Blank Canvas

Image via Nics Pics on Fotothing.


Lovin' the old stone walls and beautiful windows.

Broken Dreams-The Fall of Raven

 Epic fail. Raven was still too wet to be fired and his leg blew up. He suffered cracks in other places too, though not in the spots I had expected. He will join Gnorman's head in the garden.

Yes, I cried a little. I drank a few glasses of wine, watched Shaun of the Dead and John Carpenter's Halloween, then went to bed.

I'm going to rebuild him, no worries. Version two, as Mr. Chicken kindly said, will blow you away. I've been kicking around the idea of doing a series based on deLint's Newford manitous. Who knows? I may even get a show out of it.

Special Note From Season of Shadows

I thought I'd pass this along to all who are interested. I think it would make John very happy if you could drop him an email; how often do we get the chance to know how many lives we have touched before we die?

Hello ShellHawk, my name is Goldie and I'm the moderator of SeasonofShadows plus a very close and best friend to John. I was just telling Pumpkinrot how thankful I am that he wrote a post about John and his last posting. Then I found your site and was doubled pleased that you also posted something about our beloved John. John is the most amazing person, spirit, soul, human being than I have ever known all of my life. Depression has overcome my months lately and I try hard to snap out of it because I know that's what John would want but I cannot do that right now. He loved Halloween, he loved his baby...SeasonofShadows greatly and he absolutely adored ALL of his beautiful Halloween family. Please he wants everyone to know that he is beyond touched by all of our love, thoughts, prayers, meditations and intentions for health. He misses everyone so very much and what he would give to be back in his workshop finishing up Little Grim. Sadly, creation has other plans for his spirit now and he can feel it that strongly. He wishes everyone the best in life and that we all celebrate Halloween like we never have before! Lastly, I know how much you all want to say something to him so I'm passing out one of my email address so his Halloween family can send him an email that he can read. I'll print them out of course since he cannot sit at the pc anymore but he reads like crazy! So if you and your viewers would like to send him an email please send it to: Goldedstar {at} sbcglobal {daht} net and I'll print them out and make sure he gets them. I'm certain he would be touched beyond tears. Thank you again for your beautiful posting on him and Autumnforest will post his dedication on the day of his passing. Sorry for the long post and thank you for your patience. Have an excellent day :-)

I changed up the email a little to protect from spammers, but you get it, right?

Farewell, Season of Shadows

You've undoubtedly heard by now, John over at Season of Shadows has made his last post. 


He has undergone a rare combination of medical challenges that, God willing, none of us will ever have to endure, and I am so very sorry he has had to endure them.


John was one of the first to become a follower of my little blog. He was one of the first to post about it, and we emailed back and forth a couple of times. I loved his posts and really admired the fact that he loved Hallowe'en enough to have a live feed to his Garage of Doom when he was building props. John Wolfe is a guy who loves him some Hallowe'en!


So, even though he'll probably never be able to see this post, I want to thank him for all of the support he's given to the Hallowe'en community over the years. As Revenant of Hauntcast used to say, John keeps the ghost light burning, and those of us who were lucky enough to share that light will miss him deeply.


Thanks, John. Blessed Be.

Raven

At last, the sculpt on my latest creation, Raven, is done. That nasty virus really set me back, time-wise, and I am now officially sweating the deadline to submit for Feats of Clay, which is February 2nd. (Did you know that's next week, already? I didn't! Eek!)


The sculpture has to finish drying, get fired, cool down, survive the firing without cracking or exploding, get the color put on, survive the second firing and cool-down, get pics taken and sent off, then (fingers crossed) get chosen for the show. I'm honestly not even confident it will survive the firing process. (And in looking at him, there are already flaws I perceive that I'd do differently next time...)


I found out when I came home from Christmas vacation that my sculpture is too wide to fit my kiln. Stupid oversight on my part. Fortunately, my boss at work said I could use that kiln, so there's a ray of sunshine. But, I have to get the sculpture there in one piece, and then it has to be loaded into the kiln without breaking or dinging it in any way. The kiln is a top-loader, not a front loader, and the sculpture is heavy. I was up half the night thinking of how it can be safely loaded, assuming it survives the car ride and the short trip from the car to the kiln room.

