At first, it was just a singular, large eye.
Later, a mouth appeared. Then, a nose and lips.
It was three weeks ago that Stacey Babbitt first noticed the body-part drawings taped to a pole across from Hathaway's Pond. But since then, it seems the mysterious drawings are multiplying--and moving--throughout Barnstable and beyond.
The drawings vary in mediums from paint to pencil sketches of disembodied eyes, ears and mouths. Some are plain paper, others are cut-out cardboard. They do not appear to be signed by the artist.
Babbitt, a Centerville resident, said she has seen these drawings all the way from Route 6A in Dennis to Mother's Park in Centerville. They've also been spotted in front of the Cummaquid and Barnstable Post Offices and on Hyannis Road.
And the oddest part? They move, sometimes multiple times a day.
"They seem to disappear and pop up somewhere else...sometimes over night, sometimes within a four-hour period during the day and sometimes not at all," Babbit said.
The various "parts" change locations almost every day and pop up in new locations, seemingly expanding from Barnstable into Yarmouth and Dennis.
Babbit is completely perplexed by the drawings, but Google searches have not yielded any answers. She said people must have thought she was "nuts." But she's certainly not the only one wondering.
"I, too, have seen those, but have no idea what they represent," Barnstable Police Sgt. Sean Sweeney wrote of the body-part drawings in an email. He did not say whether the police had received any formal reports of the drawings.
Patti Machado, the assistant director of the Barnstable Recreation Divison, said she, too, wondered what the drawings signify. She thought they might be a fun scavenger hunt idea.
Employees at Barnstable town hall have noticed the drawings, but no one knew of the art's origins.
Babbitt said she thought maybe the art was some sort of prank or even a quest of sorts.
"I assumed I wasn't the only one noticing them," Babbit said. "I am as eager as anyone to find out what they are all about!"
But for now, the drawings remain a colorful mystery.
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