So, lots of stuff going on! Throwing a bunch of jacks, cups, bowls, etc., plus doing a little handbuilding, too, to give myself a break.

I fixed the overfiring problem with my old kiln and did another decal firing, which turned out beautifully! It was a very satisfying test run, and now I have a clearer idea of what I need to do to get some decals done properly and speed up my production a bit. I've got too little time left before Scare LA, and I need to focus and maximize it as much as I can!

I've been making some big candy bowls, too. I'm looking forward to underglazing these guys and making them super Hallowe'en-cool. Stay tuned!

Speaking of Scare LA, I'll be speechifying there. My class will be on setting up a home haunt (so very much to cover in an hour!), and I've been sending out emails to various haunters to ask permission to use their pictures and videos in my lecture. I sent one out to a YouTube user who did a great Pepper's ghost illusion in his front window. We emailed back and forth a couple of times, and it turns out "the guy" is Paul Lasaine, of Lord of the Rings visual effects fame! And? He said I could use his video! Woo-hoo! After our conversation, he got around to posting his how-to on getting the illusion up and running properly. See his Pepper's ghost how-to here. The original video is here.

The brewing tanks came in at Oak Park Brewing Company this week, as well. Step by step, things are coming along, and it looks like our opening will be somewhere around mid- to late-August! We're really excited at the progress. (If you're interested in tracking the progress of the brewery, follow them on Facebook or Twitter.) I sat down with them on Saturday to start planning for the Hallowe'en season, and man, am I tickled at some of the ideas we came up with for this year and the thoughts we have on what to do next year!

OK, that's it for now. Back out to make some more Hallowe'en fun!

Busy, Busy!

This week was a continuation of the whole, "Good news, bad news" streak I seem to be in. I got some stuff underglazed this week, and ready for firing. I'm trying out some new designs, so things aren't to the autopilot stage, yet, but I still felt good about the progress.

 Unfortunately, these guys got overfired, a problem I've had for the last couple of kiln loads in my old Cress kiln. I finally tracked down what I'm 99% sure is the problem yesterday, and I think I've got it licked! Yay, me! I'm not sure if I can save the work, which is somewhat damaged, but we'll see. At the very least, I know how these underglazes behave!

I'm off to L.A. for the weekend, and was going to catch a screening of "Jaws" at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, but it looks like it's sold out already! Dang it! Oh, well. I'll have to find something else to do. It's always a great chance to catch up with my L.A. peeps and my dad, so how can it be anything but great?

Well, back to work. Have a great weekend making cool things, kids!

Finally Friday

It's been a busy week here at the nest. West Coast Haunters Convention started yesterday, and I donated a jack-o'-lantern to the auction they're doing for the charity for which the convention is held: The Oregon School for the Deaf.

Of course, since I couldn't make it because of my foot, a heavy production schedule and a heavy travel schedule, Chris Ape had to go, too! His friends at Davis Graveyard had invited him and offered to host him, so he went along with the jack-o'-lantern.

I have to admit to being wicked jealous of Ape. He got to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show with the crew from the Davis Graveyard, and I didn't!

Ape being protected from the rain during the show...

Afterward, he hit Bar 13 with the gang, and apparently was doing a little bartending for them. If I were them, I'd be a bit concerned about the Rufalin factor...

Meanwhile, back at the home front, our friends at Oak Park Brewing Company are working hard at the construction of the interior space! They got an inspection out of the way this week, and are ready  to pour concrete where the brewing tanks are going to go. 

 I was busy at work at the Most Expensive Craft Table in the World, underglazing greenware to go into a bisque firing.

 I started a kiln load of decals to test them out and see how they'd look. I get to open the kiln tomorrow and find out!

 And the bittersweet moment of my dreams realized, then crushed, again, happened yesterday.

 The new kiln arrived! Hooray!

New kiln base with my little workhorse next to it.

Being assembled, piece by piece!

 The fully assembled kiln! Yay!

Then we turned it on. It worked... and then my breaker flipped. And I discovered one not-so-small fly in the ointment.

I don't have enough juice to run the thing. 

Totally my bad. I thought I heard we had a 60 amp breaker and the right wiring from the box to the garage, which are on opposite sides of the house from each other. That was not the case. So now, in order to use it, I have to get the wiring into the garage, which may cost another several thousand dollars I really don't have right now, since I got laid off in January and I'm still not able to work, yet.

Phooey.

All the stuff I had planned to get done for Scare LA and for Halloween and Vine? Distinct possibility I won't get it done. To say that I was "in a mood" yesterday is to make a massive understatement.

