Hallow'een Memory-ShellHawk/Mistress of Mayhem

I hate to disappoint people. It's a personal quirk that has gotten me into trouble from time to time when I over commit myself instead of being sane and saying, "no." Psychotic need to please and make people happy. Urgh.

I really hate to disappoint my readers. I had planned (although I use the term very loosely-it was more in the neighborhood of a fleeting thought) to unearth a great Hallowe'en memory to share with you all, and actually get myself together enough to do a vlog post-my very first-about it. But I ran into what is a very personal problem for me, and has been since I was a kid.

I have a crappy memory.

Seriously. I envy people who can remember every costume since they were five. That's just not me. The picture above was taken in 1973, when I was five, and I have only the vaguest tickle at the back of my mind of the details of the night we went skating in Hallowe'en costumes. It's very disappointing.

What I do have, though, is a kind of emotional memory about Hallowe'en in general, rather than one about a particular Hallowe'en.

My Hallowe'ens sort of run together in a stew of cold, windy nights, because this time of year is when the Santa Ana wind conditions prevail in Los Angeles. Sycamore trees dropped their leaves and brought that very particular sharp scent with them, and crackled under our feet. (I remember playing in the schoolyard one year, and the wind was so strong that it could support my child's body weight and shove me around at will.)

I remember that every year, my elementary school would have a Hallowe'en carnival, though I couldn't tell you exactly what was in the booths for games. We would all dress up in costume, even the teachers, and walk around the transformed playground looking for sweets. I'm sure they're not allowed to do that anymore. This is politically correct California, after all.

I remember every year, my dad would sit down with me and carve a pumpkin.

He always helped us choose a great pumpkin, and it always seemed really huge to me. I think we stopped carving together in my late teen years, which made his visit and pumpkin carving last Hallowe'en really special to me.

I think this is the part where he asked, "Are we having fun, yet?" I replied, "No. We're having a family experience."

The teenage years were consumed with a worship of Adam and the Ants, so my costumes changed a little. Antfan, 1984, below.

I went through a period of not taking pictures for a while, so no "costumes through the years" montage to share.

I did keep up with my dad's pumpkin carving tradition through the years, though prop building didn't come in earnest until three years ago, with the building of Stewie. The general good feeling of Hallowe'en increased as I realized I would be able to provide kids with a great Hallowe'en memory of their own. The other day, one of the neighborhood boys knocked on my door and thanked me for doing such a great job on my Hallowe'en display. He had that look of admiration in his eye.

Perhaps that spark can be fanned a bit, and he can be part of the next generation of haunters and Hallowe'en fanatics.

Thank you to all the wonderful members of the Hallowe'en community who took the time to be part of this series of special memories. I know all of you had very busy schedules, and that makes you participation even more cherished!

Happy Hallowe'en everyone! Keep passing the torch.

Hallowe'en Memory-Chris Baker of Hauntcast

We're getting towards the end of what has turned out to be a really delightful series, and I guilted my "boss," Chris Baker of Hauntcast fame (although he is very certainly not the boss of me!) into sharing his favorite Halloween memory with us. I think this is wonderful! Enjoy...

The year was 1976 and I was 8 years old. Unfortunately Halloween was just another day to my family, but for my neighbors the Bonfiglios Halloween was much much more.

I hung around with Brian Bonfiglio and spent most of me childhood hanging out with him and him family. His mom Mary Ellen was fanatical about Halloween. She decorated her entire apartment and the front porch. She convinced us that the Ben Cooper Inc costumes were crap (she was right) and encouraged us to make our own costumes from scratch. One Saturday before Halloween she got all the kids together and taught us how to make our own paper-mache masks by covering a wig head. My brother made a wolfman mask and I made a mummy. A few days later the father Bob asked me if I wanted to go with them to a Haunted House (attraction) and having never been to one before I was bursting out of my skin with excitement. It was absolutely amazing and from that point on, I was a complete Halloween junky. We went Trick or Treating with the Boniglios that Halloween although the Mary Ellen stayed home to greet the ToTs in a witch costume and makeup with the Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House playing through a speaker out their front window. They were the first home haunters I new. I went ToTing with the Bonfiglios for 2 more years and I even haunted their front porch in 1979.

This year I decided to pay homage to Mary Ellen and created a tombstone for my cemetery to honor her Halloween Spirit and of course, for inspiring me to become a haunter.

