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The sun had just set and a snail named Velveeta appeared to emerge from a slumber, perked up its tentacles and began moving around. Aleia Murawski saw the (slow) motion out of the corner of her eye. She strategically placed a cucumber slice at one end of a miniature model of a grocery store, where she wanted Velveeta to go.
Right on cue, Velveeta made a beeline as much as any snail can beeline for the cucumber. Ms. Murawski, an artist based in Michigan, knew she had her shot and began filming with her phone. “Yeeesss,” she whispered. Within two minutes, it was over.
Escapism comes in many forms right now, from reminiscing about karaoke-fueled holiday parties from years past to marathoning every episode of
Gossip Girl. (Catch me doing both at once and try not to judge.) Now I have a new source of daydream fuel:
Snail World, an adorably surreal book of miniature dioramas starring a surprisingly adorable snail (plus a few other slimy friends).
Created by artists
Aleia Murawski, each page is a snapshot from an alternate universe: a place where snails split a carton of buttery popcorn at the movies and flirt across burgers at a neon-lit diner. In other words itâs exactly where I want to be right now. Check out some of my favorite food-fueled scenes below and get the full masterpiece on Broccoli Magazineâs website.Â