Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1960’s Pretty Girl Gravel Art

Submitted by Allee Willis March 23rd, 2011
Certifikitsch Winner

Nothing makes a face look more beautiful than when it’s portrayed in gravel. Gravel art, or more professionally known as Crushed Marble Mosaic art, was massive in the 1950’s and 60’s. A cousin of the most popular DIY artform, paint-by-number paintings, hand-glued crushed marble mosaic art covered post Atomic Age walls as thick as shag carpeting smothered the floors. The most ubiquitous gravel paintings were made by the big dog of DIY kits, Craftmaster.

I have Jamaica Girl, 995-4-L, whose face looks suspiciously identical to Jamaica Boy, 995-4-L.

I don’t know who made my pretty girls but each of them stand 13″ x 7″ tall. The girls are much more colorful than the earth-toned Jamaica Girl.

Flowers were very popular to incorporate into gravel art as many they allowed for an unexpected splash of color:

Attempting to create shadows was also very popular in gravel hair sculpting:

It seems to me that gravel on one’s face is the perfect solution to perfect skin as blemishes are hardly noticeable amidst such a bumpy texture.

But as much as I love gravel art, when it comes to actual human faces they look much better on top of the gravel than under it.

4 Responses to “Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – 1960’s Pretty Girl Gravel Art”

  1. denny

    This gravel art makes me insane with jealousy! Take………me……….to………storage……….unit……..

  2. BeeJay

    Wicked! I wonder why gravel art kind of doesn´t exist today anymore, I really like it. My grandma had a lot of 60´s gravel art hanging in her house, I always loved to touch them when I was a kid, they fascinated me.
    That photo of you is makes this post even more marvellous.