If I were firing it here at home, I would fire it Saturday, add the colors on Sunday and fire it Sunday night, but Parks and Rec is closed on the weekend, and we have a policy of not firing the kilns when no one is there, which is only basic fire safety. Still, that cuts my time down. I also hate to put it somewhere where some random person may look at it and start touching it and potentially break something. You'd be shocked at how many adults still can't keep their hands off of breakable things, so really, I'm not being needlessly paranoid! I promise! :o)

I've literally been having nightmares about this piece, just because of all the logistics involved in getting it finished in time to submit it for the show. I'm totally having Gnorman flashbacks. (All that's left of Gnorman is his head, which migrates from rose bush to rose bush, depending on the volume of Mr. ShellHawk's complaints at having a skull in the roses, year-round.)


On a philosophical level, this really is an exercise in learning how to let go. (Clearly, I need to work on the concept!) There are truly so few things in life that are under our control, aren't there? We have a neighbor up the street who is roughly our age (mid-40's maybe) who just had a major stroke. I'm sure she had no idea that's what would be on her schedule that day, but it happened and her life will never be the same, and it certainly was not under her control! I can't help but be forcibly reminded that control is an illusion.


The Kiln Gods will either smile on me, or they won't. At this stage, most of the process is out of my hands.


But why is it so damn hard?


Alright, ShellHawk. Put on your big girl panties and change the attitude!


The sculpture will be fine. The sculpture will be fine. The sculpture will be fine!


*whimper*


UPDATE: Raven made it into the kiln at Parks and Rec nearly without incident. Someone there helped me lower him in. He'll dry there peacefully for the next couple of days before I start the candling cycle. I figured it would be best if he just went straight in so nothing else could happen to him!

My Jacks in Their New Home

I have to admit, there are times when I wonder at the wisdom of making jack-o'-lanterns as an avenue of income. I mean, really, how logical is that?


Then, someone sends me a picture like this one, and makes my whole day!

I'd love to see more pictures like this one. If any of you have some pics of pumpkins I've made in your home, please email them to me at shellhawksnest {at} yahoo daht calm. You know the misspelling is to save me from spambots, right? O.k.


I'm feeling so very good about this, that I'm going to offer a 10% coupon in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy Store. Enter coupon code JANJACKS2012 at checkout to get your discount on anything in my store.

ShellHawk=Shoe Whore

Iron Fist has some new shoes out. Count me in!

I'm not much of a fashionista, but I have a major weakness for Iron Fist's shoes. And some of their tees. And a couple of their handbags...

Reminder!

The Haunters Video Awards deadline is around the corner, Darklings, so be sure to get that video together and get it submitted before January 31st. I know I've said this before, but the DVD collection that comes from this is absolutely the best! It's like being at a Mad Scientist's Convention!

The link I've included will show you who has submitted their video and will give you instructions as to how to get it uploaded. There are only thirty-tree submissions so far, and they really want to see one hundred this year if at all possible! Even if you only have a slideshow put together, please take a minute to submit it.

And by all means, please, spread the word through whatever groups and forums you belong to, so we can keep this DVD set growing; it's perfect rainy day entertainment!

In other news, I'm still sick. I'm finally going to have to break down and call the doctor today for an appointment. I hate that! The good news is, I should be finished with my sculpt today (fingers crossed), or maybe tomorrow, and then it can dry for a little while before the first firing. Fingers double crossed that it survives!

1959. It Was a Very Good Year

Marvin Pasley, funeral director and hearse buff, restored this stunning 1959 Cadillac hearse to its original glory. For those of you who wonder why the body style looks a little familiar, it's the same model used for the Ecto-1.

The full details are in this article in The Post and Courier.

Big hat tip to Amy the Hearse Queen of Grim Rides. Check out the Grim Rides Facebook page here and Amy the Hearse Queen's Facebook page here.


I hope to meet her one day. Seems like we'd get along like a house on fire!

Thanks, Skull-a-Day!

Skull-a-Day featured one of my Raku skulls on the site today! How's that for a great way to start out the New Year?


You can check out his pics in my Etsy store.

