Crazy Crafty: Beaver's Sweatshirt Monsters

I have many friends who don't watch TV.  Honestly, I never knew that was an option (both not watching television and befriending those who do not watch television).  I'll freely admit that I get more than a little annoyed when those friends wear their television-impoverishment like a badge of honor. "I don't waaaaatch TV," I hear them saying smugly - the obvious subtext being, "My pursuits are inherently superior to your own," or "Every moment you mindlessly spend in front of the television, I am writing the next great American novel, or feeding the poor, or solving the problems in the Middle East," or "Mr. Tiny, you are lazy, undisciplined, and fat perhaps just very-slightly overweight."  Or maybe I am just internalizing the guilt I feel for watching so much TV...including Leave It to Beaver.  Leave It to Beaver was such a corny, cornfed, cornball sit-com that it never occurs to me what a groundbreaking example it was of television's ability to address serious familial issues including inappropriate dress and teenage rebellion.

Did you ever have a rebellious faze?  Did you do everything you could to make your mother worry?  Did you exhibit serious attitude?  Did you smoke in the school bathroom?  Did you actually live out that the iconic sit-com moment where you took your real outfit in your backpack or hid your "unacceptable" clothing under a jacket so you wouldn't be stopped by your parents with, "You're not leaving the house wearing that," as you quietly tried to sneak out the front door?  I never thought I had a rebellious faze because aside from the occasional need for a minor attitude adjustment, I never exhibited any of those behaviors.  Recently, however, the looks I receive from my mom make me think that my whole life is a rebellion to her carefully-laid plans* - especially when she saw the product of my most recent "Crazy Crafty" endeavor.

Talk about inappropriate dress and teenage rebellion!!!!

Did you ever see the "Sweatshirt Monsters" episode of Leave It to Beaver?
In it, Beaver and his school pals all buy the cool monster sweatshirts that
they see in the shop window.  They make a pact to all wear their sweatshirts
to school but when the Beave is the only one to show up in his sweatshirt,
well, let's just say, hijinks ensue.

Serious hijinks!

Crawling in search of blood, to "terrorize y'all's neighborhood."

The "Sweatshirt Monsters" episode appeared on television just the other day and immediately I was inspired to see how well I could make my own monster sweatshirt.  Still unsure about what to pack for our trip to Japan, I decided that the incredible monster sweatshirts I was about to create would be the ideal garments for dealing with Japan's unpredictable, autumn weather patterns and for distracting an unsuspecting Japanese public from the horrors of my own monster face.  Didn't they suffer enough from Godzilla's attacks?

Works in progress
Because I have absolutely no experience in the art of monster portraiture,
I decided that my best bet was to imitate the monster faces from the show.
Using stills from the episode, I drew the faces freehand on tracing paper and
then I transferred them directly onto the sweatshirts with a ballpoint pen.

I am not often plagued by undue confidence, especially when it comes to painting/crafting, but for whatever reason, I felt like I would have no problem painting weird faces on polyester-blend sweatshirts.  Whatever misplaced confidence I had in my ability to execute the painting, I lacked in my ability to choose a suitable location to document my "art;" I settled on a local park because of its brilliant, life-size, cement sculpture of a jet fighter.

For this piece I took elements of a few of the sweatshirts
and combined them in one.  I am probably over-thinking
it, but I like the imagery created by a dagger stabbing
through the oozing, worm-infested brain of a devilish heart.

While some folks think that the Leave It to Beaver sweatshirts were products
of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Studios, I couldn't find any substantiation to that claim.
Nevertheless, they are  kool, kustom, 60's-inspired designs and now I have some
duds for the Halloween season and beyond!

For this piece, I tried to get as close to Beaver's sweatshirt monster as possible.

As an aspiring underwear model, I wish I could say that I managed to find this pose on purpose.
Instead, my not-so-graceful dismount/slide onto the wing of the jet contorted
my body into this position; I guess I am what you would call a "natural"...

Well, what do you think?
It was a conscious choice to leave off the squiggles and waves.
Feeling pretty good about the outcome, I didn't want to ruin the
whole thing by messing up on a few squiggly lines - ever a rebel!

For those who choose to abandon the glories of television, I say, "To each his own."  For me, TV has been a consistent source of inspiration and education for my entire life.  Then again, I don't really watch reality TV...

Leave It to Beaver - "Sweatshirt Monsters"
Original air date: June 2, 1962

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

*p.s.  Obviously, she needn't be worried.  If you noticed, I didn't make a single improper reference to beavers throughout the entire post.  She better be proud!