Farewell, Mr. Ramis

Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, etc... I will miss this guy!

Moving On

It was another rough week last week, but it wasn't without its good points.

Last week, I was down in L.A. to help my dad with my grandmother's house and to attend the memorial service for her. Can I tell you how weird it was to be in her house and going through her things without her being there? (I'm sure some of you have encountered this by now.) My dad and I were reminiscing about her as we went through the place. A piece of jewelry might spark a memory that she wore that particular piece every Christmas. The same with her scarves and handkerchiefs, of which she had, apparently, zillions. (She was a proper European woman, after all, and had to be accessorized appropriately!)

The memorial was Saturday, and went very well. My dad said it was a shame that more of her friends couldn't attend, but she'd simply outlived all of them! One of the down sides to passing at 104 1/2, I guess. Some of my friends attended and paid their respects, because they had known her and spent time with her at least once a month when I was still living there. They had come to love her, too, which was, in retrospect, pretty cool. Some of my dad's friends came, too, as well as my brother and his wife.

The bulk of women who had been her caregivers over the last ten years attended, as well, with a few of their family members who had come to know her. It was very sweet and touching to see them all there, and I made sure to thank every single one of them for everything they had done for Oma. It's not easy to care for someone who's senile, yet they did, and they loved her, too!

My dad put together a pretty amazing history of her life, much of which I had no idea! Maybe I'll get a copy of the slide show and post it, maybe not. But you can imagine what a life she must have had in 104 years! Travel and adversity, good times and bad, she just plowed through without whining about it. I said a few words (not without blubbering, unfortunately), the pastor said some lovely things, too. All in all, it went very well. 

Mr. ShellHawk, a veteran of many of these occasions, has been a rock through this. I'm so grateful for him, his advice and his loving understanding. I don't know how I would have gotten through all of this without him.

Anyway, that's done. I continue to miss her and grieve for her, as one would expect. Next week, I get the screw out of my foot and get the same surgery on the other foot, so this week is being spent prepping for that. Hopefully, I'll get in some studio time before I have to resign myself to living on the couch for the next few weeks.

Onwards, eh?

Halloween Life

Life magazine cover, October 23, 1931. Via Dracula's House of Halloween, with a hat tip to Johnny Thunder for sending it to me!

America's Clay Fest

Just entered America's Clay Fest, which, once upon a time, was Feats of Clay. My work wasn't selected last year, but here's to hoping this year will be different!

I entered this little bottle (note the amazing photography!), along with a couple of other pieces. With luck, one, or all three will be chosen. It's hard to tell what will attract any one particular juror's eye.

Wish me luck!

The Week's Highlights: Good, Bad, Ugly, and Weird

This week I:

1. Started walking in a normal shoe for the first time since December 11. I'm a bit achy, but otherwise I seem to be doing o.k. I also started driving again. Yay, me! (I celebrated by going clothes, shoe, and makeup shopping.) Next surgery: February 27, to take the screw out of my foot and do the surgery on the other foot. More fun than you could possibly imagine!
2. Wrote my Charmed Pot segment for Hauntcast, which drops today! (The Bloodshed Brothers are on the show this time so, HOORAY!) Got it recorded and edited, only to find my internet was having trouble. It took a long time to send to Chris Baker so he could put the show together. Oh, well.
3. Broke out the graded background and started taking pictures of my work. Not bad.
4. Had a Dark-eyed Junco fly into my window yesterday. I ran out to pick it up so the dogs wouldn't get to it and it died in my hand. Sad panda. :(
5. Started throwing a bunch of shallow bowls so I could trim them today, allowing time for them to dry this week while I'm gone. Made a couple of cups for good measure.
6. Cleaned house and avoided writing my Grandmother's memorial, which I have to do today after I get those dishes trimmed. 
7. During house cleaning, washed all of the dog beds, only to have my youngest projectile vomit on one less than five minutes after I put the bed back together. I got to wash that one again. And the rug. And the floor.
8. Took two of the dogs to the groomer for the first time, since I can't risk them stepping on me. Got good reports on both! Yay!

Still to do: pack for my trip to L.A. for my Oma's memorial, which is a week from tomorrow. Get a present picked out and wrapped for a good friend for tonight's birthday party for her. See if I have time to take some more pictures.

It will be a very busy day, today!

Taking Some Pics

I bought the requisite "graduated background" for photographing my non-Hallowe'en pieces, so things look more professional. Still fiddling with my camera, but so far, they look pretty good!

 More to come, soon!

Church of the Dead

In the Czech Republic is a church for haunters.

O.K., not exactly, but this should be on your bucket list if you are a haunter. Known as Sedlec Ossuary (also as the Church of Bones or the Cemetery Church of All Saints), this place, similar to the Catacombs of Paris, is built on a cemetery which came into existence due to the Black Plague. When it was time to build a church, something had to be done with the bones, so a monk apparently had the genius idea of--making a chandelier with human bones?! Yeah. He did. And it didn't stop there...

Via Curious Places blog.

Via Freshinfos.com

Via Washington Post.

More info on the Sedlec Ossuary here.

At Last, Some Good News!

I was wicked happy to find this year's Halloween and Vine invitation in my in-box this week. Since life has been frighteningly close to a country song since last October, this little bit of good news was eagerly received! I've been rolling ideas around in my head; now I've got to make some sketches and get to bringing them to life.

Sketches. I'm terrible at doing sketches. I mean, the sketches themselves are fine, I just seldom do them. I need to start getting into the habit a bit more, although having a piece in front of me, waiting for decoration like a blank canvas is fun. I'll look at it for a bit and decide what will look best, although I usually have an idea of what I want to do when I start throwing. Maybe I'll ask Rot if I can do a few plates with his "Begging For Candy" cartoons on them...

I find myself inspired by images such as this one by Katie Alves on Deviant Art:

That is some gorgeous black light makeup! 

Is anyone else tickled about how the creative bug has bitten the Hallowe'en community, and the technical support that has kept just ahead of it?