Mutterings of a Mad Woman

If you were following my blog last year during Festival of Fear, you may recall my post where I talked about wanting a certain print from Toronto artist Ghoulish Gary Pullin. Sadly, he didn't have any in 2009. I still walked away with a beautiful Frankenstein print (that looks fantastic framed, by the way), but when you have your heart set on one particular thing, it's hard to let it go.

It was the Fido image I was coveting. Not only is it easily one of my top zombie movies of all time (plus it's Canadian, and it has Billy Connolly as a zombie), but the artwork is stunning. So it should be no surprise that the very first thing I did when my table was set up on Friday was head over to Gary and lay claim to a copy of the print (pictured right).

The surprise (at least to me) came on Saturday. My table was buzzing with people (at the convention it went in waves: it was like you either had no one around or 5 people at once wanting to buy something), and in the middle of packing up an item I look up and see Gary.

No, that's not the surprise.

Every single time I saw this little guy, I couldn't help but get The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead by XTC stuck in my head.

Of course, the figure is far less political than the song.

He was, perhaps, the second minion to go to a new home at the convention. I know he went fast enough to cause a hesitant shopper who'd come by the table earlier to lament their decision to not snatch him up when she had the chance.

I always want to put up a sign that says "If you really like it, please buy it now because it will be gone the next time I see you." Such is the nature of one of a kind pieces. I don't have that sign, of course, and if I ever do you are all allowed to throw stones at me because it just seems in bad taste. But I still always feel bad for the people when they discover a certain piece has been sold. And it happened a few times this weekend.

Anyway, I really like how he turned out. I wasn't sure how the pumpkin might look with eyeballs, but it certainly gives him an animated appearance. Might make a few more similar to him in the future. He added a certain festiveness to the table.

I also got to play with more gathering of material at his feet. I really like the look of them wearing cloaks too big for them, that have some wear. Makes me think they've just gotten back from an adventure and are just fooling me into thinking they are inanimate by standing still.

While it is entertaining to see celebrities at FanExpo, I get more excited about meeting local artists I've only known online. So it was a real pleasure to finally meet the folks over at Zombie Liquorice.

I didn't have a program map with me at the table, so I decided to go hunting for them in the horror section. It wasn't long before I spotted their shiny new banner and made my way over to introduce myself.

When I asked who the person was that's been on the other side of all the twitter tweets, they pointed me to Jason (who may spell his name Jayson...I can't confirm as we only spoke and didn't write letters to each other).

Big strong handshake. Always a good sign in my book. Besides, he's a fairly big guy with broad shoulders, so a weak handshake would have been exceptionally bad.

It was their first year at the convention, but they did so well and had such a positive response, they'll be back again in 2011. And why not? Besides having some really cool designs on their t-shirts, the shirts themselves are really well made. No plastic feel to the print. Good quality.

I should be getting ready for my last day of the convention, but I wanted to make a quick post. There is a young woman I'd like to say a public thanks to. I've made the mistake of not asking her name, but if I see her again today I'll ask.

You see, she's a mini-pumpkin fanatic. My kind of girl. She bought 4 pumpkins from me last year.

Then on Friday of this year, she bought 4 more.

Then on Saturday of this year, she bought 4 or 5 more.

I've explained to her that she now has a collection 5 times the size of my own. When she was making this last purchase, I was running around with another customer (that story will be revealed soon), so I couldn't talk with her much. I did gather that she was making her own pumpkin patch starring my little figures.

I realized every good pumpkin patch needs a scarecrow. I decided to give her one of mine. I've asked for pictures when she gets her collection all together.

So here's to the Pumpkin Queen, who loves jack o' lanterns and supports local artists.

Sincerest of thank yous from a humbled ghoul.

(wrote this so fast I misspelled Pumpkin in the title. It's been a crazy weekend)

End of day one. Not sure if I'll have time to type up a post in the morning, so I thought I would get this one out of the way tonight (Friday).

Going back to the convention for a second year presented some lovely moments. Saw so many familiar faces from last year - and I don't just mean vendors. Dozens of people who visited my table in 2009 came by once more. And the best part was the reception they gave me, and the stories they had to tell.

There were two people who found me today, thrilled to see the eyeball plants again because they'd decided to wait to buy one and then were disappointed to discover I'd sold out by the Saturday. My favourite quote: "I'll wait to buy everyone else's items, but I am getting this plant RIGHT NOW."