Thanks for a great memory, Chris. See, everyone? He really does have a heart!

Halloween Memory-Pumpkinrot: The Green Skull

My grandparents lived in a tiny neighborhood of tiny row homes. It seemed every house had a tiny elderly couple in it. When they decorated for any holiday, it seemed they all used decorations that hadn't been manufactured in decades. They were now worn and pale. Strings of giant pastel light bulbs for Christmas, the kind that'd fit in the palm of your hand. Strange shiny foil foldout decorations hanging from window locks and doorknobs. Paper decorations with images of happy Pilgrims and smiling Indians sitting at the same table.


Halloween. Everyone seemed to have a ceramic pumpkin happily facing out into the street. A bright white bulb making sure neighbors across the street could feel the joy from triangular features. But up at the corner. A tiny creepy skull, smiling green. The house was always dark. No porch light that I can remember. Leaves always on the sidewalk. No lights on inside the house. But there it was - a tiny white skull with a green bulb inside. Always on. All Halloween season long. And we obsessed about it. And we still do. Remember the skull? we've asked for years. And, of course, we do.

So a few months ago, I saw it. Someone offering a small white skull for sale. Unlike any ceramic skull I've seen. In my mind, it's THE skull. From that house. The ceramic bone is incredibly thin. Delicate. But perfect. And there was no doubt about it; he'd have a green bulb for a brain. And he'd go in the window.

And I'll make sure to turn the rest of the lights out.

Howlin' Wolf Win!

Wow! What a great month it's been, in spite of the heater core on my Explorer dying (expensive!), the power steering pump on the other car going out, and the power button on my laptop dying this week. (Fixed very quickly by some really good local guys!)

I won a great giveaway from a new site I ran across: Howlin' Wolf Records. They're doing a great series of posts over there: 13 Chills, and I won the Trick 'R Treat soundtrack! So exciting, as I really love this soundtrack and my old one got dinged badly enough I couldn't play it anymore.

He is continuing with the 13 Chills series with Rosemary's Baby, so head on over there and see what it's all about!

Cal Haunts Members Rock! Forest of Lost Souls and Perfessor Evil

This month, the Folsom Telegraph has been good to haunters. The paper did a four-part series on some local haunters, and not only did they include yours truly, but fellow CalHaunts NorCal member, Joe DeCelle.

Joe runs The Forest of Lost Souls in El Dorado Hills (right next door to Folsom), and really keeps the Spirit of Halloween alive. Congrats on the nice article, Joe!

CalHaunts/Haunt Project's Perfessor Evil has also had a turn with the press in the Geek Out! section of CNN. He totally deserves his time in the spotlight after working so hard to keep up with all the updates he does for us on Haunt Project. You go, Rik!

Again, congratulations to both of these dedicated haunters. Happy Hallows, guys!

YES! A Special Bulletin

It's official! My "Manitou" piece has been chosen for display in the Crocker Art Museum! Details about the showing will follow as soon as I get them.

And yes, I did actually jump up and down and scream, "Yay!" as loud as I could. Several times.

Dignity at all times.

Still Famous After 15 Minutes Are Up

My amazing writing talent (:oP) elicited a request from Folsom Telegraph editor Don Chaddock to craft a piece of my top five horror movies for this week's paper. Publicity tramp that I am, I readily agreed. The above screen shot should give you a hint about my number one. (Mr. Dougherty, I'll expect my residual check in the mail soon...)

I really meant to get my list of favorites together for my blogger buds in time for Hallowe'en, but time has sprinted away from me, just as it does for all of us haunters this time of year, every year. Maybe I'll finish the post after Showtime and share it with you!

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is NOT a Witch!

Whew! I was worried!

Click on the pic to watch!

Spider Rider sent me this rebuttal:

Kind of looks like he's enjoying the view...

Nightmare on Brandywine Street

I've mentioned before that Robert of Brandywine Cemetery is a big supporter of Hauntcast. Now we get to support him by congratulating him on this great article about Robert and Brandywine Cemetery! With all the negative press that seems to come out about haunting and Hallowe'en, it's always great to see a positive article about a fellow haunt community member.

Congratulations, Robert! Great job on the haunt!

Pumpkin Progress-The Final Chapter

The pumpkin season was almost a complete bust for me, probably because I was completely unable to tend to them the way they should be attended to. I did get three nice pumpkins out of the deal, though.