Autumn Crown

Image via Pixdaus. If you scroll down, there are some really wonderful graveyard images to see!

New Year, New Virus

I've been sick since Christmas. What I thought was just crud in my lungs from breathing Los Angeles air was, in fact, a virus that was going around. It decided to stay with me and Mr. ShellHawk. While I have the luxury of staying home and making attempts at nursing myself back to health, poor Mr. ShellHawk has had some pretty important meetings to attend and hasn't been able to shake the damned bug. Meanwhile, the puppy keeps throwing his toys at us and stepping back with an expectant gaze: "You are going to throw that for me, aren't you?" I just stare back for a minute and ignore him as best I can. I feel guilty about it, mind you, but I still ignore him. 


The older dogs don't seem to care and are enjoying the extra nap time.


Meanwhile, the submission deadline for Feats of Clay is approaching. I'm working steadily on the sculpture I plan to submit. It's the same one I didn't get done in time last year, actually. I'm very close to finishing the actual sculpt, which is great. I'll need to let it dry and then I get to fire it, put the color on and fire it again. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going with oxides (stains, essentially) or glazes, but I think oxides will give me more control over the outcome. I'm really hoping I don't get any cracks in the clay when I fire this guy, or I'm out of the running, for sure.


Well, back to work. Where's my bottle of Dayquil?

Happy Birthday, Charles!

Kudos to Google for celebrating what would have been Charles Addams's 100th birthday!

Buddy, Can You Spare $35,000?

And a ticket to Buenos Aires?

I guess this guy still hasn't unloaded his hearse. The 1929 Cadillac hearse is back on eBay for the low, low price of $35,000. Such a deal!

Did I Mention It's Hungry?

And, possibly, a wee, tad, bit demented.

Via The Sun.

Home Haunters Video Awards 2012

Just in case you didn't know, the deadline for the new Home Haunter Video Awards is coming up on January 31!  Get your videos and slide shows together and get them submitted as soon as you can, so the folks who vet them aren't swamped at the last minute with questions and problems. Remember, they're ordinary folks like you, who have jobs and families to juggle, as well as volunteering their own time (and sometimes money) to make this happen for all of us, so please try to make it easy on them by submitting early!


Head over to the Haunters Video Awards website for all the details on how to submit. Please don't ask me, because I have no idea how! I always ask Mr. ShellHawk for help! :o)


As an aside, I have the 2010 collection, and I cannot tell you how amazing it is to sit down and watch what everyone did for their haunts. It's really inspiring!

ShellHawk's Latest Crazy Idea...

Former Scream Team members are already rolling their eyes at that title. I can just hear those little ocular orbs squishing in their sockets!


Mr. ShellHawk and I have been discussing, off and on, how I'm going to get my ceramics to shows. The Explorer has got maybe another two years of somewhat dependable service left in it, so we need to think about its replacement. We have three big dogs that need to go places in addition to needing to haul around all my "show stuff," such as the tent, tables and product.
So the question becomes, "Do we sell our Explorer and the Dodge to get a bigger, better SUV or van, or do we get a newer, six cylinder SUV and buy a trailer?"  (Yes, I still have the Dodge. I'm still struggling with letting it go, as I have been since 2009. I'm waiting to stop crying every time I think about selling it.) 

Photo via Artstream Library

Those considerations in mind, I've been kicking around the idea of picking up an Airsteam trailer. I mentioned to Mr. ShellHawk that if we got something like that, we could take it camping, too, and have plenty of space for the dogs.
Lest this idea seem entirely too random, in my defense, this idea is actually ripped off from the folks who run the Artstream Library. They converted an Airstream into a mobile gallery/library with the intention of loaning out cups by noted ceramic artists and expand people's experience with art and ceramics. Great idea, huh?
I figure we could find a way to make it go all Autobot inside and be able to transform it from living space to gallery and back again. (Famous last words, right? "We'll figure it out.") I think it would make my packing and unpacking easier, and as a display space it would be more secure. Let me tell you, not having to worry about a random football or soccer ball come smashing through my booth would be worth every single penny I would spend on a trailer, that's for sure!
Well, we'll see what we decide. I still have to sell the idea to Mr. ShellHawk. Wish me luck!