Talk about a blast from the past! I had a look at Lifetime Channel’s remake of “Flowers in the Attic” and thought that someone ought to do a matryoshka version of the main cast. Then I realized that someone had to be me since no one is nutty enough to do so. The book itself brought me back to seventh grade where all the girls were passing around the VC Andrews novels like an autographed New Kids on the Block cassette tape. I wasn’t popular enough to be in the loop, but eventually I got my hands on a copy and was hooked for life. “Flowers in the Attic” was a perfect blend of teen angst, gothic overtones, cheesy melodrama, and enough taboo to keep me wanting more. It was, truly, the Twilight Saga of our time minus the vampires and werewolves and lots of incest.
I based my set of Grandmother, Corrine Foxworth, Chris, Cathy, Carrie and Cory on the book version, not the dreadful film debacle or the made for TV movie so I had to go back to my tattered copy now and again to refresh my memories, not that I’m complaining, although I could use a newer copy of the book!


Yeesh! Wouldn’t you love to have HER for your grandmother? A whip-happy Bible toter!

Here’s Corrine the mother with her poisoned powdered donuts and a nervous pearl-playing hand.

I thought it would be funny to have Christopher holding a copy of the book they starred in.

Cathy in her ballet clothes with flowers she and the others made out of paper to pretty up the attic.

Really, what tales of horror and confinement is complete without a dollhouse metaphor?

At first I was a bit daunted by the prospect of painting such a tiny dollhouse on the Carrie doll, but it took only 20 minutes tops.

Cory with his banjo and Micky, his pet mouse.
I revealed to a few unfortunate souls who happened to wander into my sweatshop while I was painting these and the reaction varied from nostalgia to guilt to unbridled horror. What’s your take on this once shocking novel?