figurines | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘figurines’

thrift store kitsch

Posted: May 12, 2026 in stores
Tags: angel, baby fairy, bears, ceramics, cherished teddies, chicken, figurines, glassware, glittery, nervous, pig, pottery, screaming, shoes, underwear

Kitsch. Such a great word. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary: ” kitsch, the various bits and bobs of popular culture—fuzzy dice, plastic flamingos, cartoon-themed plastic lunchboxes, etc.—that enjoy widespread popularity but don’t hold much cultural esteem.”

And where is a great place to find fine examples of these bits and bobs? A thrift store. Maybe you’ll recognize one or two of them!

below: A snail on a bare baby fairy bum and bears playing accordions, oh the things that people will collect! The bears are from Cherished Teddies which were very big in the 1990s. There were a vast number of them for all occasions, all seasons, and all ages.

below: Can you read this little piggy’s expression? I am afraid that is confuses me, …but the coffee cups are nice. I made a small mistake and googled this image – to my horror, you can get a 12 piece pig/piglet set with the pigs in different “cute” poses, of which this is one, for about Cdn $80 on Ebay. Google it as your peril!

below: This one almost came home with me! The glass that is, not the frog. Sorry Mr. Frog.

below: More confusion – she’s kinda cute in a kitschy kind of way. The little person at her feet though – is this a mother and child? Or is this an angel watching over a child? Mother Nature dressed in lavender and feathers?

below: Wise advice, especially if it comes with glittery pink cowboy boots!

below: He’s not listening; he’s not taking good advice…. he needs to buy some shoes….

below: Another anthropomorphic animal…. a long eared rabbit this time. She’s wearing a hat and a dress and very blue footwear. She’s also wearing a surprised expression that makes you wonder what the goose said or did.

below: I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other’s carrying something blue….

below: A smart purchase! A steal at $3.99

below: All that Mardi wanted was to be gras…..

below: Maybe it’s the hair? …. but I suspect that no one is going to mistake me for Wonder Woman!

below: Not really kitsch, but that’s a lot of weird looking bikini undies!

Have fun! And maybe find a bargain or two while you’re at it!

Elaborate and more

Posted: November 17, 2024 in galleries
Tags: ceramics, demons, Elaborate, faces, figurines, flowers, Gallery 235, Harbourfront Centre, Jess Riva Cooper, Joon Hee Kim, Julie Moon, Kaley Flowers, Lindsay Montgomery, Marc Egan, Marissa Alexander, mirrors, pottery, sculpture, women

The previous blog post featured a wall that was covered with ceramic tiles that created an image of a Tree of Life – It is part of “Elaborate”, a group exhibition, at Harbourfront Centre’ s Gallery 235. This blog post takes a look at some of the other art in that exhibit as well as a few more ceramic art pieces that can be seen in display in cases in the halls of the Harbourfront building.

First, in the hall, Joon Hee Kim’s wonderful busts of fanciful whimsical characters.

Also in the hallway, round pieces by Jess Riva Cooper where flowers bloom from mouths, noses, and ears of the central subject(s) swirling to form wreaths around them. The series is titled “Pullulate”

below: “Helleborus viridis” 2024, 45 cm in diameter

below: Some of pieces have hands in the central position, hands that rip the flowers from the ground and/or tear them apart.

below: Large droopy flowers in weird colour combinations on a table, sculptures by Julie Moon,

below: On the table in the background in the above photo are little sculptures by Lindsay Montgomery. This is a close up of one of them. Maybe someone spilled its cup of tea?

Montgomery’s work is in two sections. The above figurine is a newer piece from the series “Despairware” “which references books of demonology and iconographies of feral femininity with Staffordshire figurines from the 19th century” (from the words on the wall at the gallery). She is also showing some of her older work here, a series called “Neo Istoriato” which re-imagines paintings and pottery from the Renaissance. Two examples:

All together in a big pot in the fiery mouth of Hell while the demons dance with glee.

below: Kaley Flowers, cracked and broken glass to mimic water within a frame of ceramic shells, rocks and marine forms.

below: Marissa Alexander, eight women hanging on the wall. Hung up, hanging about, hanging out….

And last, there are a few individual tiles by Marc Egan that are very similar to the flowers and leaves in his Tree of Life.

Craven Road once more

Posted: May 23, 2019 in locations
Tags: art, boots, cat, clock, Craven Road, dolls, fence, figurines, flag, found objects, frames, geraniums, houses, pictures, planters, signs, stuff

I went back to Craven Road this morning to see if anything had changed. The last time I blogged about this street was in November 2016. As with many things in life, some things have changed while other things remain the same. A quick tour of the street …..

below: Some of the cat paintings are there still.

below: These two paintings have been here since at least 2015 although the vines have started to grow over them. Once the leaves reappear (soon), the paintings won’t be quite so visible.

below: The sheep painting by Christine Kowal is still there

below: On the other side of the fence, backyards on Ashdale.

below: There is still a section of the fence that has been decorated with found objects.

below: Parking for pirates only. It was five past twelve when I took this picture so either it’s a functional clock or I happened past at a very fortuitous time.

below: A creepy doll and boots to watch you.

below: A faded bunny from days gone by, holding a little watering can perhaps to water the metallic leaves?

below: Part of a collection of found objects in front of a house. The gallery has expanded!

below: Today I met Johnny, the King of Craven Road. He mentioned that he appears in a video about Craven Road so I looked it up (on Vimeo, “Craven Road – Director’s Cut). The video was made five years ago which pre-dates the collection of objects that he’s standing in front of in the photo. If you watch the video, you will see some of the cat, and other, paintings.