For a very long time – perhaps since the late-‘70’s/early-‘80’s – I’ve mused about small creatures in the background of most stories I imagine. They didn’t always have relevance to a plotline. By the late-‘90’s, they were still poking around my imagination, holding little processions and carrying tiny flags. They made frequent, vignette appearances in an online, shared fiction community I ran at the time.

More recently, I discovered a sketch I’d done of a small band of them. I don’t remember branding them as “Minions” but that was the word at the top of the page. The art and notes were from about 2003. Obviously, I couldn’t sculpt and sell Minions; Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment might have something to say about that (even though mine look nothing like what they’re calling by that name).

The sculpting started last week and I do intend to sell them at conventions and via certain online shops. They will be called Millstones and/or Pandora’s Pets. I’m thinking of them as standing in proxy for what ever worry a presumed customer may have in mind during the purchase. I don’t recommend them as an actual worry stone. One of these Millstones is part totem and part ward.

When I do sell a Millstone, I imagine the customer selecting a name for the “critter” at the moment of sale.

What’s seen below is a picture of three works-in-progress. Later Millstones will be of two distinct types – Lesser and Greater. The second type will be larger and more elaborate. They’re made of polymer clay and not-entirely-random findings from the attic.

The next step for these three is refinement and detail. Then I’ll have to determine a fair price.