Tuesday, March 29, 2011

alien meets picasso


You've most likely been losing sleep, tossing and turning, wondering what item I found on my weekly thrift trip.  Actually, this past weekend was the last Scott Antique Show of the season, which is bittersweet, since there won't be another one until the weekend after Thanksgiving, but being the last day, vendors are ready to bargain.

I used my dickering skills, with a bit of extra charm, to land a great deal on this fabulous creamy mod head, with perfect patina, dated 1961, from Ray Mongenas, of Mongenas Antiques, Loveland, Ohio. Funny, his location is on Hanna Avenue, Hanna being my maiden name. He told me the fascinating story, how he found the head while picking at an old house in Cincinnati. Anyway, she's ultra quirky, very "alien meets Picasso".  

Her most delicious feature is her low chignon.  If you remember, I was all about the chignon last week.  Was I remembering the future? These synchronicities seem to come in groups of three for me.  I'll be watching for Chignon No. 3. Maybe this subject deserves a poem. I think it might.


Happiness is when what you think, 
what you say, and what you do 
are in harmony.

 Mahatma Gandhi

46 comments:

  1. she is amazing...what a great find. I would stare at her for hours I think.

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  2. our shopping rationales are so similar,
    loving to create connections and stories
    from the clues along the way.
    what is right? celebrating our mind's making of these
    celebratory signs of synchronicity in the world at large.
    who knew Gandhi was including the hunt when he stated that?
    someone has to be the keeper of alien hairstyles along the way.

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  3. Neva, I so agree. It's all about the clues on life's treasure map. Tuned-in shopping is so much more fun. Keeper of alien hairstyles. I like that. Someone's gotta do it.

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  4. Ooooh, love the way the light plays with her. Wonderful!

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  5. You found a treasure, that's for sure. Love the Gandhi quote as well.

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  6. Instant glamour, the chignon - even on an alien! My daughters and I are now doing Salvation Army runs on Saturday mornings! Last week I found a Williams Sonoma platter I longed for years ago for $5.00 and a movie I could have Netflixed but grabbed for $1.00. Not exactly an Academy Award winner, but I was just dying (I really mean that) over Jeff Bridges "The Mirror has Two Faces" - just a cute (hunky) comedy co-starring Barbra Streisand.

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  7. There's nothing like the thrifty thrill of the treasure hunt. My daughter (she's 28 now) is hooked, too.

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  8. At first sight I was a bit "put off" by the eyes. But actually this is a beautiful piece. I'm off today and off to a couple of junk shops in about an hour!

    Rick

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  9. this is a most interesting piece. it's a bit creepy and yet so lovely all at once. it will look wonderful in your home.

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  10. It's either by Constantin Brancusi, or by someone pretending to be Brancusi, or a mass-produced copy of someone pretending to be Brancusi. I do hope it's the first; it'd be worth a fortune!!!

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  11. Have fun, Rick. Let us know if you find treasure. Or at least an alien.

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  12. Something elegant to throw one of your hats on.

    You surely have the best thrift per square inch area in the entire world. If I sound envious, it must be so and if I don't sound envious I'm losing my grip with words.

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  13. Cro, I'm pretty sure it's mass produced. I found an identical one online in a posh London shop. I contacted them and am waiting for their selling price.

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  14. Ken, she is begging for one of my hats. I think shall call her Eglantine, since she has the most lovely egg-shaped head.

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  15. Ha! A broad smile as I read Julie King's comment..."it's a bit creepy and yet so lovely all at once. it will look wonderful in your home." As if the two can only be in perfect harmony if located within Willow Manor. She may be right...you do tend to breathe life and warmth into the most unusual things.

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  16. Cro, after a bit of investigation, she is a reproduction of Constantin Brancusi's "Mademoiselle Pogany III". I must write a post on my findings soon! Thanks for the tip, my friend.

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  17. My Gosh, lady, it is a very good
    thing that the manor is spacious,
    and you have shelves, cabinets,
    and drawers to place your found
    treasures in and on. How big or
    tall is this one? Ken was right,
    nearly prophetic as he brought
    to light how you create for us,
    the followers, warmth and life
    from the mundane, the unusual,
    the imaginative. I have a ton
    too many knick knacks and
    doodads at my digs already;
    course 20,000 movies push
    all else to the side.

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  18. Glen, 20,000 of anything is a lot. Speaking of shelves, where do you store them? The manor has lots of built in cabinetry, plus many of the original windows have 12" sills, so there's lots of room for "stuff". I'm always in a constant state of recycling, of flux, giving things away, donating to Goodwill, etc.

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  19. I had a good laugh when you showed her chignon. lucky you to be in an area with great thrift shops etc. Here, they are few and far between. I mean a 45 minute drive between. I need a trip to Cape cod for some thrift therapy.

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  20. you are too funny...us tossing and turning...

    i am putting out all of my Easter today...feeling Spring-ey over here....

    happy to see you at Farmhouse, my friend

    sending warm love,
    kary and teddy
    xxx

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  21. My daughter (26) and I are also bitten by the thrifting bug. You do make some distinguished finds my lady. She's weird cool with an air of sophistication!

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  22. What an intriguing blog post title!! Perfect description, and she is really quite beautiful...

    Loved your earlier Mona Lisa poem, very much - and everything else I've been catching up on here in the virtual Manor!

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  23. 'Alien meets Brancusi', to my eye.

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  24. Super piece, Tess. Well spotted!

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  25. No space here for more bits and pieces, so I must stop collecting, so I will have to be content with vicarious enjoyment.

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  26. Yes, I particularly like her from the back.

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  27. Where are you going to put her?

    About the quote...I am happy!

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  28. Gary, she is on a set of black-painted book shelves with my collection of vintage mercury glass.

    Stay tuned. Tomorrow I will post who she is!

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  29. A divine find, indeed.
    Excellent Ghandi quote.

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  30. A divine find. Almost spiritual
    in its beauty.

    Excellent Ghandi quote.

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  31. A divine find. Almost spiritual
    in its beauty.

    Excellent Ghandi quote.

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  32. An alien with a chignon? How soignee. (I hope that I don't miss the third chignon!)

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  33. Fascinating find. The chignon is such a surprise. But no more surprising, I guess, than a Star Wars princess with cinnamon buns over her ears.

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  34. Shari, haha, I actually thought of the Princess Leah side buns, too!

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  35. tess i love looking at eyes - they let you in. these ones push me back but the piece as a whole has such sensuous sinuous sweeping arcs - wow. steven

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  36. She is beautiful, in a quietly disturbing way...Gandhi's words are perfect.

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  37. I’ve seen that face before, looking in from outside my window, when I was a kid, smarter then now, when I believed what I saw.

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  38. I think that perhaps yes you were remembering the future. And I was losing sleep over what you'd be finding! Minds and sleep work in mysterious ways.

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  39. Hi Tess...count me in on your next trip. I LOVE thrifting...both my daughters are hooked. I need to get out and find some treasures...but we are busy bees over here working in the yard, cleaning out the gargage.... You described her perfectly, "Alien meets Picasso"!

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  40. She looks so mysterious. Wondrin' what's the story behind that artifact. :D

    Sell WoW Account

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  41. Donna, put on your walkin' shoes, let's go!

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)