Hymn 79: Jesus, That's A Scary Clown

Do you know anyone who is scared of clowns?  Coulrophobia is the psychological term for folks who fear clowns and the term is a relatively new word in the world of phobias.  It could be because of people like this guy:

Serial killers like Gacy have given clowns a bad name but really--there has always been something weird about clowns anyway.  On one of my pickin' journeys I scored a relatively cheap Horsman Emmett Kelly ventriloquist doll.  The doll I bought was in pretty rough shape but looked something like this:

Emmett Kelly was a clown who I remember showing up on shows like Ed Sullivan or other variety shows to do his gentle and quiet little skits dressed as Weary Willie, a iconic look for clowns that was based on the tramps of the Depression era.

On a different pickin' journey, I got some really cool buggy wheels still on the axle that reminded me of circus wagon wheels especially after I painted them. 

Now the idea began to coalesce into doing something with a scary clown.

I have been working on this piece since August and I showed it to Denice.  She said, "That is not a very scary clown."  So then I called it a sad clown.  Then I set it aside.  Finally, after two months I decided the issue was that I was too afraid to paint the face of the clown.  I had wanted to keep the Emmett Kelly colors on the face but it was just not working.

So, I painted it.

Then Denice said, "That is now a scary clown."

So, thirty-three dollars worth of supplies and twenty-one hours of work later, we have Hymn 79: Jesus, That's A Scary Clown!