Oh, well. I'll figure out how to get this done. It's certainly not the end of the world!

A Couple More

Here are a few more shots of The Halloween Tree Plate, this time, taken with my "real" camera. Of course a couple of the close ups I wanted turned out blurry. Oh, well!

Currently freaking out about my workload vs. time I can't make stuff, which is upcoming. Eek! The good news is, the new kiln is coming tomorrow! HOORAY!

R.I.P. H.R.Giger

Click on the pic for the trailer.

Alien. One of the scariest movies ever made, in large part because of the creatures H. R. Giger created. Creepy, organic, lethal creatures.

Rest in peace, Mr. Giger. Thanks for the nightmares.

Get the Alien anthology on Blu-Ray here.

Get a retrospective on H. R. Giger here.

Fun Finds

Click on the pics to get to their sites.

Find a lovely collection of weathervanes here.

Jug by thebigduluth on Deviant Art

Via Viona Art.com

If anyone knows the makeup artist, I'd like to give credit on this one!

Metroplasm

Available today, 2:00 PM, Eastern time.

Details from Galleries Nineteen Eighty Eight.

Pics Before Saying Goodbye

I try to make time to take pictures of all my work, great or small ("Art" vs. "art" if you see my meaning), before it goes off to where it needs to go. So it is with The Halloween Tree plate.

I started this piece a couple of years ago, and had abandoned it a time or two due to time constraints. I dug it out again, this time because I was on a quest to get 'er done!

I can tell I had worked on this two separate times, as the black underglaze is two different colors. (I used two different brands/shades of black.)

A little more progress made...

 A pic of the plate with Joseph Mugnaini's original illustration for The Halloween Tree, pre-first firing. After it came out of that firing, I put several coats of clear glaze on it and re-fired it, hoping for the best!

The finished plate, fresh out of the kiln.

And a quick shot with my camera before I did the shots with the macro lens and the Canon 3Ti. And just to prove that within the same firing, not everything goes as planned:

One of the Christmas plates I was finishing up from last season split right down the middle during the glaze firing. No, it can't be repaired, as it also twisted and it doesn't match up any more.

Since posting the Halloween Tree plate on Facebook, a bunch of people want one, and I told them I couldn't make any more. Not only does it take a ton of time, but it was a one-off. I'd rather develop my own designs, as much as I love Mugnaini's. (There's also the whole copyright issue, which I don't even want to think about!)

Well, onwards to other things! The new kiln comes in this week, the screw comes out of my foot on Wednesday, and due to an alarming burned mark on the plug of my old kiln, I have to schedule an electrician to come in and test my line before my house burns down!

Happy Monday...

I've been binge-watching "House, M.D." as I've been glazing pieces. I came across the episode Dave Matthews guest-starred in, and haven't been able to get this song out of my head! Click on the pic for the tune...

Hauntcast 59 - Deep 13

Our penultimate show is ready for those wonderful folks who subscribed to Hauntcast and kept the show going for the last couple of years. 

This is my last episode! *sniff, sniff* And I want to tell those folks who did listen and who brought us back from the dead, how much I appreciate them. Thanks, guys. It's been a great run!

So here's what's on the slab for the next-to-last show:

HAUNTING GURU INTERVIEW:Robert Beech from Brandywine Cemetery pops into the dungeon and oddly enough doesn’t bring any brandy wine. Chris & Gina Leslie from Grave Rock Gulch also stop by and throw a hoedown in the dungeon… good thing she didn’t get hurt.
GHOULIE GROOVES:All the walkers are lining up to get a taste of our musical guests “The Brains”
SHOCKTAILS:JT & Chris suffer from drinking elbow as they slam down Shocktails while reviewing Afflictedand Wolf Creek 2
THE MARKETING MORGUE:Dick bestows his final words of wisdom with the Three I’s before closing up the morgue.
THEATER OF THE MINDAll things vile and terrible, all villains great and small… Rev looks at backstory through haunted bifocals and sees nightmares of every size and scope.
THE CHARMED POT:Chris slips into the Charmed Pot with Shellhawk to bid her farewell.
THE PROP SHOP:Chris talks Denny down from the ledge as he is already suffering from separation anxiety.
TERROR TURNPIKE:Vysther cruises into Chicago on fumes to review his last haunt The Asylum Xperimnet in Villa Park.

Once again, please let me know if you'd like to order ShellHawk's Creations t-shirts. I'll be doing pre-orders only if there's enough interest!