Hallowe'en Chandelier: You Need It.

None of the pics I have really do this justice. Buy it, anyway. ;o)

Hallowe'en Chandelier, now in the ShellHawk's Creations Etsy store.

The Madness Has Begun

Another busy weekend in a series of increasingly busy weekends has just passed. I got to attend a wedding (which I would not have been able to do had a friend not stepped in to cover my booth up at Abel's Apple Acres.) I got to set up my booth at Abel's (with Mr. ShellHawk's help as my ankle is still swollen and painful).

Of course, after all this got set up, I decided to move it around some more.
I think next year, I'll need a 10' x 20' stall...

Abel's is on a major thoroughfare, so every time a truck or a big car goes by, the entire tent shakes. When you sell breakable things, that makes you nervous, as flapping tent walls could conceivably knock something over. I was compulsively adjusting the shelves and tables all weekend, which didn't help my ankle at all.

Even though it was very slow over the weekend, those who did come were immediately drawn to the Hallowe'en chandelier.

I spent a small portion of today out in the studio, trimming and carving pumpkins, which are now drying. I've also got a bunch of mini-ghosts drying and a bunch of stuff waiting to be glazed. I'm going to be hard-put to find space for everything!

I'm actually resting now, icing my poor, swollen ankle. I really overdid it this weekend. *sigh*

A Little Business to Take Care Of

...If you'll pardon the improper use of grammar!


First, on Saturday, the 28th of July at 10:15-ish A.M. Pacific time, I'll be resurrecting my BlogTV channel to do a tombstone workshop. Some of the neighbors and a few CalHaunters will be coming by to do some tombstones and are happy to do it on BlogTV. It may be helpful to you to watch a somewhat step-by-step process. Please expect a certain amount of chaos, as I'll also be individually helping people with their tombstones and I'm so slammed with other things I may not be my usual organized self! Go here to subscribe to my channel so it's easier for you to find it on the day of the tombstone workshop!


Secondly, late last year a switched to a new phone and in the switch, I lost a bunch of important haunters email addresses! I'm trolling for my October guest bloggers right now, so if you've done that for me in the past and haven't heard from me, please drop me a line so I can include you in this year's madcap adventure: shell hawks nest at ya hoo daht calm. You know what I really mean!


Thirdly, I got my chandelier pieces out of the glaze firing this week! Hooray! 

Although I have done some touch-up on the big shade because the clear overglaze fogged on me, I'm happy with the way it turned out. I'll be re-firing that shortly so that I can put it together and get pics taken to sell it. Whew! What a project. If it actually sells, I'll see about doing more. Just as a business thing, it takes up too much space to be lying around here for long, so adding more chandeliers that don't sell, either, would be madness.

 I had debated on the shape of the small shades, but determined that the pumpkin shape, if done the way I wanted, wouldn't allow you to change the light bulbs without adding a bunch of extra weight to the finished piece, making the lamp as a whole heavy and possible causing mayhem later, in someone's house. Not really something I wanted to do! So I made them wide enough to slip your fingers into the shade for the light bulb change and everything seems to fit o.k.

I'm playing around with different oranges, too, and I'm finding I really like this one! I'll still do the others I've used in the past, for variety, but I am very happy with the way this one looks.

Finally, we are one follower away from a giveaway. Just a public service message!

Pumpkins Progress

I've been sweating in my studio for a few days, trying to get prepared for the upcoming season. I can't help but feel like I'm just running too far behind to ever catch up the way I'd like, but what the hell! I'll keep on chugging, anyway.


These guys on the top two shelves are eventually going to be Raku jack-o'-lanterns. I'm hoping that in a couple of hours, they'll be firm enough to trim, and then carve. 


After they dry, I'll go over them again with a special file that takes off the little blebs and blobs that take away from the looks of the pumpkins. After they come out of the first firing, I'll figure out the colors. I know I'll do one or two pumpkins in a white crackle, and after that, we'll see where whim takes me!

The little guys on the very bottom are drying so they can be part of a chandelier I've been rehabbing. I still have all the original glass globes and the large shade for that one, so that when it's not Hallowe'en, you can just put the other shades back on if you want to. Can't wait to see how that turns out!


Well, back to the studio!