New in the Shop!

 

Hurry to the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store for more Halloween goodies!

Spooks...

There's nothing like the last second push before a show to bring out your best! In this case, my annual Artist Open House this Sunday brought out these darlings! (I love them so...)

Whatever doesn't sell on Sunday will be available in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store next week. But I hope they all find homes! 

ShellHawk's Creations Shop is Open!

If you've been waiting for my shop to reopen after my annual Artist Open House, wait no more! It's open and expedited shipping is available!

I'll be adding more pieces over the next few days, so be sure to check back frequently to be sure you're not missing out!

AWOL!

Good grief, it's been busy! But here's a new Pumpkin Person in progress until I can get back with y'all!

Click on the pic for the video!

Stranger Things, WITH DRONES!!!

This makes me irrationally happy!

Click on the pic for something special! 

This Year's Offerings

 

Many of you who have been following my blog for a while (did I really start this in 2008?!) will remember that I started studying ceramics not long after. Through the years, I've developed a Hallowe'en style, one definitely influenced by my Japanese-American teacher, Yoshio Taylor. 

I've tried to maintain a mix of whimsy and creepiness, probably a leftover of my memories of those Hallowe'ens of the 1970's, largely thought to be the "golden age" of Hallowe'en. We had had the Universal Monsters for years and years, we had those horrors of the 1950's and the Addams Family and the Munsters from the 1960's. In the 1970's and 1980's, we got our horror hosts, and waited eagerly for Zacherle or Elvira to stalk (or slink, in Elvira's case!) across the screen and show us our movie of the week.

Mixed in there was the artistic aesthetic of the 1920's and 30's Hallowe'en retailers who released The Bogie Book and other catalogues like it. Beistle was releasing wonderful die-cuts, which some people were smart enough to keep so future collectors could enjoy them.

I've been doing this for a while now, and while my intent was never to get rich, I've enjoyed a small measure of success. More so now that I'm officially back from an unwanted and forced five-year hiatus from the Hallowe'en folk art circuit.

While the location of what's come to be known as, "The Annual Mugshot" has changed, my love for making these critters has not! Someone suggested I'd get tired of carving jack-o'-lanterns at some point and move on to other things, but that hasn't happened, yet. I still love them, and the joy people have in the jacks they purchase from me keeps me making them. 

After all, jack-o'-lanterns are meant to ward off evil spirits, and we definitely want that protection when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest!

Meanwhile, I've added functional ceramics into the mix, changing up the style a little here and there as new glazes get added to my palette and new ideas surface.

Some are pop-culture inspired, some are things I'd imagine in some witch's apothecary, holding spell components.

This jar is a little Zen. Curses on one side, Blessings on the other. They're always a mixed bag, aren't they?

And then there are those other parts of the spell's recipe...

Some things are just a fun way to get that all-important spell component - caffeine - into your system with a little style...

My annual Artist Open House is this Sunday, and the remainder of this year's Hallowe'en offerings will be available towards the end of next week in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store. (No, I haven't gotten my other shop up, yet. I have yet to find someone to do the work of figuring out the platform!) I'll do an announcement as to when the shop update will be so you all will have a crack at getting a piece of handmade, Hallowe'en bliss before it's too late!

It's a Process

Just a big ol' photo dump! You guys know the drill by now! 

OK, small explanation here. These guys are all for the Raku firings I do. They get a special type of glaze.

Homemade Raku kiln, below.

The guys above before the excess carbon was scrubbed off after I pulled them out of the post-firing reduction.

These cuties are scrubbed and ready to go! I may end up doing a "mug shot" shoot this weekend.

I actually had to stop before all the firings were done on Sunday, due to simple exhaustion. Multiple Raku firings in one day really take it out of me. But the results are delightful!

One Day Closer

The Open House is on Sunday. The kiln is firing off the last SPN mugs to smooth out the roughness from a too-thin clear glaze application, but there are a bunch which turned out great! The above Pumpkin Person needs some clear glaze to get him finished off. The witches I'm sculpting will have to wait until after!

The last of the jacks I can reasonably finish before the Open House came out yesterday evening and got the clay dust wiped off of them so I can start glazing today. I plan to keep making Hallowe'en through the winter, as I have a couple of shows to apply for and want to show the folks who choose the work some new creations! Plus I have stock to rebuild. I plan to make time to create some fine art, too! I have had a series in mind for a number of years, and I'm finally ready to start.

It's the usual, crazy, before-show push, but I love it! It feels fantastic to get back to doing what I do best!

Lemax Love

I haven't bought a load of Hallowe'en decorations or fun stuff for years. Pretty much since since I moved away from Folsom. Well, that phase is OVAH! 

I had to run to DoIt Center (in this household, that's pronounced DOYT, even though it's supposed to be Do It) to grab a couple of things I needed. The Hallowe'en stuff was out already, moaning and groaning, singing spooky songs. And did it scare the kids? Yup. But they were still daring each other to run up and touch the scary guys or start their antics by stomping on the trigger mat. So I guess Samhain is on the way, huh?

Anyhow, I ambled through the aisles and ran across the Lemax display.

And I sort of brought a few home with me...

They make me laugh! I swear, those guys in the brewery just crack me up!

The Annual Mug Shot

I got it done! W00T!

"The Annual Mug Shot," as I like to call it, got done this past weekend! The Mug Shot consists of the lion's share of jack-o'-lanterns and pumpkin people I create in a season. Sometimes, they're missing a few friends, who have gone home with their new families. Sometimes, unfortunately, the friends they started out with have suffered too much in the firing and have broken or been otherwise damaged.

This year, however, there were so many of my jacks which came through, I had to do two separate mug shots to include them all!

Part of the reason is the fireplace I have now is smaller than the one I had in previous years. But I think they still look good, don't you?

Remember how I mentioned that a few have already gone to their new homes? Below is a jack I made for Chad Savage of Sinister Visions, from a jack design he did, called, "Howler."

Pic courtesy of Chad Savage.

 

Other folks I know have been collecting my jacks and other work for years! Above is a picture they sent me of their mantle. Below, my work is joined by a piece made by one of my favorite artists, Chicken Lips!

I've said it many times; I love making things people love to have in their homes!