it was serendipity. the pink jeep cherokee and maximum team power duck, they’d got to be united.

i found it at value village in saskatoon. i went there the night before the spencer book photoshoot to look for roller skates for goro chan. i was on my way to the sports section. something incredibly pink caught my eye. it was the pink jeep. it was so beautiful just sitting quietly on the empty shelf. i rushed to the jeep and grabbed it. i had to have it. i knew it was just perfect for the maximum team power duck.

i really enjoyed taking these scenes with the duck and the jeep. they just look perfect together. it was already late at night after taking photos all day long for the book. i was exhausted. but hey, to be able to capture the secret life of the useless toys, it was definitely worth it. i had so much fun carrying this jeep around in the city and the parking lot. even though i’m actually too big to get in, i felt like i just got my ride pimped up!

that’s correct. maximum team power duck has “power” glued on its chest. i cut letters out freehand and used a gluegun to attach them.

it wasn’t such a great idea to use a hot gluegun, though. those letters were thin and floppy. i burnt my fingers badly.

but it was worth it. because it shows clearly how powerful maximum team power duck is!

when you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go midtown.
midtown, things’ll be great when you’re
midtown, don’t wait a mitute more,
midtown, everything’s waiting for you.
midtown (midtown), midtown (midtown)
midtown (midtown), midtown (midtown)
(repeat and fade out)

this is goro-chan. he is an amigurumi dog, but he acts like a lone wolf on wheels. when spencer gets in trouble, he is lucky enough to be helped by goro. goro takes him for a ride in his rollerblade.

i took these photos just outside my apartment building here in saskatoon. students were walking by on their way to university. most of them ignored me.

it was hard to get the action shot of spencer and goro in the rollerblade. there’s a can of coconut milk behind the rollerblade, holding it up. you can see the shadow in the “whee-ee-ee-ee” photo.

thanks, coconut milk.

for the goro superstar closeup, i just held him up against the blue sky with one hand. it’s hard to balance a rollerblade with an amigurumi dog in it, using just one hand and holding it from the wheels.

but i think it’s worth it in the end.

it might be hard to identify, but that thing got stuck in the snow? that’s spencer.

the day i took this photo was sooooooo cooooold — probably around -26c. in february, a super-blue sky in the prairies = super cold. i thought about waiting for a warmer day to take photos, but i didn’t want to miss the chance to capture this gorgeous sky. also, the art book fair (where i showed the spencer book) was only 3 days away.

this was taken in a park across from my apartment building. the snow was fresh and powdery. spencer kept falling over. i had to pile snow up around him to keep him steady. originally i was hoping to capture him standing in the middle of an untouched snow field. so i jumped as far as i could, placed him in the snow, and then jumped back. but the hole i made by jumping was way bigger than the size of spencer. my jumping technique was poor, and i ended up leaving extra footsteps around where i landed. low scores from the olympic judges!

next try, i tiptoed forward, trying not to make much mess, placed spencer carefully, and tiptoed back. i think it turned out pretty good. it looks like he walked that far himself.

there’s probably no way to place an amigurumi in a snowy park without looking stupid. luckily, it was so cold that there weren’t many people walking outside that day. most people tried not to make eye contact. but i did get noticed by one old man passing by:

–”what cha doin’, my dear?”
–”i’m taking glamour shots of my useless toy.”
–”ho, ho, ho-. that’s wonderful.”

i don’t think he heard me. he was wearing earmuffs and a heavy tuque.
in the end, i think spencer did a great job expressing the feeling of “adventure”. well acted, spencer!

good preparation is the key to success!

pages from the spencer book.

spencer’s adventure begins!

a page from my amigurumi storybook: “the boring life of spencer, the ennui dog”. spencer is my favorite amigurumi (he’s so handsome). his life is boring, but he has many adventures. also appearing in the book: maximum team power (duck), fiona (spencer’s love), goro-chan (a “lone wolf” on wheels), and a pink jeep cherokee.

i launched the book last night at the aka gallery / paved art book fair. this was my first storybook. i took pictures of my amigurumi (on location here in saskatoon) and paul did the layout. the story is appropriate for adult children (it’s a cute story with a hint of backstabbing).

i’ll be posting more pages here over the next couple of weeks. i’ll also explain how to make amigurumi.