopted them.

Old Cinko, Wage and Babo had their mouths ripped off. It was said to be a dog that did it. Ice Bat fought the dog off but was left with a sad frown. Wedgie stood on his head and the dog left him unharmed and went away.

When this mute little group arrived, we'd never treated this type of Ugly injury before. We researched different types of material for mouths and various kinds of glue to attach them. We had the emergency supplies assembled and waiting for them.

We bought several yards of anything we could find that might serve as a mouth. Nothing looked just like the original mouths, but these guys needed something immediately. So we worked with what we could find in our smallish town.

The glue was even trickier than the mouth material. We bought 3 or 4 kinds of fabric glue. After some hugs, our Winged Abima lulled them to sleep with a song and we went to work on the sleeping Uglies. We surface washed the dirt and goo off. Then gently, tenderly attached new mouths.

When the mouths dried, they looked pretty good, but to the touch, they feel stiff.

When the Uglies awoke, they were chattering and singing with joy. Babo used his new mouth to eat an entire package of Mother's Iced Oatmeal cookies with Molasses. I can't even imagine being Babo without a mouth. It makes me cry.

We didn't hear one bit of complaint out of our darling patients about the work we did.

Someday I would like to find better material, and much better glue for our Uglydoll Clinic. These mouths are a bit too thick, and the glue left them much too stiff. We will do new surgery if we ever find the right supplies. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. These will certainly not be the last Uglydolls we rescue from harms way.

And here they are today, safe and loved.

Ghost and the Machine or Radio Wage

Ghost and the Machine, or Radio Wage.

Uglydoll Wage was assigned the task of emergency preparedness, a job he takes very seriously. First he stocked up on cookies, yummies, and container fruit juice. Babo is very relieved.

Wage then began to assemble the second tier of necessities. The little white Eton Emergency Radio is his newest arrival, and his personal pride. He chose well. This radio runs on several power sources: an AC adaptor, AA batteries, a rechargeable battery, and Wages favorite, the Hand Crank! The radio can run on the hand crank alone, or crank it to charge the battery. You can see Ice Bat and Plunko lined up for a turn on the Hand Crank.

The fun doesn't stop there. Wage's radio also has a built-in flash light on the side, can receive AM, FM, Weather Emergency channels, charge a cell phone, AND........it has a SIREN! Of course he's delighted.

Want your own Emergency Preparedness Manager? Get WAGE here.

Want your own Little White Super Radio? Get it here. Currently 20.00 off retail. That Wage is a shrewd shopper.

When asked what HE liked so much about the radio, Ugly Ghost didn't reply. I think it's a spiritual connection.

Kaiju in my window

My office window is transformed by the arrival of these amazing Kaiju. They all arrived on the same day. I juggled the boxes up the stairs and tried to decide which to open first. Finally, I grabbed a box knife and just went for it. Each box was more breathtaking than the one before, but nothing topped the glory of Clear Orange Wage, shown in the center. It's worth it to click on this photo to see a close-up of Wage.

The taller pieces are Mothman and Flatwoods Swamp Gas Type in pink, then El Grande himself, Clear Orange Wage, and Chupacrabra with the gold top notch. The little guys are all Uma. Each of these is from the creative genius of David Horvath of Uglydoll fame. The Uma are offspring of Mothman and Flatwoods, but not together, as I'd previously thought. Call me a romantic, but yes, I thought Mothman and Flatwoods were a couple, or at least met up sometimes outside work.

What is so appealing about this group of Kaiju? Where to start! Quality shows in every part of them, from David's design to the final product. They gleam in the light, and when backlight at dusk, or by the porch light, they radiate color and coolness. They are smooth to the touch, and are poseable. In his photo Chupacabra is seen with his head turned to the wide so you can see his face and the ridges down his spine. Chup's tiny arms are also articulated. Even the hoods pop off of the Uma Flatwoods, the little guys with the pointy heads. And if all that wasn't enough, Mothman and Flatwoods GLOW IN THE DARK.

They are fun to look and fun to touch. That to me is a collectors dream.