Posts Tagged ‘pig’

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.

collection of figurines for sale in a thrift store

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!

small plastic pink pig wearing denim short overalls

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

wine glass with words on it, i'd rather be a mermaid

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?

figurine for sale in a thrift store

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

keep calm and buy shoes poster on the wall of a store

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

yellow rubber chicken with wide open screaming mouth, on a shelf beside a stack of papers where the top one has the word nervous written in large letters

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.

Anthropomorphic rabbit wearing straw hat and blue dress, figurine for sale in thrift store

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

resin figure, girl wearing rust coloured overalls, one hand in her pocket

figurine for sale in throft shape, lady in long pink skirt is on a swing, man approaches but has hands up in the air

below: A smart purchase! A steal at $3.99

black t shirt with words, Nothing artificial about this intelligence

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

red baseball cap for sale in a thrift store, with words that say make mardi gras again

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

wonder woman poster in a thrift store

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

lots of bikini underwear for sale in a thrift store

square mirror on a wall in a thrift store

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

Happy New Year!

January 23rd is Lunar New Year  as we enter the Year of the Rabbit (except in Vietnam where apparently it’s the Year of the Cat).

below: Although this mural has nothing to do with rabbits (or cats), it is found in Chinatown.  Three dragons cavorting on the wall on Oxford Street, painted by sightone in 2016.

on the side of a large old brick buildig, a long horizontal mural of dragons, in chinatown,

central, gold coloured dragon, looking straight ahead with mouth open, part a larger mural in chinatown with three dragons

below: Blue dragon guarding the door at number 5.

blue dragon, part of a larger mural in chinatown with three dragons

Nearby there is an alley where the Chinatown BIA has sponsored some murals with Asian themes.

an asian couple, woman in pink with flower in her hair, man in green,

chinatown murals in an alley

green clad warrior in chinatown mural

three characters in chinese mural in an alley, warrior,

pig standing upright with green jacket and red necktie, green cap, jacket open in front to reveal fat tummy and belly button

young man in chinatown mural

mural with Chinatown theme, man in red robes

alley with metal oil drums covered with graffiti, low buildings with street art on them,

below:  A large koi, or carp, swimming towards a pink lotus flower.

backyard and back of building, with three Asian theme murals, goldfish koi, a pink lotus flower, and

below: “Flowers of the four seasons – Autumn Chrysanthemum” by rowdyradrat.

murals on the back of Chinatown stores, in an alley,

below: Another rowdyradrat painting – this one is “Flowers of the Four Seasons – Winter, Plum Blossoms” and it features Chinese plum blossoms.
mural of pink flowers behind a store on Spadina, in an alley,

mural of a pink lotus flower on the back of a brick building

A selection of the graffiti animals that I have encountered in the past few weeks.

large mural on the side of two storey building of a rhino surrounded by large birds

rhino and his feathered friends, parking lot off College St.
This is only part of the mural…. more below.

.

mural of many large birds in blues and greys, they all have long curved necks and large beaks

large beaks, large birds
This is only part of the mural…. more above.

.

large realistic painting of a pink pig

oink, oink
A mural by ACS murals

.

A white outline drawing of a dinosaur painted on a green door that is locked

guardasaurus to watch over the door

.

a red and white painting of a floppy eared stylized rabbit on the side of an old garage.  Other garages with tags on them are also in the photograph

posr rabbit tucked in beside a garage – hiding from those who are hunting rabbits

.

large mural street art piece painted on the side of a one storey building of a beaked creature with wings

Creature with scales and a tail, Willis St., near the northwest corner of Queen and Bathurst streets.

.

elephants in threes, but you can only see two of them in this pic.  The elephant on the right didn't fit in the photo.

Elephants herd of three, but you can only see two of them in this picture. The elephant on the right didn’t fit in the photo…. but it looked just like the one of the left except it’s facing the other way.

.

painted graffiti of a hummingbird that looks like it is coming into land, hovering near vertical

hummingbird hovering beside a garage door

*****