I got this squirrel planter last week when I was up in Sonoma recording. At least I think it’s a squirrel. Maybe it’s a gopher, or even a beaver. I’m not that up on my animals with buck teeth but whatever it is I love that it’s got two separate compartments and, as such, I will be putting it to work here at Willis Wonderland. I’m not sure if the squirrel/gopher/beaver will hold pencils in the large compartment and paper clips in the little ashtray/bowl or Q-tips in the large compartment and safety pins in the smaller one. These types of decisions are the joys of being a collector who actually uses what they collect as opposed to putting things behind glass as so many collectors do, squeezing the life out of the object whose role usually grinds to a halt because of such practices. Though as a whole I find that very few collectors of kitsch actually relegate their artifacts to imprisonment in glass jails. Kitsch lovers usually put their objects right to work. There’s a utilitarian pride in collecting such a genre, making this squirrel/gopher/beaver about to be very happy in their new home.
Speaking of new homes for squirrels, I have long been the enabler of fine living among the species. I apologize for the graininess of the following shots, all grabbed from videos at least 15 years old. This particular squirrel is enjoying a corn cob at a miniature picnic table and chair I erected for him/her to dine at.
Before I bought the squirrel his/her own patio set, he/she used to snack at my table:
A few times the squirrel dined in a fashionable 1950’s wrought iron planter:
And oftentimes when he/she was full he/she relaxed on the head of a statue that James Brown himself removed from my backyard when we wrote together in 1985 and he combed my collection for any mammys and Sambos and sent them packing.
After a few years I had to close the squirrel cafeteria because it just got too messy as every squirrel in Los Angeles eventually heard about it. As much as I miss all the activity in my backyard, this goofy little squirrel planter fulfills all my animal needs as he’s cute and I don’t have to feed him.
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MyFunCloset
Cute. Now those are some teeth that could do serious damage.
So you have squirrels taking over your yard too! We’ve seen them scampering about the yard for years accepting their daily routine. The game has changed. This summer we created a series of quick videos, I’ll be sharing with you shortly, titled “Hungry Squirrel Teeter Totter Circus”. WE are the audience and they are the act.
Allee Willis
Very anxious to see those videos! Without question, they are the performers and we’re the audience. I absolutely loved watching them in my backyard but when it got to the point that there were hundreds of them at a time I knew I had to close the cafeteria. Now there are the usual 10 or so a day, off smart enough to know that the phone is still here in my backyard but they’re dining elsewhere.
Nessa
Wahoo, it’s just like mine! I use mine to hold jewelry and assorted junk on my dresser now… I also love squirrels but never seem to have any around. It makes me happy to see him sitting there when I get ready in the morning.
Allee Willis
That is so amazing! When I saw this on the junk store shelf you popped right into my head because your planter collection is so stupendous and I was hoping you would see this when I posted it. There was also a piece of me that kept thinking I had seen this nutty squirrel before and perhaps it was something you’d posted. But I didn’t have any kind of digital device on me where I could check. Then I looked at it this morning in my kitschen and spontaneously decided that that should be my Kitsch O’ the Day object today and was racing so fast that I forgot to check to see if, indeed, it was one that you already had. Well, I can just say that we both have exceptional taste and are lucky to have this maniac looking squirrel around to cheer us both up.
Nessa
Yay, that’s great! I’m glad the squirrel (and my other planters) have left an impression. I also really like this one because of the over-the-top gold details.
k2dtw
Very cool… I vote squirrel storage…as in “squirrel away”… he has a beautiful tail… and a great little face…