the endless struggle
My first large wood girl automata - gently moving to bring a little animation to the subject matter - which in this case is the endless struggle of dusting and housework - the minute you've finished you could almost start again and never reach the end.
She's a bit grumpy as the broom attempts to move some of the dust people out of the way, but they just keep returning to play.
Constructed almost entirely from wood, hold the base and turn the handle to see the broom move back and forth, making one dust ball move and the one on her head turn from side to side. There is a nice suitably clunky action to the movement as the wooden mechanism works to turn all of the elements.
My dust ball pieces reference a yōkai we have all met, which goes by different names depending on location - several languages call them dust kittens or cats, in French they are 'moutons' (sheep), in German 'wollmäuse' (wool mice), in Bengali they are dusty rabbits (dhulo khorgosh), and in English and some other countries 'dust bunnies'. I think that once we name an object like this, they almost certainly develop a spirit and a sense that they have a reputation to live up to.
In the Ghibli film my neighbour Totoro their cousins the soot sprites or 'susuwatari' are visible in the old house as the new owners move in, and enchanted ones help stoke the boilers of the bathhouse in Spirited Away.
These fuzzy little beasts form when particles of dust meet tangled up bits of hair and other debris and with the help of some static electricity become the little creatures that lurk in corners and under furniture. I noticed a lot more comment on dust build up during the pandemic lockdowns - in England we were in lockdown for almost a year in total (between March 2020 and July 2021) - that's a lot more dust being generated at home. An article in the Guardian by Australian columnist Brigid Delaney about her battles with lockdown dust read "It’s disgusting, these disgusting grey masses that drift across the floor. The large ones resemble the ghost of a rat. I watch them move, they could almost be alive."
To be honest, I don't mind them (and if you are going to have rats in your home then ghost ones are preferable) - they are pretty inevitable after all. I think they must be pretty laid back beings - they always know they'll be back in no time. My versions, who I call hokorimono - simply 'dust' or 'dust things' and look like scribbles with eyes appear in my 'brushes and brooms' print, feature on some of my ceramics and wood girls regularly try to tackle them, sending them into the air around them.
SAFETY INFORMATION: NOT FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 9.
IMPORTANT: Should be kept out of direct sunlight and away from water/ humid environments. As with all automata, even the simplest ones, it is important to know that after a period of time they may dry out, seize up or become unstuck.
