Really Need to Get Going!

...on my Sam prop. One of the neighborhood kids stood for a tape dummy for me, and he was the perfect size for Sam, and delighted to be a part of it!


Oh, well. Maybe after West Coast Haunters Convention! Now, get some stuff into the glaze firing so I can bring 'em to WCHC; I'm flying out on Thursday, so they need to get done.


Who all is coming out to West Coast Haunters?

A Quick Request--

--for those of you who have purchased a jack-o'-lantern from me in the past few years. When you get a minute, please email me photos of your jack in his new home, like these nice folks have:

I'm trying to build a small portfolio of customer pictures for my Facebook page! Any help you can give will be much appreciated! shell hawks nest at yahoo dawt calm.

Hot Sauce, Just In Time For Barbecue Season!

It was months in the making. Right when the Hauntcast Resurrection was in process, The Undertaker stepped forward and said that if Hauntcast came back from the grave, he would formulate Hauntcast Hot Sauce. 


As you know, the Resurrection effort was successful, and now, we have the hot sauce, complete with Felix LaFlamme's design for our label, and available in the bottle and the hand-made coffin!


I can't wait to try it. I've been a fan of Haunted Hot Sauce for a long time, and The Undertaker is one cool ghoul for doing this for us! And hot sauce and eggs in the morning? Delish!

Aluminum Art Skull

I was looking around on Etsy when I found this amazing Cthulu skull! Lost wax casting in aluminum.

 Created by the talented Josh Dow of Eliot, Maine. His Etsy store is here.


Excellent work, Josh!

Inspiration

Trick 'r Treat is ever my inspiration. I would love my walkway to look like this come Hallowe'en 2012. Love the book even more. The illustrations are so very rich!


164 days and counting!

Shocktail Hour-Now Pouring! and Other Tidbits

Chris Baker and Johnny Thunder tie one on during the latest episode of Shocktail Hour. (I know you're surprised as heck!) I have to say I've been enjoying the show, myself. I've discovered a number of movies I never would have heard of because of Johnny Thunder, and I always look forward to hearing what he has to say.


In other news, the El Dorado Hills Art & Wine Affaire went pretty well over all.

I managed to snag a place on the bridge, which not only gave me some of the best views in the entire place, but gave me a nice breeze and only one row of vendors, rather than being lost among a bunch of them. Load in was pretty quick, as Mr. ShellHawk came with me and helped set up. Sales were decent, but not as much as I'd hoped, though I covered my booth fee and a little more, even after the 10% commission I had to pay. I took a bunch of pictures and will be posting some of my "normal" ceramics on Etsy shortly. My beer cups look like they may be a popular item, so be sure to look for those!

This week has been about catching up and cleaning house, as the house looked like a bomb went off in it! The dogs all got their long-overdue baths yesterday, so the loose fur will be floating along today. They'll all get to be brushed well again today, which my now-81-pound puppy still isn't sure about.

Next stop: West Coast Haunters Convention!

One Last Shameless Plug-And Potters Make Terrible Hand Models!

 I'm down to the wire with a million things left to do for the El Dorado Hills Art & Wine Affaire this weekend. I skipped my workout so I could start pricing, inventorying (is that a word?) and packing my stuff for tomorrow. I started taking photos of my stuff the other day, so I could have it documented, but I'm not done with that as of yet.

And I discovered I shouldn't be a hand model. I took the picture above to give a sense of the size of my little wine cup without the unattractive tape measure. I came up with this hand position to hide my potter's hands.
Potter's hands look like they work hard. Clay dries out your hands, gives you hangnails, ruins your cuticles, and don't even think of getting a manicure, because it's a waste of money! I wouldn't want to do anything but work in clay (and be the Mistress of Mayhem on Hauntcast) anymore, so I'm satisfied with the look of my hands-until they start cracking from the dryness, that is. I'm still looking for a good restorative treatment for them.


Well, anyway. Please come out to see me if you're in the area. I'm the exhaused-looking, frazzled woman begging for wine from the people in the booth next to me!


Oh, and by the way, a big, fat shout-out to Guy Miller of House Bloodthorn for my new "normal" banner-and by normal, I mean not Hallowe'en! He also designed a postcard for me. Check it out:

Not just a Hallowe'en talent! Thanks, Guy!

Another Fine Art Show You've Gotten Us Into!

This weekend, aside from being my weekend up at the El Dorado Hills Art & Wine Affaire, is the weekend for the Consumnes River College Student Sculpture Show!

Although I don't have work in the show, if you're at all interested in fine art and ceramics, this is truly worth a visit! It's amazing how talented all these people are, and they're all students of my teacher, Yoshio Taylor. If you're anywhere near the Sacramento area, this is a must-see!

Hauntcast 38: Carnevil is Up!

New show with all kinds of goodies to make your build season as good as a cold beer on a hot day!


Hauntcast: At least we don't suck! 

My Favorite Tree

This tree, an ancient oak just off the freeway off ramp by my house, is my very favorite. It's the classic dead, scary tree I envision is in the garden of every haunted mansion. I have driven by it and admired it for the last four years, and finally pulled over and took some pictures, often glancing over my shoulder for the Highway Patrol!

 I include a number of pictures of it for reference photos, should you need them. One day, I will be ambitious enough to get over there during the "golden hour" of sunset, so there's more of a contrast between light and shadow.

 Sadly, this beautiful old tree will likely be gone soon, as the entire property has been annexed by the City of Folsom, and some 1200-1500 oak trees will be torn out for homes and businesses. (There's something called "mitigation," which in laymen's terms means if you tear out nature over here, you have to restore some of it, over there. It still doesn't replace what was torn out in the first place, but it puts food on my table...) Even though I realize it's "progress," it still just breaks my heart. I love looking out at the rolling hills and the oooooolllllld ruins of stone walls, possibly the remains of an old west settlement. I can never see those without wondering and imagining what life may have been like back then.

I am secretly hoping it turns out to be an ancient Indian burial ground.

Hauntcon and Hauntcast

Well, this weekend is Hauntcon, and some of the Hauntcast crew will be there to meet and greet you!


Allen Hopps, Ed Gannon, Grimlock, and I believe, Chris Baker, himself will be manning booth number 218. (It would have been room 217, but the creepy lady in the bathtub kept screaming at them to get out...)


Please stop by and say hi to the guys and give them some feedback on the new episodes. They should be able to fit that in between filling their red Solo cups...


CORRECTION: I can't read, apparently. Chris and Johnny Thunder will be at Hauntcon, and Allen Hopps, Grimlock and Ed Gannon will be at the National Haunters Convention. Whoops!