The Wyatt's Wonder is on the left, and I'm pretty sure it didn't get to its full size. I think I would have had more pumpkins if I had laid down some slug and snail bait so those little creeps wouldn't have eaten the flowers. The Howden is on the right.

There's always next year, though. More sincerity. More food. Fewer slugs and snails.

I will prevail.

Halloween Tree and the Charmed Pot

Those of you who listen to Hauntcast (and I know that's all of you, right?) are aware I did my segment on Ray Bradbury's beloved book, The Halloween Tree. Long ago, I did a blog post on The Halloween Tree, as well.

I don't often get mail directly to my mailbox after one of my segments, but one man is pretty consistent with his comments and feedback: Robert Beech, groundskeeper of Brandywine Cemetery. He, too, loves The Halloween Tree, and was kind enough to share this wonderful story with me, and graciously gave permission for me to pass it along to all of you, as well:

While I was living in LA many years ago I was very impressed with the animated version of Hallowe'en Tree. So much so that I sculpted a Moundshoud mask. I made 5 copies before the mold broke. One, I sent to Ray.
On Hallowe'en afternoon, 1995, I received a telephone call at work; "Thank you, thank you, thank you for that wonderful mask you made!" It was Ray.
Kind of made my day.
The other masks made their way to collectors. One went to John Debney, the composer of the music for the animated version. For that I own the only legitimate full version of the soundtrack.

Thanks again for the segment.

BTW, I really hope that someone (Michael Dougherty?) makes a live-action/CGI version of the book someday. A version that more closely resembles the book than then animated version.

Thanks again, Robert for sharing this, and for your continuing support of Hauntcast.

New Pumpkins on Etsy!

Hey, All! I just listed a bunch of new pumpkins on Etsy, so head over to ShellHawk's Creations and get yourself a Halloween treat!

Hallowe'en Memory-Mr. Macabre Cerebrates



Image via Southern Living.

Today's offering comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Mr. Macabre. Charming, witty and funny in that gentle, Southern way, Mr. Macabre brightens my day with each post. Here he is to brighten yours:

Tender memories of my favorite Halloween:

A broken tooth on a dirty basement floor.
Fingernails scratching at the window.
Blood on a shard of broken glass.
Muffled screams in the attic.
A doll missing the head.

Oh, I'm sorry, that was my everyday childhood memories.

What I remember fondly is the traditions that we had each year as we went trick or treating. The traditions were a comfort each year, but at the same time agonizing…

We'd head over to see family friends and eat supper before going trick or treating in their neighborhood (the same one I live in now, how cool is that?!). We would go over to their house around 6:00 for chili before the blessed event (Nancy could make chili like nobody’s business but we didn’t care, we wanted CANDY!!!). I remember her sweet tea too. It was true Southern sweet tea, taken to the brink of solution saturation with white sugar. It could double as pancake syrup, just the way I liked it, closer to an energy drink than tea.

We would wear our costumes over and worriedly look at the quickly darkening sky, it was almost time and we still had to eat supper. Torture!!! We knew that the adults would sit around and talk and talk and talk, leaning back and "letting the food settle." That was the murderous part! Did they not understand?! Did they not know the immediacy of the situation?! This was Halloween! There were doors to knock on, bells to ring, glorious candy to get and they’re sitting around wondering if they should get dessert or wait till later?!!

Finally we would set out into the crisp night air, the miniscule rubber band holding our masks on by the tiniest staple imaginable pulled the back of our hair but heck, it’s Halloween, time to get to work! As we ran ahead, our parents strolled down the street just as a formality. We furiously ran from house to house and the folks were always dawdling behind. We whined for them to hurry up until we saw the blessed wave of our dads, ‘Go on, go on!’

Those were the days when kids went out, they came back safely, people didn’t really worry about keeping their doors locked and we rode in the back of pickup trucks as a treat before it became illegal.

With that wave, we were off, running from house to house yelling “Trick or Treat!” and receiving the fruits of our labors. We would see pumpkins carved into jack-o'-lanterns on stoops with the familiar burnt pumpkin smell that came from too tall of a candle, before the days of electric tea lights and the overly cautious society mentality. That smell even now brings back delightful nostalgic memories of those cool autumn October 31sts. Then around 9:00, we were back, sitting in the floor going through our booty, sifting through the good (little Hershey bars) the bad (cheap hard candy) and the ugly (WHO PUT THAT &%$@# BOX OF RAISINS IN THERE?!).

