Moonie and I made the most wonderful stop during Natick Artists Open House to see David Lang Studios at 25 Washington Avenue. David is a Renaissance man, with interests and talents in photography, literature, painting, sculpture, and everything in between, and his studio is a haven for scavenged and unwanted items that David gives a second chance by making them part of a narrative or whimsical or unexpectedly elegant piece of art. For adults and children alike, and especially for curious little pink-haired trolls, his studio is part museum, part playground, and Moonie had a ball checking out some of its crazy contents.

Like this motion-activated, sound-filled sculpture.

And this one, “The Swine Flew,” that I’ve seen in museum shows David has done.

And “The Castinetti Sisters.’

And, er….This.

And, um, that.

And that, too.

And a monster lunch to boot!

David gave us a demonstration using his welding torch, but Moonie had to put on teeny eye protection because the flame is 6,000 degrees. Hot stuff!

I got a photo of David and Moonie together with David’s newest, and largest, sculpture. Unfortunately, I have a history of taking blurry photos of Mr. Lang. Oops.

But Moonie didn’t mind the blur. There were too many great things to see. Like this vintage Moonie-sized bottle.

Which led to meeting a whole bunch of vintage Moonie-sized bottles…That MOVED.

And this colorful piece.

And almost-Moonie-sized boots.

And a beautiful motorcycle he took for a little (imaginary) ride.

He got to meet his biggest fan.

And say hello to another of David’s pieces I’ve seen in a museum, “Incantation,” with a motion-activated vintage light bulb.

Moonie spotted the softer side of David’s studio.

And wound some clocks.

And pumped some iron.

Had a snack in a vintage biscuit tin…

…And checked his weight. (“Need more cookies,” he determined when he saw how light he was.)

He admired some still-too-big-for-him baby shoes…

…Checked on this faucet…

…And snapped a couple of photos for posterity.

David’s favorite tool is his Bridgeport milling machine, the same brand his father and brother had each used before him, and he gave us a little demonstration of its precision. Moonie approved.

We finally wrapped up our wonderful afternoon with David Lang. Another artistic David, David Lee Black, sometimes works in David Lang’s studio, and Mr. Black had some lovely pieces on display for the open studio, including a show of beautiful photographs that flowed gracefully in a computer display, adding a soft, dreamlike quality to Mr. Lang’s tool-filled studio. But Moonie’s attention was most riveted on Mr. Black’s piece, “séduisant…” Mr. Black had combined century-old French postcards with a salvaged wooden box and tied them together with a perfectly-curled placement of antique lace, and the combination was gorgeous.

My pint-sized art critic crossed his arms and stared at “séduisant…” for a long while, considering it. Then he nodded to himself and muttered, “Needs more bums.” Before I could stop him, he’d climbed up to rectify the problem.

My apologies to Mr. Black for the sacrilege of “séduisant….” But my heartfelt thanks to his colleague Mr. Lang for the wonderful tour of his extremely interesting studio. Moonie and I will plan on attending his May show at Boston Sculptors Gallery, at which Moonie will be instructed to be on his best behavior.