We attended the Bristol Renaissance Faire over the weekend, which is always delightful… once we managed to get there, after spending an hour between the highway exit and the parking. If you plan well, the food line you stand in for too long will be near a show, or near an empty stage so you can sit down and catch the next show right after you eat. (That’s how we found a new act this year.) We also caught part of a Cirque du Sewer show and found great seats for one of Dirk & Guido’s shows.
But those aren’t the talented friends I want to talk about. Not that they aren’t talented, just that I don’t actually know the performers. I want to talk about the delightful creations available at the Bast’s Garden Menagerie, around the corner from the second set of real bathrooms.
When I began attending conventions in Chicagoland, these lovely ladies were almost always present with their adjustable shoulder dragons, winged plush, and beautiful, mostly anthropomorphic, drawings. We have some of all of those in our house.
In more recent years, they began experimenting with polymer clay, creating delightful dragons and cat versions of weeping angels. Then they started playing with their food, which inspired me to sing Cthulhu Sleeps Tonight.
Until this week, I didn’t own any of their amazing food sculptures. When I saw Nessie on Instagram last week, I hoped she would still be available when we made it to their booth. Looking at the bowl, a tiny blue and white Loch Ness monster is sitting in a bowl of soup, with corn, celery, carrots, and noodles around her. Nessie and every one of those food items is handmade, down to the crinkle cuts in the carrots. The opossum on the edge of the bowl is also one of their wearable creations – a pin combining polymer clay and fake fur.
If you can’t visit Bristol or one of the other faires or conventions they attend, you can find their amazing creations on Etsy here and here during the off season. Why not take home a bowl of ramen you’ll never eat or a squid-filled cup of tea?