Lots of "I bought one of your plants last year and now I keep it (insert entertaining details here)." One person uses it to torment coworkers. I heartily approve.

Meghan, who follows and comments on this blog, came by the table and snatched up the last remaining Underbiter, Oogie. They are now officially all gone, and I'm pleased this last creature went to Miss Meghan.

Also talked with some twitter folk (*waves to Trischa*) and loads of others I've met at shows other than FanExpo.

The first item sold from the table (before I'd even finished setting up) was this little minion (pictured above and below). He went so fast I haven't even had time to name him, and will leave it up to his new owners. I really liked him because he's probably the toughest looking minion I've made.

In about two hours, I am off to Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear, Canada's largest Horror event and part of Hobby Star's FanExpo. I will be at table A24, close to Rue Morgue and the HMV booth.

Hopefully you got your advance tickets and don't have to face the ludicrous lines (it takes a long time to get 50,000 people in and out of an event). If you didn't get advanced tickets or passes, I suggest you attend on Sunday or today (Saturday's line-up last year apparently hit a 5 hour wait, and circled city blocks).

If you follow the blog, be sure to say hello and tell me who you are (and if you post comments using a handle instead of your actual name, be sure to mention it!). Meeting people who know my work is one of the coolest things. As an artist, I live under the assumption that no one has a clue who I am in the real world, and I'm always genuinely shocked when someone does.

Here's a glimpse of one of three new Plague Doctors that's making its debut at the show. I had a little fun with this guy and gave him a telescopic eye, then highlighted it with a metallic copper paint.

I still have to take some proper photos of the large plants, but I wanted to post this so I could get some feedback before you all vanished for the day. I'll be asking people on twitter as well.

I'm toying with the idea of adding black ribbon tied in a bow around the pot of the plants. I've taken a quick shot of the red plant with the bow and without (see image below).

I'm leaning toward a yes for the ribbon. What do you lot think?

Yes? No?

If someone actually buys one of the large plants (not holding my breath but you never know), and they don't like the ribbon, they can simply take it off. But if it's too...I don't know...fancy? Girlie? I don't want to take away from the overall look of the plant.

So please weigh in with your opinion! And remember, I don't have time to come up with an alternative. It's either yes ribbon, or no ribbon.

Thanks!

Leon was made at the same time as Bosco, before I started the more Halloween-like figures mentioned in the last post.

Leon is a pensive chap. Quiet and somewhat shy, he only speaks when he has something important to say. He's a little self conscious of a slight stutter that reveals itself when he's upset or exited.

He likes keeping life simple and avoids conflict as much as possible, to the extreme of avoiding other people if he can help it. He much prefers to be home alone by the fire, reading books and studying maps. You see, his secret wish is to be an explorer. After an evening of plotting courses and memorizing celestial patterns in the universe, Leon will sit back in his favourite arm chair with a glass of red wine and doze in the glow of the fire, dreaming of his many great adventures.

Tomorrow will be spent taking photographs of all the new creations headed for Festival of Fear on Friday. I'd already snapped a few shots of this little creature a while ago.

I wanted to start making more classic Halloween figures now that I've had some fun exploring other creatures. This little devil is the first one I made with Halloween in mind. I've also made some owls, another devil, a demon and a pumpkin creature. Will post those soon.

The cool thing about this guy is while he has my style, he certainly has a different look (at least in my opinion). I'm excited to see what else I come up with as I explore this Halloween theme (after I've had a rest from my big push this last week).

As for an update on my progress, I have 2 of the 3 large plants painted. Going to look at them with fresh eyes tomorrow to see if they need touch ups before I add the epoxy.

And I'm actually going to have those 3 Plague Doctors done by tonight which is exciting.

I am over the moon about a recent purchase. I commissioned Emily of Skull and Crossbuns to make me a Ghoul Friday stamp. And here it is!

Emily hand carves each and every stamp she sells (at an extremely reasonable price). It's a thing of beauty. She has loads of stamps for sale that I covet (including some lovely pumpkins, skulls and owls). If you like stamps with original designs, or need a custom one made, Emily is your gal.

I spent yesterday evening stamping over 50 bags with my logo and they look as though I had them professionally printed. I am so pleased I'm beside myself with giddiness.