I was taking an animation class just for fun at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design when Spirited Away came to the USA. That was more than a decade ago, but I remember hearing about the movie, pining to see the moving, and begging some friends to come along and watch it with me. We saw it at the beautiful Landmark Oriental Theater and I can’t remember a time before or since that I was so riveted by a movie. If you haven’t seen it, I implore you: Stop what you are doing right now and go see it.
It is certainly difficult to pick a favorite character from the movie, but one of the most memorable is surely No Face. A strange, silent spirit overcome by greed. Unable to verbally communicate on his own, we’re left to ponder his intentions and motivation.
Love & a Sandwich (aka Chelsea Bloxsom) captures this unusual character in an embroidery hoop: the distinct mask paired with an amorphous body, among spa tokens and cold coins. Absolutely perfect.
Selecting a project from Love and a Sandwich was rough, by the way. She’s got a million projects (OK, maybe a few dozen) on her Flickr that made me FREAK OUT, but No Face takes the cake.
