Of owls and pigs you have to be wary, and particularly in the terrain of design where they can spell either whimsical taste or unmitigated disaster. On your hunt for such wildlife, be armed with a good can of spray paint. When we encountered these beauties in the wild that is goodwill, my initial (and perfectly natural) reaction was to back away slowly so they wouldn’t sense my fear. They are hideous.
Viewing them through spray-paint-colored-glasses, Megan was charmed by their untamed beauty and convinced me to allow them in the cart. I was still leery. Our hunting party returned from the outback with a herd of tiny swine and two mangy looking owls.
Back at base camp we tamed our critters into aesthetic submission with several coats of primer to cover the evil heart shaped eyes. Some of the pigs, intended as gifts for my nieces and nephew, received a layer of white paint and a vinyl sticker on their ample sides before their final coat of colored paint. After the paint dried we removed the sticker for a personalized touch. Filled with change these little banks will make fun gifts.
The solid painted pigs come in handy when you need a unique accent… they provide that difficult-to-achieve cross between the style of Winnie the Pooh and Theodore Roosevelt. Fill them with change and they are heavy enough to act as book ends for short books.
The owls, painted chic shades of white and grey, will look positively Poe-esque on display for halloween.
Lesson learned: when on safari at the goodwill store, keep in mind how your quarry will look after it’s been painted… and always use the buddy system in the outback.