It was the whole package of Halloween; the days leading up to Halloween were filled with images of paper skeletons, the excitement and anticipation of going out at night dressed as someone or something else into the night, and looking up into the night sky with some anxiety and hope that one might actually see a flying witch or a ghost.

THAT is the Halloween that I remember, and the one that I want to share with the kids of today.

Click on the pic to watch.

Zombies Hate Fast Food

Get the Zombies Hate Fast Food wallpaper here.

Dia De Los Muertos Shop

I honestly don't recall how I found Calaveras Apparel, but if you're a fan of Dia De Los Muertos, I really recommend you stop by and see this artist's work! Very beautiful and sensitive.

Early Arrival, Just For you!

We of Hauntcast wanted you all to have a chance to listen to The Big Show before Halloween, so we've posted a week earlier than our usual last Friday of the month. It's cause we love ya!

There's a special interview with Terror Syndicate to keep you company while you're putting the final touches on your haunts, too. And your Mistress of Mayhem has finally paid back her boss for posting that awful interview someone did with me at the West Coast Haunters Convention on the air.

Revenge really is a dish best served cold.

The House at Haunted Hill-Woodland Hills, California

These folks just started following me on Twitter. I clicked on their link and was delighted to see their haunt! Click on the pic to see.

Maybe next year I'll be able to add some projection effects. *sigh*

Here's a fun podcast with the creator. It's at about 23:30 when you click on the House at Haunted Hill show. We should really get this guy on Hauntcast.

House at Haunted Hill website.

UPDATE! One of my very favorite actors, Dr. Horrible- I mean, Neil Patrick Harris, just tweeted about this haunt. He just went up twenty notches in my humble estimation. What a cool guy! Check him out at @ActuallyNPH on Twitter.
His tweet:

Support your local, home made haunted houses! I love Halloween. So appreciate what these guys do.

I knew he was amazing!

Seriously. I Do.

Click on the image to watch.

Repeat After Me:

I will not obsessively look at the weather report.

I will not obsessively look at the weather report.



I will not obsessively look at the weather report.



I will not obsessively look at the weather report.



I will not obsessively look at the weather report.



I will not obsessively look at the weather report.



I will not obsessively look at the weather report.
 
Until at least Monday.

Hallowe'en Insanity Continues

Photo courtesy of Philip Wood, Wanderlust Photography

We all know it's major crunch time now. Hallowe'en is a week from Sunday and it seems, once again, that we need just another week to get props finished, etc.

I feel for you, believe me!

Tonight, a very, very low budget film crew is coming out to film exterior shots for a children's movie which may never get a U.S. release. This means I need to get out today and re-set up things I've had to take down because of rain. There's also the thoughts chasing each other around:

How much do I set up?

Do I need both fog machines?
Should I get the pneumatic zombie set up? Who's going to help me set up the compressor?

Can I finally set up my bride of articulation? Will I have time?

Can I finally get the goddamn witch to stop falling over in a light breeze? Bad enough I can't get her head to turn after all the work I did last year...

Is it supposed to rain today, so I don't have to bother?

Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Hallowe'en Memory-Ghoul Friday

I was really pleased when Ghoul Friday agreed to share her favorite Hallowe'en Memory with us, and I was even more pleased when I found she had sent a photo along with it.

My mother spent most of my childhood teaching herself how to be crafty. She never considered herself to be artistic or gifted, but it didn't stop her from tackling different projects when it came to her kids.

We weren't poor, but we didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up. This meant items that other mothers might purchase for their children - stuffed animals, a doll house, or say, Halloween costumes - were instead often made by hand in my house by my mother.

One year I wanted to be a caterpillar for Halloween. A fuzzy caterpillar. If you stop to think about this, it isn't the easiest costume to make. Sure, today you can hop online and find examples of caterpillar costumes and even get sewing patterns. Back then, if they didn't have it at the local library (and they wouldn't have), you were basically out of luck. Even if my mom could afford to buy me a costume, we were living in the time of plastic masks with white elastic bands, and "clothing" that was essentially long plastic surgical gowns that tied in the back and ripped 3 minutes after you put it on. And there would be no caterpillar amongst the Disney and Star Wars characters on the rack.

My mother was on her own.

I'm sure it was with some trepidation that she presented me with my costume made from a green bed sheet, faux fur strips (possibly old carpet or throw), and gold glitter antennae on bouncy springs.

