Thursday, January 28, 2010

Chalkware and Mr. Limpet



as a child i grew up on classic films such as Pollyanna, That Darn Cat, Private Eyes, With Six you Get Eggroll, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and of course. . . The Incredible Mr. Limpet.
the sixites had some great films. . . and actors.
Haley Mills.
Doris Day.
Tim Conway.
and of course. . .
Don Knotts.

i love Don Knotts.
always have.
what a glorious man. . . and what incredible acting chops!
he is funny and goofy without even trying. . . it may have something to do with the fact that he does look like a fish (why he was the PERFECT man to play Mr. Limpet!) and why he is so charming and "human".
not perfect, but human just like you or me :)
well. . . in the Incredible Mr. Limpet. . . Don Knotts turns into a fish.
a big lipped, four-eyed fish.
i always thought that Mr. Limpet made the CUTEST fish!
that is why when i came across Chalkware fish i knew i must have some. . . and it became one more thing i MUST collect!
my "Mr. Limpet" collection. . . if you will!

we recently moved into a new rental home and it has been nice to make this place our "home". . . but along with that came MUCH painting. . . including an unsightly downstairs bathroom!
the owners painted the bathroom a flat, dull gray.
GRAY.
FLAT.
WHAT!?!
it was like walking into a dark alley or wolf's den.
just horrible and quite ugly. . . and not "cute" ugly. . . UGLY, UGLY!
so. . . we painted. . . (as in Pace painted! ha! thanks honey!)

we chose to paint the bathroom around my first chalkware fish acquirement.
{mint green and warm tan}
it has turned the bathroom from an ugly, ugly bathroom into a "cute" ugly bathroom. . . a mixture of granny and kitsch. . .
just how i likes it! ;)
(we have lovingly nicknamed it our "ice cream parlor" because it seriously looks like a turn of the century ice cream parlor)

so. . . here are the fish of the "Mr. Limpet collection". . . all hung proudly in our granny, kitsch ice cream parlor bathroom! ;)


ABOVE: the inspiration for the bathroom colors and my VERY first chalkware fish. . . she is in "loved" condition. . . but that is what made her more appealing to me :)



can you not see the "Limpet" resemblence?
i love it.
next to find. . . chalkware mermaids! ;)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

ha! i'm a huge don knott's fan, too. in Three's Company, as the landlord, i thought he was the funniest character and i felt a bit sad when he left the show. anyway, The Incredible Mr. Limpet was a grrreeat movie (loved it) and your fish wall porcelains do remind me of him -- especially the top most fish in the last photo.

i bet that downstairs bathroom looks better than ever!

Danielle said...

you are so cute. SO SO CUTE. :-) i love your collection and i love your story behind it! and YES he DOES look like a fish! haha! :-) have a great weekend, my friend!

Gnome-N-Birdy said...

Ha~ oh to have a love to paint for you ~ What a dream. I haven't seen all the movies you listed! Good grief that will have to be remedied straight away. Love your Chalk Ware collection! I have a bit of a thing for it myself although I've never committed to buying. The problem is that there is NO more wall space in my little house :( well except for one wall which I have had such a dong challenge with... can't seem to find what I want. Oh-well. Now I'm sure in the mod to revisit Mr. Limpet it's been awhile - a LONG while. Hioe you are having a glorious weekend :) ~ Chelsea Ann