Haunted

I dare you all to go into
The Haunted House on Howlin’ Hill,
Where squiggly things with yellow eyes
Peek past the wormy window sill.
We’ll creep into the moonlit yard,
Where weeds reach out like fingers,
And through the rotted old front door
A-squeekin’ on its hinges,
Down the dark and whisperin’ hall,
Past the musty study,
Up the windin’ staircase—
Don’t step on the step that’s bloody—
Through the secret panel
To the bedroom where we’ll slide in
To the ragged cobweb dusty bed
Ten people must have died in.
And the bats will screech,
And the thunder will crash
Like a horrible dream,
And we’ll sing with the zombies
And dance with the dead,
And howl at the ghost
With the axe in his head,
And—come to think of it what do you say
We go get some ice cream instead?

 - Shel Silverstein

Ruined

McKeesport, PA abandoned home. It collapsed just hours
after this photo was taken. Photo by Seph Lawless.
 

Mansfield Reformatory, Cleveland, Ohio

Mayfield House, County Waterford, Ireland 

Dicksonia Plantation, Lowndesboro, Alabama

Kolmanskop, Namibia, Africa

Belchite, Spain

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!

Backwoods Maze

On Saturday night, my friends stole me away from my house for dinner and a haunt. Since we're in Burbank, they took me to the wonderful and incredibly detailed Backwoods Maze. All I can say is, "WOW!"

I think one of the benefits of living in Burbank at this time of year is that there are many, many talented people in this town who love Halloween and scaring people.

Waiting in the queue line...

 I only got a very few pictures, but they were pretty good and should give you a good idea of the quality of the haunt.

They did gorgeous work on the alien eggs, by the way. Really creepy and atmospheric while still providing some light so you don't kill yourself as you walk through.

This guy here reminded me of John Carpenter's The Thing in the very best of ways...

 If you are in the area and want to stop by this wonderful maze, hit up The Backwoods Maze on Facebook!

Happy haunting!

For my Powerball Win

Image via wallsfeed.com

Because upkeep would be a little spendy, but totally worth it!

And I would have a masquerade ball like this or this! And you'd SO be invited!