Forget Van Gogh's Starry Night. To the eyes of a 7 year old, THIS was a masterpiece. I'd never seen anything like it. Ever. And for the record, I've never seen anything like it since.
I should also note that trick or treating in Ontario, Canada means you have a 70/30 chance you're going to have to wear your winter coat over your costume. And a scarf. And mittens. This is a nightmare for kids. What's the point of dressing up if no one can see your costume?
My mother, the wise and empathetic woman she was, understood this. Note the matching mittens on my hands. And see the bulk across my torso? I wasn't a child weightlifter. THAT was my warm layers...UNDER my costume.

My mother had now achieved wizard status in my mind.

I couldn't wait to go out and show off my costume.

Ding dong. "Trick or treat!"

"Oh, what a cute little martian!"

Martian? MARTIAN? What was wrong with this lady? But I smiled and proudly explained

"No, I'm a caterpillar." After getting some candy and an apology, I was off.

Ding Dong. "Trick or treat!"

"Look at the scary alien!"

What the...again? Maybe they can't really see me in the shadow of the porch light. That must be it, because CLEARLY I was a caterpillar. And I politely told the man so.

Off to the next house. And the next. And the next.

More candy. More corrections. More apologies.

Eventually it went like this:

Ding Dong. "Trick or treat."

"Oh no! A monster come to take me away!"

*scowl. Silently hold my plastic pumpkin out to take the candy and accept that my neighbours were morons*

Throughout the entire evening of bad guesses, never once did I doubt my mother's artistic skill or blame her for their mistake. I loved that costume.

And despite my numerous encounters with people who OBVIOUSLY lacked vision, that costume is my favourite Halloween memory. Thanks mom.

Thanks, GF! For the record, I think your neighbors were morons, too.

Sicilian Catacombs

Catacombs of monks story.

Jack-o'-Lantern Inspiration

For those of you who are just stuck, and don't have any idea of what kind of face to carve on your pumpkin this year, fear not! Bliss Massacre has been gathering a truly impressive collection of carved pumpkins on the Bliss Massacre Blog.

More cool jack-o'-lantern images here. No excuses for a cruddy-looking pumpkin, now!

End of Summer and Welcome Hallows!

Another great weekend at Jack Russell Farm Brewery has come and gone. On the way home, I stopped at Sacred Paths organic farm to pick up something for dinner. When I ran across these amazing one-pound tomatoes, I couldn't resist one last caprese salad!

 Holy goodnight! What an amazing meal this made all on its ownsome! Fresh tomato (no idea what variety, sorry), basil from the garden, a little olive oil and basalmic vinegar, and you've got a small slice of heaven!

I also found this cool set of skeleton gloves over at the Dollar Store. They glow in the dark, which appeals to my inner child, but who am I kidding? The inner child is the same as the outer one, so what's the diff? 

I don't even care that they seem to be cutting off my circulation. Below is a "customer action photo," taken in my laundry room.

I have to admit, they are pretty darn slick!

I'm putting some things back in the Etsy store, by the way, so check out the store before pickings get too slim! 

Stealth Run

I made a stealth run over to Spider Rider's house the other night. While he didn't have everything all lit up, his signature piece was in plain, creepy view.

I can't wait to see the full display!

Fright Rags: Supporting Leisha Davison-Yasol

I was reading through Fascination With Fear's blog and noticed the above graphic. I loved the design and clicked on the link to discover that Fright Rags is selling the t-shirt, and the proceeds are going to help a mom battle breast cancer. (Need I start ranting about health care's affordability again?)

Need I say more? Even if you don't care about breast cancer (Freak. What's up with that?), you gotta love Elsa Lanchester as the Bride of Frankenstein! They're currently sold out, but you can pre-order your shirt from the next batch!

Halloween Memory-Noah of Skull-a-Day: I Love/Hate/Love Halloween

If you haven't run across the Skull a Day Blog, you're really missing a special treat. Noah has given all of us skull junkies a daily fix of the art of the skull that is wonderful to behold. Not only that, but he was happy to share this fab tidbit with all of us.

I Love/Hate/Love Halloween


Soundtrack:


Every Day Is Halloween – Ministry


Halloween – The Dead Kennedys



Like a lot of kids I have fond memories of carting giant plastic pumpkins full of candy home after a night of ringing neighborhood doorbells on Halloween. I dressed as every major monster and superhero at some point and several characters that were of my own creation to boot. But as I got older, I became annoyed with the idea that people were only allowed to creatively express their personalities in costume once a year. I decided that I would boycott Halloween and celebrate the spirit of it every other day of the year!

