Bats, spiders, turtles and one hairy eyeball

As a face painter I dread the request for Spiderman. Batman's fast, all that takes is an eye mask or a simple graphic. But Spiderman requires a painstaking web that covers the child's reddened face. Once you've done one, other boys wants them, too.

This week on Oak Street Beach, I got big help from a boy's imagination. With just an eye mask drawn of webbing and a simple radioactive spider on his forehead, he began whooshing invisible webs from his wrists over the guests. Superhero bats, spiders and turtles give me great hope for Edgar & Ellen's mysterious pet, Pet--who's much easier to draw!