New Items in ShellHawk's Shop!

Face it. Even Hallowe'en fanatics need serving ware for their tables. Get it at ShellHawk's Creations. Right now! 

Why are you still here? Go already! Sheesh!

Haunted Design House Giveaway!

Just thought I'd share with you that the Haunted Design House is having a fab giveaway for those of us who are hauntingly inclined.

From the desk of one Mistress to the desk of another:

Items include:
orange rub-on letters, pleather card-keeper handbag, blank mini-album, three sheets of GrungeBoard, Halloween fabric brads, two wood mounted stamps, one cling mounted stamp, 4-pk lime green card blanks w/ envelopes, a sampler of my coveted GlowSkullz, a mini-cauldron full of fibers & trims, a dozen Martha Stewart mini-cupcake papers (fun to flatten & use as embellies), 8x8 pad of Metropolis paper from The Angel Company, orange Scrapper's Floss, handful of orange blossoms, square tin w/ paper flowers, a few candy corn shaped playing cards, chipboard album, pink skully patches, more ribbons, brads, a ton of SU! eyelets in assorted colors, 2 spider bouncy balls (because one isn't enough), magnet letters that spell "dream", and a round tin full of bits & bobbs and whatevah.

You've got until Friday, dark darlings!

Feats of Clay, Featuring- Me!

To say the the artist's reception at Feats of Clay was an amazing experience is to make a giant understatement. I almost don't even have words for it!

It was the 24th year of this event, held at the historic Gladding, McBean factory in Lincoln, California. One of the volunteers mentioned that it was the only factory of its kind in the western hemisphere, and it manufactures, among many other things, terra cotta sewer pipes.

The evening started off with a catered meal.

Thirty pounds lighter Mr. ShellHawk and his artist wife.

 Gladding, McBean also makes roof tiles, shown ready for shipment, below.

 Below, a small section of the factory, where the main reception was held.

This is, I believe, one of their kilns, though I could be wrong.

Below are some examples of the work the factory has done over the years, and to what buildings they were installed.

Below is another area of nifty clay stuff on an upper level of one of the buildings they used to display the art. If I had the cash, this would be the model for my "dream studio space." There are a few pics below that totally inspire me when I create that space in my mind. We were seeing this factory as the sun was setting, and the golden light was hitting the floorboards just right and turning them into a beautiful, aged honey. It really gave me one more insight into what my goals should be.

 It amazes me that one of the seals I grew up with was made at this factory. They made a fun, Alice In Wonderland-themed series of architectural elements that was just impressive as all get-out!

My sexy husband in front of one of the displays explaining the factory's
history.

I thought this was a great thought to keep in mind.

 After we went through a couple of rooms in the upstairs area, we came to the show area. That was the moment it truly became real to me. Even though I've been working hard at improving my technique and all the stuff that comes with being an artist, I had a hard time claiming that for myself, especially since when people hear "artist," they think, "dropout" or "flake." The value of what we do as artists is still not widely understood or appreciated. Saturday night, I finally felt like I was part of something worthwhile.

This was the first time I had the chance to witness a total stranger's reaction to my artwork. Mr. ShellHawk chuckled at my taking a picture of the moment. I couldn't help it; these folks were totally excited by it!

 And just a few minutes later, these two ladies walked over and placed the "Purchase Award" ribbon on my piece, meaning that my piece was already bought. It took a half hour of the show being open to the public for "Manitou" to sell! I was so surprised that it went that quickly, and a little sad that I wouldn't be seeing him around any more.

 Squishy girl that I am, I had to fight back tears of happiness. I felt for a minute like I had "arrived," as dumb as that sounds. It makes all those times when people kept trying to bargain with me for my work disappear. (And the next time that happens, look out!)

 Unfortunately, this photo doesn't show the pink and orange of the sunset coming through the windows. It was beautiful!

Last was the presentation of the artists to the public. Again, a very surreal experience. I was totally giddy!

 After the applause had died away, Mr. ShellHawk and I ran into a couple of my students from Parks and Rec. We walked around for a bit, and saw this big old kiln running.