I developed my personal costume, mostly just dressing entirely in black clothing, but often with accessories like kilts, striped tights, a mohawk and/or brightly dyed hair and topped with a Cat in the Hat hat. Mind you I never considered myself goth or punk; I just dressed however I wanted and didn’t care what other people thought. I dutifully took Halloween night off, staying at home to watch TV specials and eat the candy that was meant for the trick-or-treaters. I enjoyed the trappings of the season, but didn’t participate in the mainstream night of fantasy. And that’s the way it stayed for decades. I hardly gave my reasoning a second thought.


One day, nearly 20 years after I started my boycott, my girlfriend said, “Why don’t we have a Halloween costume party?” And before I could say no, I suddenly realized I no longer felt the extreme conviction of my youth.

It was an attitude tempered by the fact that a couple of years before I had agreed to dress as Peter Criss as a favor to my sister, who needed a last minute replacement for a group Kiss costume she had coordinated. Yes, I still thought people should feel comfortable dressing up all year long, and yes, I was still wearing black every day, but now I realized I just saw the holiday as an excuse to dress up even more! Suddenly I was fretting over what costume I would choose to wear on Halloween for the first time since I was a kid. We decided to make “Night of the Living Dead” the theme of the party and require all costumes to be of someone (or something) dead, so that narrowed down my choices a bit. And then it struck me: as the host of the party I needed to be the “ghost with the most" - Beetlejuice! I bought a thrift store suit, on which I had hand painted stripes, added a bit of makeup and a fright wig and I was transformed.


The party was a smash. People were dressed as a chalk body outline, death by chocolate, road kill, and dozens of other clever takes on the theme. We became known as the "go-to house" for Halloween parties.

No one who came even knew that they were witnessing the end of my boycott.

Of course I couldn’t just hang up my Beetlejuice costume at the end of the night. I continue to wear the jacket and pants, with their giant unevenly painted stripes, to art openings, parties, and other events whenever the mood strikes me. And only now and then someone comes up and asks, “Are you dressed like Beetlejuice?”



Thanks, Noah! Fabulous, all the way! (Love the suit, btw...)

Dog O'Lanterns

Alright. I confess. Sometimes ShellHawk/Mistress of Mayhem takes a walk on the cute side. Not for very long, but long enough to find these disgustingly cute dog-themed jack-o'-lanterns.

I then ran back to the dark side to bake cookies for out-of-work gnomes. THey need cookies, too.

Grille

I see this truck in the student parking lot every week. Love the grille!

News From the Nest: Hyperventilation Overdrive Version Follow-Up

Your Mistress of Mayhem wondering if this skeleton makes her look fat.

Well, my fifteen minutes of fame has been extended to sixteen with the article published today in The Folsom Telegraph. It made the cover of the print version of the paper, too! I expect it will be a busy night in the graveyard tonight!

ShellHawk in the news! My, that has an odd, yet pleasing ring to it. I hope it gets more people to donate to the Vista Del Lago Art Department.

Bram Stoker's Dracula, Live!

Most of you are aware that I am a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula. I was lucky enough to see it on the big screen when it came out, but haven't had the opportunity to see it on the big screen since. Until I got this great flyer from my newfound friend, Elizabeth, that is.

If you're near El Dorado County Fairgrounds, you are in luck, because that is exactly what's going on. I think. From what I understand, there's a combination of movie and live action stage acting for this production. There's a trailer for the theater's production of Dracula here. Since they're billing this as a multi-media production, I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm happy to support local theater, especially when Dracula is involved!

More information from Imagination theater can be found here. Elizabeth tells me her brew club is going on the 15th, so maybe Mr. ShellHawk and I will amble over there then to see the show. It sounds like fun, that's for sure!

Davis Graveyard on 31 Days of Halloween

A fun look at one of my favorite graveyards. Click on the nice man to view!

Manitou, Finished!

After a lot of thought and tedious work, my manitou is finished. I decided to go with oxides instead of glazes because I thought the piece would look wrong if it were all shiny, and it turns out I was right.

I'll be taking some better pics of him today and putting him on disc to submit to the Crocker museum Friday.