for as long as i can remember, i have been pretty scared of clowns. i don’t like full face make-up for costumes or life as it makes it hard for me to understand someone’s expression (probably why i have trouble when my fifteen year old daughter’s application veers into tammy faye - i just love her CLEAN face!) but the white paint on a clown and the exaggerated, big red smile makes my spine go cold. i can’t bear those 60s clown paintings (i won't show you a reference because googling them might give me an anxiety attack) but i see them accidentally sometimes when i am in a vintage shop. i might be admiring a mid century credenza or lamp and i turn around and BAM there’s some creepy clown leering at me. and sometimes i’ve even run into a full figure, life size statue… i can’t imagine how anyone could sleep with one of those in the house. (my position on art for your home is that is should make you feel JOYOUS and lift you up. i recognize that there are important works like picasso’s guernica or munch’s scream that are important to view and contemplate, but when i walk into my kitchen for my morning coffee i want to be greeted by a piece that makes me HAPPY and peaceful, which is why i am such a big fan of sarah kinn… her paintings make my heart feel bigger.)
(one of sarah’s flower paintings)
(a vibrant abstract by sarah)
(a sarah kinn drop cloth painting)
when the movie IT came out, i had to turn away from the TV when the trailers were on and i couldn’t even watch the SNL parody of it. to this day i avoid looking at those drain holes under the sidewalk when i am walking hank, just in case i catch a glimpse of IT peering out. one time i saw three raccoons poking out of the sidewalk on my corner and i nearly peed my pants and they weren’t even in costume.
i’ve been going through old photos recently and found a few from my fifth (?) birthday party with sugar the clown. i don’t look particularly distressed or scared and i even have a big smile when my candlelit cake is in front of me. i am sure nothing horrible happened to me at this party so i don’t really know when the fear kicked in. regardless, please don’t call me when the circus comes to town! x0x0x
(sugar looks nice enough, but the white face make-up IS disturbing)
(i have always been HAPPY to have cake!)
to read more about sarah kinn click here