The weekend skidded by, lost to prepping for the big art history exam on the Bauhaus that Tuesday. Pauline huffed an audible sigh of relief following the test; she had identified the slides easily and felt confident in her essay writing. Apparently, all of the studying had paid off, and now she could relax. She had completely forgotten about the basement workroom until she pulled up to the store and a switch flicked on in her mind.
Chester was outside, moving some of the mannequins around to showcase the new front window display in the making. He hefted the children away from the bench and strapped them to the pole with the flag waving Elvis wannabe and his doe-eyed girlfriend. Pauline looked at the window and was taken aback; the lovely blonde mannequin was poised front and center, sporting a flowy teal formal gown with sequin accents from the late 1940s. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders.
Chester’s eyes met Pauline’s gaze and he waved an abrupt hello.
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“She’s a beaut, isn’t she?” he called out. “Just finished working on her this weekend.”
Pauline waved back with a slight roll of her fingertips nodding, unable to speak. She opened the door to be greeted heartily by Betty Lou, who was nestled in her corner watching the television for a change of pace, tuned in to an unfamiliar old game show in which a man dressed in a chicken suit was deciding something between a door and a box.
“You’re almost there, hon,” Betty Lou exclaimed from her ledger, taking note of how many hours she’d worked. “You’ll have that mannequin worked off in no time. I even put a SOLD sign on her for you. One or two more days and she’ll be yours… Now can you rearrange that front window? Chester’s finished his newest creation, and I want to make sure she gets all the attention she deserves.” She gestured towards the new blonde mannequin with her meaty hand. “Just clear out all of that junk around her feet and finish setting up that dollhouse display.”
Pauline drifted to the front window. The mannequin appeared much more static than she had when Pauline had confronted her downstairs, her skin less waxy and her eyes distant and dry. She stood sentry, staring out into the parking lot. Betty Lou’s voice drifted over, “She’s a pretty one. Looks just like that girl Dinah, who worked here before you came along…”
Apparently Chester had just piled everything to the side as he readied his new mannequin for her debut, and he and Betty Lou had been waiting for Pauline to clear the things out. Pauline picked up a couple of boxes of shoes from the heap next to the mannequin’s feet and hauled them to the shoe rack a couple of clothing displays over. There was a dollhouse and a box of doll furnishings and accessories at the ready, and once Pauline found new homes for all four boxes of shoes and wigs, she set to work on putting the dollhouse together. She could barely make out a trailing tiny and distant sound, like far away moaning, but it was largely drowned out by the television in Betty Lou’s corner. In fact, it was only barely audible within arm’s distance of the new mannequin, and only if Pauline strained to hear it at quiet points in the show. It was the same soft crying she had heard in the basement, but much more distant and muted.
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The dollhouse was vintage and was in relatively good shape but had remained unfinished. There were some rooms that were more complete than others, wallpapered and floored in ways that were aesthetically pleasing, and Pauline could identify where the kitchen, bathroom, dining room, and two bedrooms were likely supposed to be, arranging furnishings from the box accordingly. She set up a sort of parlor in another room, and a den in another, before she left for the day. Every so often as she worked, Pauline would glance up at the new blonde mannequin out of the corner of her eye. She had the distinct feeling that she was being watched, and the eerie sobbing was unnerving. But the mannequin just stood motionless, silently staring out the front window to greet anyone passing by the store.
Mannequin legs, detail from featured image with the writer
Portrait of myself with dark makeup and crow skull headdress, backlit by the sun.
Jennifer Weigel is a multi-disciplinary mixed media conceptual artist residing in Kansas USA. Weigel utilizes a wide range of media to convey her ideas, including assemblage, drawing, fibers, installation, jewelry, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, video and writing. You can find more of her work at:
https://www.jenniferweigelart.com/
https://www.jenniferweigelprojects.com/
https://jenniferweigelwords.wordpress.com/
In our last installment of the art show preview, the eye drawing has it… All-seeing works by Jennifer Weigel go to show you gotta watch where you look. I’m a little obsessed with eyes, so they appear in a lot of my art, especially the more surreal the circumstance. Here are a few that have found themselves in odd and unusual settings…
Sunflower VisionEye See You
I had so much fun drawing this with Art Girls Reality Meg Graham and Day de Dada in one of the mandala gatherings. The big Sunflower Vision above also happened in one of these online groups. All of my mandalas have eyes, it just kind of happens…
Hamsa
No spiders this time, so we’ll close with a rainbow Hamsa warding sigil eye drawing. The hamsa or Hand of Fatima is an ancient symbol that protects against evil and negativity when facing upwards and brigs prosperity and good fortune upon its wearer when turned the other way. It is found in spiritual, religious and cultural beliefs throughout the world in various forms. I included it previously in one of my walking sticks. My version is fairly Goth-punk influenced with the huge central eye and running mascara, but seriously would you expect any different?
This Little Witch and her tabby cat wanted to kick things off with a fly-by hello. They’re bringing the witchy magics from the last post. That’s a crowded broomstick, but what a way to ride in style. Funny how cats always seem to fill whatever space is available to them, especially while lap-napping.
Night Watch
It’s a perfect time to howl at the moon in this Night Watch marker drawing. Such a happy lycanthrope. He’s setting the night to music, a capella werewolf-style.
Candy Corn Vampire
The cuteness just cannot be contained in this Candy Corn Vampire marker drawing. I vant to suck your sugary soda. I used to take great glee in doing this with candy corn as a child, to my dentist father’s chagrin. It’s every dentist’s nightmare. Or $$$ depending on their personal motivations, I suppose.
Eight Legged Artand the sculpture that inspired it
And why not end with some more spiders? This is a plein air drawing done in situ based off of this fun sculpture in Wichita, Kansas USA. You can see the finished drawing and its inspiration here. This spider is HUGE! Made out of metal and rocks and other crazy stuff…
This month we are going to explore more fun marker art from Jennifer Weigel, starting with black and white line drawing. Jennifer is getting ready for her big Life Is Brilliant solo show in March and has snuck in a few spookier themes, so she wanted to share them with you here.
Witch Way
The magic is strong in this Witch Way line drawing with its fun witchy head-topper, complete with striped hat band and star dangle. No self-respecting wizard’s ensemble would be complete without it.
Kitty Witch
And now the adorable Kitty Witch will don the Witch Way hat and cast a spell of cuteness on you. You gotta wonder just how the hat stays on but best not to question these things. We all know it’s magic…
Not Today Satan
The devil is in the details in this Not Today Satan line drawing, and boy is he pissed!
She Devil
This She Devil is just plain goofy. Maybe she’s coyly playing innocent; it’s not a look most devils can pull off, seeing as how innocence really isn’t their schtick…
Hang in There Spider
This little spider came down to your tuffet to remind you to Hang in There. She is very well-intentioned and is only looking out for you. I guess maybe she’s not so little though, she is an Argiope after all…
Feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL. Or on her writing, fine art, and conceptual projects websites.
Portrait of myself with dark makeup and crow skull headdress, backlit by the sun.
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