that time of the week?
i have been a bit moody lately, really tired, craving chocos and cranky. really cranky. i am actually too tired to bitch, but i need to. tomorrow is a fresh day, right?
i belong to some softies and plushie groups on livejournal and i often get snarky comments about the creatures i make. they say that they are creepy and scary, or sometimes that they are a piece of crap, or insinuate that there is something wrong with me. the last few times i ignored it. this time, i felt messages saying that cute things are…cute. not problem. i like cute. kittens? love em! puppies? cuuuute! but there are other kinds of cute, other kinds of beauty, and actually i remember in college running into a brickwall because of peoples view that you should make harmless, beautiful things or else….they will beat you up with a puppy or something. the result of all of that, and i guess taking it as the view of me, myself, because i really got picked on a lot for being different growing up. i know we all did, some way worse than me, imagine, but the point is that i learned from a young age that i hate the traditionally pretty things. to such a large degree that i decided that i wouldn’t like something that i might like if i gave it a try because the assholes liked it. does that make any sense? additionally, like a porcupine, i made myself look more uninviting to keep away the kind of people that would hate me anyway. that was my thinking anyway. until recently, i didn’t really understand why i did it so intently. i saw it as being a stupid teenager. but it really wasn’t. it was self preservation and it was a smart thing to do. we moved really often, so my friends changed every couple of years at most, so no backup. why bother?
so now, i see those same people making stupid comments on things that i guess they can’t wrap their heads around. a fuzzy art toy. not meant for an infant to play with. they are meant to show their personalities, and that is what makes them who they are, and no hello kitty. i used to be into hello kitty. as a kid in the 70’s, i wanted it bad. before it full on broke mainstream, people started buying stuff for me wherever they could find it usually from a bigger city. i grew to not like her anymore. what does she do? what is she all about? what does she like? is she a republican? i want to know.
so it comes down to this…janeane garofalo said that the american public don’t care what goes in their eyehole, earhole, nosehole or mouthwhole, and sometimes i agree. make it palatable, that works just fine. sigh. i swear, i won’t sound so mean to-morrow.
i sketched up a couple of sculptures i dreamed of that i am working on now. i started the human form one, which i plan to make the size of a child and then probably some bigger ones, we will see. it is striped red and off-white. i have the head done down to the shoulders. the decreases were just as i went to try to shape. i probably should have taken notes. ah well. we will see how it comes out. i am excited about it. this was what i had started earlier, although i am much further along now, and next is the sketch of what it will be…
working on my desk. um. legs.
my basic design…
i am working on birdie legs for some of the softies so they can stand up better. the photo begs to have way more different scenarious taken, with different things on em, or by themselves, down the street…oooh oooh oooh!
oh, the mean polar bear sold! grrrr! there are a few more still up on my www.luxe.etsy.com shop.
off i go!
xo
n.
Jess said,
August 15, 2007 @ 2:25 am
I never liked Hello Kitty as a kid because I thought she was too girly, and all the other girls liked her. I do the same thing: deciding I don’t like something based on people who do.
i am off to beat someone with a puppy.
cheryl :) said,
August 15, 2007 @ 8:48 am
The bird legs are great!!!! You have such a talent to bring things forward visually. And don’t let the turkeys get you down. We each have our own tastes, that is what drives the economy (and I bet they have ugly husbands —look at yours and you got it all over them no matter what they say)
Heatherly said,
August 15, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
wicked awesome legs! i mean the bird ones, but you have a nice pair too
just cuz you are original and tey are conformists, dont let them bug you! they are just jealous
angelique said,
August 15, 2007 @ 9:31 pm
Love those birdy legs! I went on a couple of those sites for dolls n’ scultures ect. Thanks for sharing!
Zeeppo said,
August 16, 2007 @ 7:02 pm
I don’t care what anyone says. I would let my children play with those toys. My kids would need their personalities represented. And when they get to be five or six they would get their own powertools anyways.
Just aslong as I kept them away from those Matel toys from China I would feel like a good parent. And I would deffinately keep them away from Hello Kitty.
Riin said,
August 16, 2007 @ 8:38 pm
Your creatures kind of remind me of Maurice Sendak’s monsters. That’s pretty cool.
Hello Kitty used to totally creep me out — just waaaaay too girly for me — and then I started listening to Shonen Knife, and I realized that somehow, they seemed like a cross between Hello Kitty and the Ramones. Now Hello Kitty just seems weird in a way that intrigues me and mystifies me and still scares me a little. Someone could probably do a dissertation on Hello Kitty if they haven’t already. But hey, better Hello Kitty than Barbie.
natasha said,
August 16, 2007 @ 10:21 pm
jess, yeah, i didn’t have dolls much and i think that i just dug the stationary and stickers and pencils that hello kitty had in the late 70’s. i loved me stickers and pencils. haven’t changed much, i reckon!
make sure to smooch the puppy first!
cheryl, you are such a sweet woman. seriously. those people just baffle me. seriously. i will be sure to tell jake! hee.
natasha said,
August 16, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
heather and angelique….thanks so much! i am wondering if i should put up a tutorial, even though they are pretty simple, it took my feeble brain a little while to figure out the proper tools. i was surprised how little there was out there for making things like that short of using taxidermy stuff.
natasha said,
August 16, 2007 @ 10:23 pm
aw zeeps, you make me blush! i am tempted to give the toys genitalia just to further upset those people. gah! hello kitty…why is she so damn cheerful all the time?
natasha said,
August 16, 2007 @ 10:24 pm
riin, i love where the wild things are! such adorable artwork, thanks for the wonderful compliment!
Feltbug said,
August 18, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
Your stuff is way coool - don’t let them get you down - you must be doing something right to provoke these reactions
- I have never understood why people have to be so negative - better not to speak if your words are ugly - keep going sister - love what you do and say xx
natasha said,
August 19, 2007 @ 12:24 am
aw feltbug, you are so sweet. it baffles me more than anything. everyone that makes comments like that never has a blog connected, or if they do, no photos of their work…ever notice that? unless someone was acting mean about someone else’s work, i wouldn’t feel the need to crap on them. i am pleased that they think my things are ugly.
xo back atcha!