 One gal told us that one of the display areas was in the oldest kiln in the factory, which had been in use for one hundred thirty-six years. It was a wood-burning kiln, and the bricks inside were partially melted from the mineral salts that were thrown in during the firing process.

Have I mentioned that the whole experience was really humbling, too? It was that, and just incredible, too. I was so glad that I got to share that with my husband, who has really given me all the support I have needed through this whole process.

Thanks, hon. You mean the world to me!

New Pumpkins on Etsy!

I only lost one pumpkin to thermal shock this time. The other three are now available in ShellHawk's Etsy store! Free shipping, too.

Badass Raku

He and his friends will be in the shop in the next day or two...

My Next Piece of Property-

-must be a zombie-proof house.

I hope it has a really well-stocked wine cellar.

Full article via All That Is Interesting.

Hauntcast: We're Everywhere!

Not only is Hauntcast going to be represented at the National Haunters Convention (where you can meet Johnny Thunder and Denhaunt) and the West Coast Haunters Convention, but a brand new episode of our fabulous show is up on the Hauntcast site!

From the desk of Chris "The Most Interesting Man in the World" Baker:

Hauntcast Radio for Haunters and Halloween Fanatics is available now.

– Johnny breaks Chris’ beans and bellows his review of Scream 4.
– Is scaring the crap out of people the only objective of a haunt? Revenant reports, you decide.
– The Mistress of Mayhem leads you into the dark depths of the French and Italian catacombs.
– Chris’ spider senses are tingling as he bows down and gives up props to Spider Ryder’s Giant Spider.
– The dungeons new denizens, the Hauntcast 10 Dwarfs.
– Denny straps on the latex once again to demonstrate home made corpse lids.
– Author of Halloween: An American Holiday, An American History & newly released Halloween Nation: Behind the scenes of America’s fright night Lesley Bannatyne joins Chris for a behind the scenes sneak peek at her new book.

We are offering Tees, Baby Doll Shirts and Hoodies specials with a subscription for a limited time. Don’t hesitate, get your subscription today.

For those of you rock stars who already subscribe and want to add to your collection of super cool t-shirts, Chris is taking pre-orders for t-shirts for boys, baby doll t-shirts for the girls, and hoodies for all! If you want 'em, amble over to the Hauntcast site and pre-order them now, before they disappear!

Stuff 'n' Things

Shelby and pups at one day old

Little Samhain is just over one week old, now. The final count of the litter was six males, and four females.

Shelby and her brood at one week old

Sandy over at Sprague's German Shepherds said Shelby did great and is feeling good. The pups all seem to have come through just fine, too. Here are some random puppy cuteness videos on the site, if you're interested. They will get to be more fun at about week three.

In other news, Saturday is the artist's reception for Feats of Clay. To say the least, I am very excited to be in the company of such talented artists! It still doesn't seem quite real to me that I could have a sculpture of mine chosen for a major show like this one after only having started working in clay three years ago. Wow!

I'll post pictures if I can.

Jack-o'-Lantern Patterns



Image via Hub Pages

Not that anyone who reads my blog the eleven other months of the year would need these, but I ran across the above photo and thought I would share the site. They have an article including links to some free jack-o'-lantern patterns and some suggestions for nifty tools you can use for your next pumpkin massacre.

I find it both exciting and sad that pumpkin carving needs a guide these days. I mean, half the fun of pumpkin carving with my dad when I was a kid was making up my own face. On the other hand, there are some really great patterns out there, and the actual artistry being shown on pumpkins these days is pretty amazing. I just hope that people don't get the idea that they have to be a great sculptor in order to carve a jack-o-lantern.

Find more free jack-o-lantern patterns here. There are more at Fantasy Pumpkins, too.

Vintage

One of the few things I regret about not having a real job and enduring the growing (read:economic) pains of starting my own business is not having the discretionary income to spend on what's really important: vintage Hallowe'en decoractions!

Oh, well. At least with window shopping, there's no buyer's remorse.

Image by halloween_guy

Heartland Antique Mall

Halloween Decorations Ideas Blog

For sale at iOffer dot com by donaldroszz (379)

From the Atelier Blog