Thursday, September 13, 2007

fishy kitschy

A while back everyone was showing off their Kitsch. I was too busy sorting my gazillion photos from my fabulous trip to England to play along. But I couldn't help noticing my kitsch as I went around my business at home. And the piece that really stood out to me was this:
Yes, a fishing shark. And what is that he's caught? Yes, a human. Ahhh... so clever. And then I got to thinking about how much shark stuff I have in my home. See, sharks are my favorite animals (ever since I watched Jaws 3 when I was 7 or 8. And then a book about real life shark attacks became my favorite book. I would read it over and over. I know, I know! I should see a shrink! Instead, I collect sharks). I did a little tour of my home. Here is a SMALL sampling of the sharks in my home:
Sharks to drink from.
Sharks to wear.
Sharks to cuddle. (that hammerhead one in the back? he's my favorite. When you squeeze him he says, in a very deep voice, things like "I have no bones. My skeleton is made of cartilage" and "I'm a hammerhead shark. I make no sound") Sharks to play with in the bathtub (yes, these are in MQ's tub. But they are MINE. I owned them well before she was born. And this is a mere portion of the bathtub collection)
A sign to warn you of the sharks.
These are the sharks the sign is warning you of. They are but one of the 3 different kinds of sharks I have stenciled onto the bathroom wall. The other sharks are great whites and blue sharks. And in case you were wondering, I could find no place that actually SOLD shark stencils, so I made my own. I decided that if I had an undersea bathroom I would have a place to display my massive shark collection.
Sharks to dust (because really, what other purpose do they serve? Oh, they make me smile. Particularly that baby one, which comes out of the bigger one. Fun!)

And as I write this I think of all the sharks I forgot to take pictures of. The shark kite. The shark earrings. The two shark puppets. The shark picture frame (which houses a 12 year old picture of my husband and I on the beach). The dozens of shark books. The shark rubber stamp. The shark stickers. MQ's shark pants. The shark on my car antenna.

Am I obsessed? Or do I just have a favorite thing that is so quirky everyone likes to buy me shark stuff? You decide.

So... what crazy things do you collect around your house?

27 comments:

Emily said...

At the moment, evidentally, we collect dust. The basement is in the throws of being finished. And since the ac/furnace is down there, the evidence is blown ALL OVER THE HOUSE. We have sawdust and sheetrock dust and general dust bunny dust soon to be joined by tile particles, hardwood sandings, carpet dust... I'm thinking about selling my collection on ebay.

Beck said...

"I have no bones. My skeleton is made of cartilage."
Hey, ME TOO!
One of my cousins was attacked by a shark - he's okay, but that's crazy!

painted maypole said...

Wow, Beck. I'm sorry about your brother, but glad he's OK. And I SO want to talk to him about it! I've never talked to an actual person who was attacked by a shark. i'm fascinated.

painted maypole said...

whoops, sorry beck, that would be your cousin, not your brother. Hmmm... good reading retention skills I have, eh?

Rima said...

Um . . . WOW! I never knew sharks could be so cute.

I collect overdue library books.

Simply Clueless said...

These days, I've been collecting baby paraphernalia. It's everywhere you turn. And I can't even get rid of any of it.

Stacy Michelle said...

giraffes. i have many giraffes. many, many, many giraffes. the may queen and i even have matching giraffe socks!!

and, on a smaller scale, dragonflies. the dragonfly collection is mostly stickers and rubber stamps, though.

Stacy Michelle said...

ha! ditto to the baby stuff. xander has pretty much taken over the house. (not that i mind too much, i love my little boy!)

Run ANC said...

Wow. You really do like sharks.

I am starting to collect Tibetan buddha statues. Which is weird, because I am not buddhist.

Anonymous said...

My son always manages to find lost sharks at the pool -- and he has quite a collection around here.

niobe said...

I don't really collect stuff. Instead, I spend my time trying to convince my husband to get rid of his many, many collections.

Magpie said...

Wow. My father would feel right at home. Not sharks, but fish everywhere.

Thank you for the sharing.

Aliki2006 said...

I love all your sharks! I never would have imagined...but they are wonderful.

Sarahviz said...

You're certainly the very first shark collector I've ever met!

My obsession? Quite common, actually: purses and shoes!

soccer mom in denial said...

That is so cool. I have absolutely nothing on your level - except dust bunnies.

I like funky purses and hats.

Blog Antagonist said...

LOL, well, at least your obsession has focus. I just collect....stuff. Vintage stuff, but anything vintage is fair game. If I had a thing to focus my collecting on, maybe I wouldn't have so much shi, er, kitsch.

Jennifer said...

Sharks completely give me the creeps. Completely. They eat turtles, you know.

;)

Girlplustwo said...

i collect books.

we are actually pretty good at NOT collecting stuff although i like seeing what others do quite a bit.

Unknown said...

Those are awesome.

And I have a bunch of hummels and steins.

Ambassador said...

OK, after working at the Audubon Aquarium for almost 5 years, I too have a special love for sharks (and penguins). I was there working the night that 10 people fell into the Gulf of Mexico Exhibit (The BIG Shark Tank, but don't dare call it that in front of the staff!). It was so freaky, but the best response of the night came from a 10 year old girl who fell in and was pulled out in the first two minutes...

As the staff was trying to get everyone dried off, calmed down and get their information - this girl summed it up best, waving away the fussing: "You don't understand - school starts in 2 weeks...I'm gonna be a STAR!!"

I love sharks. Ken

Catherine said...

How fun!

I mostly collect messiness around my house. I'm supposed to be cleaning right now actually, not blogging...

Mad said...

My husband directed a great new play by one of his former students last year. It was called "The Shark Tumour Collection." You would have loved it: sharks AND theatre in one neat package.

Thanks for posting this, PM. I loves me the kitsch.

Creative-Type Dad said...

Too funny! I like the shark fishing a human.

Furrow said...

I'm currently allergic to collections and any suggestions by others that they are going to help me start a collection (I have an aunt who likes to do such things).

I like that you collect shark things, though. Much cooler than collecting bunnies, or some such thing.

Candygirlflies said...

There was a little boy in Child Number Three's nursery this morning who was sporting a pair of sunglasses with SHARKS on the arms!!

I said, "Hey, Ben!! I've got a friend who would LOVE your sunglasses!!"

He said, "Huh. She can't have them!!"

You shark-types sure are posessive!!

You WOULD have loved them, though!!

thirtysomething said...

How cool! I collect snowmen. I ahve almost 100, all kinds from stuffed, to musical, to well, too many to even begin to tell ya!

blooming desertpea said...

lol - I used to collect coca-cola and micky mouse items and anything froggy - those were days!! I think I still got some in a box ... well, yea, I had to box them since I moved a few times - Hmmm, maybe it's time to take them out - lol