An Art Toy Gallery (in progress) Crafted by Ben Hoteling

Garden Variety toys is an expression of creativity within our 3 dimensional plane along with comics and artwork. The vibe is a bit chaotic, with a playful, and dark twist on nostalgic hand held figurines, that move and pose.

The work, so far is made either from clay, resin cast, 3-d sculpted/print, up cycled plastic, and old popular toys.

It all started in 2024, after Turkey Tail Tattoo opened. A shot of curiosity and inspiration struck, while learning some digital sculpting, and discussing 3-d printing. Then it was on to clay and wax sculpting, to silicone mold construction, to resin casting. Soft Vinyl, and old Action figures from the 80’s-to 90’s seemed to be calling out to be recognized.

There is no end to the amazing things that already exist. This gallery is probably going to end up like a time-line of all the characters, and their development through the process that is still “in progress” of development. There may even be a class of toy makers that scrutinize, and critique the ever loving “joy”out of some of these things, and that is warmly appreciated. This practice requires patience and a lot of understanding. A good high quality toy tends to be shiny, robust, clean. The way the parts move together, should feel tight, but smooth. They should be able to stand evenly and not fall down if there’s a small quake nearby.

So far the figures made, have hardly any of those qualities that should be a standard in a corporate store toy line. Although to be fair it will be considered for figures and creations released in the future. These figures technically wouldn’t entirely qualify for a toy like that, either becuase of the materials, and fragility or becuase they haven’t been approved or certified by anyone else, to classify them as a regular toy. Please bear in mind that they are meant to be shared with those who can appreciate their aesthetic.

Garden Variety Toys would also like to express their gratitude for all the kind folk who have been supporting their work so far, along with the many other artists on this beautiful planet, that have been making toys and crafting their own art oddities long before this one. Without those other artists and creators, the knowledge gained through this process would be crucially limited.

The art displayed in this gallery, may or may not be available for sale, its up to this artists discretion if you are interested. Please feel free to email them at Benhotelingtattoos@gmail.com with a picture of the object in question or message them directly on their Instagram page @Garden_variety_toys, please check out the patreon As well .

Thank you.