Socks

Over twenty years ago (might be over 25) I made Faw, the first of these sock puppets, to play with my girlfriend at the time. It's amazing what a sock puppet can say for you that you might not be able to say yourself. I didn't let Faw propose for me, though - I handled that without him.

Later the puppets were a hit with our kids. Faw (the lion in the photo above) and Tiger came on camping trips. Tiger spat out Necco candies (after you guessed the color of the one in his mouth). Horse came along later and had eyes that would move every which way, like a chameleon, or Marty Feldman. Then snake was made with all sorts of glue on items, from wooden stars to lentils.

This Christmas I got an urge to make another, after over ten years. Nicker (photo here) was the result. His eyes are like motley, one black on white, the other white on black. He claims to be part dominicker chicken (an old checkerboard patterned breed George Washington might have had around Mount Vernon) and part scrambled egg.

Who knows when the next sock will transcend the sock drawer and join the menagerie. To see more of these critters, see the "Silly" page on my art site SJEmery.com .