This is the ashtray I was thinking of when I said “so ugly it draws attention to itself.” See what I mean? Isn’t it amazingly garish? It’s so endearing for that reason alone. And those weird little eyeballs… It’s obviously hand made of clay. I like the non- uniform quality of it which adds to it’s charm.

It wasn’t easy to draw–I had a hard time getting it to not look flat since I goofed on the line drawing which doesn’t conform to the curves of the dish. Rats. Anyway I figured I’d better just go with it as is instead of obsessing about it, which so often leads to overworking. Perfection and symmetry are overrated! Unless you are my husband. Or a teensie bit OCD.

These eyeball designs (called nazars) are supposed to ward of the evil eye. Maybe it’s like fighting fire with fire, as in my evil eye beats your evil eye. I think it began as an Eastern superstition although many countries have their own variations. Hawaiians call it stink eye!  In places where light eyes are rare, green and blue eyes were thought to be able to bestow the evil eye with or without being aware of it. Once again, I HAVE THE POWER! Booyah!