"WELCOME. WE ARE SO GLAD YOU HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED.

"Welcome... We have been dying for you to join us. We thought you would never come. Oh, the 'things and stuff' we have gone through making preparations for your arrival. I hope you realize how truly happy we are that you have chosen to join us!"

"Please follow us. We will give you a tour before we join the others inside. Stay close to the lanterns.... the graveyard can be treacherous!

Life is truly about 'Things and Stuff". A fitting memorial?

Please enter.. if you dare. There is no reason to be afraid of the dark... it is only what's in the dark that you should be afraid of! BWWAHAHAHAHA! Just kidding!




'Here lies the body of John Pound. Lost at sea and never found'.

'DRAPER' Life is all about things and stuff'.

'Here lies Edward Hyde. Buried here because he died'.

'I.M. GONE Grim death came without warning. I was well at night, dead in the morning'.

'Keep calm and 'SCARY' on'.

'La FLEUR A rose by any other name...

Not shown:

'My Angel. Tears cannot raise her, there fore I weep. (Some one said 'How sweet'. Seriously?

R.U. KIDDING. She was never meant to be understood, only loved'.


(I built the graveyard from top to bottom. The fence is built from wood, PVC and ABS pipe. The tombstones are crafted from construction insulation. They were then hand carved and faux finished. I also antiqued the kerosene lanterns to look like they had been kicking around the graveyard for years. Who knows how many 'things and stuff' they have been witness too.)

WELCOME TO THE WAKE!

"Greetings. Thank you very much for coming. Your attendance would have meant a great deal to Daddy Big Bucks. Please sign in so he knows you were here..."

Are you a weeper or a moaner? Wait, don't answer that... just sign the book and get inside!

Be sure to pay your respects to the widow's. Daddy's passing has been very difficult for them.


This is Genvieve. She doesn't look as sad as she should be... but check out what is in her hand. Interesting. Daddy's 'Last Will and Testament'. It seems that all of the 'things and stuff' that belonged to Daddy Big Bucks was left to her. Poor Esmeralda.

Seriously, 'POOR' Esmeralda. She didn't get a thing (no stuff either!)... All those years, and nothing. Oh, what is she to do? If you look closely, you can see her purse under her right arm. Is that a knife? I think I know what she is going to do...


This is Daddy Big Bucks. I get the feeling he was not ready to go!

They say that wakes began originally because some people could not handle their liquor and would pass out completely. They would slip into a coma that left them so paralyzed that people could not tell if they were dead or alive. Rather than risk burying them alive, they would lay them out on a sofa, have a party and wait for the person to 'wake'. Some how they had discovered that people were being buried alive only to wake and find themselves trapped. They started attaching a string to the finger of the corpse and running the string to the surface then attaching the string to a bell. If the corpse turns out to be only in a coma, they can pull the string, ringing the bell to let those above ground know that they are still alive and should be retrieved. DEAD RINGER. A wake was much easier! Believe what you want....

(Yes, I sculpted the figures from polymer clay. I compounded their make-up from a mixture of pastel chalks and translucent face powder. Their eyes are glass and imported from Europe. Igor's hair and beard are mohair raised on a farm in upper New York state. Their garments are tailored by me from vintage clothing and fur. Genvieve is wearing a genuine fox stole. I also built and carved the coffin and did the floral arrangements!)