Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Pit, the Pendulum, and the Folding Chair

So.

My daughter’s hard at work on her diorama of Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. All the creepy elements are coming together nicely, with a decidedly high schoolish irreverence to the classics.


At the dollar store we found cheapo plastic wrestling action figures. After a bit of convincing she conceded they were at least the right size. We managed to find one without a mask; she could fashion a robe for it to play the part of the unfortunate narrator. Mr. Wrestler even came with his own little plastic folding chair to throw at people. But more on that later.




Doesn't he look like he could take on a pit full of fuzzy pom pom rats?

The jewelry section of the craft store supplied the perfect pendulum. That part was too easy.




She thought there ought to be some bones strewn about for drama. How lucky were we that this assignment was given just before Halloween? The craft store did have the perfect package of realistic tiny skeletons - unfortunately, perfect tiny realistic skeletons cost a little more than I was willing to spend for something destined to gather dust in the garage. Instead we found a slightly less dramatic version...



We think he needs to lose the sign.

We found most of these skeletons already broken. You should have seen the suspicious look I got from the cashier when I asked if we could take home the already broken heads. Like I’d actually destroy the merchandise and then ask permission to take them home. Yes, that makes sense. Anyhoo.




With all the pieces falling into place, my daughter’s only remaining challenge was to figure out how to utilize that little plastic folding chair that came with Mr. Wrestler. She couldn’t bear to let it go to waste. Here, on top of the diorama, is her interpretation of what one of the evil guards outside the chamber was up to:




Everyone’s got to have a hobby, right? Is that one of the Dummies books I see off to the side? Could it be Knitting for Dummies? Poe for Dummies? Hmm…I’ll let you use your imagination. Try to think like a high schooler.

20 comments:

Lisa said...

This is so crafty and cute. Congratulations.

LW said...

Very clever…
I need to go read that POE story again, Halloween is such a scary time.

Love the folding chair with the sign…cute.

Louise

Kelly Polark said...

Love it! You and your family are so creative!!

Rena Jones said...

Oh, this is great!

Texting for Dummies?

ICQB said...

What great elements for a Poe diorama! Love the chair!

I once was looking for sword-type weapons to strew around my Halloween garage, but didn't like the prices I saw. In one Halloween store (the kind that crop up just for the season) I noticed several broken swords, scythes and such mixed in with the barrels of weaponry. I asked the sales lady if I could have the broken bits. She reluctantly said yes. The next time I was in the store I noticed a caulron up front filled with broken bits with a sign that read, "Broken weapons $.50 each."

I scored!!

Anonymous said...

VERY nice stuff! I like that idea of a diorama of a Poe story.

Bish Denham said...

Love it, love it, love it!

MG Higgins said...

This is really, really funny. Perfect!

sruble said...

This is really great, and so much fun. I hope the teacher likes it too.

BTW, I can totally imagine the conversation with the store clerk about taking home the broken skeleton heads. Ha!

Suzanne Casamento said...

I love it! I'd like to see a pic of the whole thing, please.

And I like Rena's guess, "Texting for Dummies."

Kimbra Kasch said...

Absolutely - head over heels - or heels without head.

Poe is one of my all time favs - right there with SK

Stephen King rules!

Adrienne said...

The diorama is due today; now it's on to the next project!

Louise - In case you don't have a copy handy, you can find the story here:

http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/eapoe/bl-eapoe-pitpendulum.htm

(I must learn how to put links in the comments...)

Rena - I love that guess. Couldn't all parents use a copy of Texting for Dummies?

ICQB - That's funny! I'd say the shop scored too, if they actually sold any.

msprimadonna67 said...

Very creative!

Anne Spollen said...

The 'fan pendulum' is my favorite. And the "Back in 5 Minutes" - like mother, like daughter (and in this case, that's a good thing)

Ara Burklund said...

The skeleton with the "spooky" sign cracks me up. Yeah, he looks more menacing in pieces. I love the fan blade, too. Can you take a picture through the view hole? Might take some serious finagling with lights, but it'd definitely be worth it, both for here and for the scrapbook. Great job! : )

Mary Witzl said...

Love this. And I LIKE that 'spooky' sign myself.

Got to be 'Knitting for Dummies'. Whoever it is hasn't even casted on yet!

Adrienne said...

Anne - The fan was a great find - and it came in a pair. Who knows, maybe they'll have a next life as a pair of earrings...

Ara - I took a couple of not-so-great pictures just before she had to turn it in. If it makes it home in one piece, I might try to do it justice.

Mary - Spoken like someone who wouldn't need that book. :)

That title would have made sense to me, but she has a slightly more twisted sense of humor...

Unknown said...

can feel the creative juice ovrflowing in the family ! Spook on!!

Adrienne said...

Radka - Thanks for visiting!

Keats - Seems like we have no choice but to get creative - this time of year it's one project after another!

Brenda said...

This is too much...grin...I love it! Like mother like daughter in the creative areas of life...grin...Hugs...