Mutterings of a Mad Woman

Camille Rose Garcia and her Beautiful Misery

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 19, 2009 - 9:37am

orphansIf I had to pick my favourite artist in the last few years, I think it would be Camille Rose Garcia. I look at the artwork and everything goes silent. My thoughts are still. I am simply absorbing everything on the page.

The characters are dripping, drowning, coated in misery while maintaining beauty.

I generally don't buy art books, but I buy Garcia's. And I can't wait until her toy company PITCO is launched.

From her biography:

Camille Rose Garcia was born in 1970 in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the generic suburbs of Orange County, visiting Disneyland and going to punk shows with the other disenchanted youth of that era. Her paintings of creepy cartoon children living in wasteland fairy tales are critical commentaries on the failures of capitalist utopias. Creative influences include Phillip K. Dick, William Burroughs, Henry Darger,Walt Disney, as welll as politically aware bands like The Clash and Dead Kennedys. Her recent solo show, Ultraviolenceland, explored ideas of violence and empire.

I have such an artist's crush on her. She had me at "Dead Kennedys".

The Zombified

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 17, 2009 - 8:21am

zombified cartoon girl
This is the image that caught my eye several months ago on Haunt Space while clicking through the community gallery. According to the owner's profile, there was a website that housed her work but it was currently under construction.

Just last month, www.thezombified.com was brought back to life. Finally, I'd have a chance to explore.

There are four main Horror Girls characters: the Zombie (pictured right), the Mummy, the Vampire and the Bride. All of them are drawn in black and white and have that classic cute cartoon style - the kind I associate with stories and comic books of my youth.

As it turns out, the artist Krystal Fancey Beck (aka the elusive Zombie) does create a comic called Hallowhaus. At this time, there are two issues printed and ready for purchase. Krystal was kind enough to send me copies of each, so let me tell you a bit about them.

Femtasia: The Art of Femke Hiemstra

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 15, 2009 - 8:56am

HeatwaveWelcome to Femtasia, the world of Femke Hiemstra.

I'm not sure how to best describe the work of this artist from the Netherlands. It's a mix of vintage cartooning meets the style of modern vinyl designer toys. Perhaps pop surrealism. Whatever it is, I like it.

For those of you who might want to see her work in person, she's currently exhibiting in the States. Femke has also published in a few interesting books including Beasts 2 (to learn more, you can read the interview on www.comicbookresources.com) where she teams up with another artist I like by the name of Travis Lampe.

While Travis doesn't do many pieces that would fit the theme of this website, he did create the trick or treater painting seen at the end of this post.

Happy Friday the 13th

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 13, 2009 - 9:47am

Fri 13 Calendar with Skeleton hand
I was so distracted by the glowing fingers story (see previous post) that I completely forgot to wish you all a Happy Friday the 13th (I should note I nabbed the image to the right from Monsterama: Cute Creeps From Popular Culture who seems to have the same distaste for Valentine's Day as I do).

I ask, what better way to celebrate Friday the 13th than with the transformation of Winnie the Pooh into Jason, the homicidal machete-wielding maniac?


Winnie the Pooh as Jason
Found this on Deviant Art and had a good chuckle. See what too much honey can do? If you check out the creator's gallery, you'll find a load of zombified toys from Mickey Mouse to Hello Kitty and even My Little Pony.

Have a good day folks, and if I don't see you tomorrow, Happy Horrible V-day as well.

LED Finger Lamps: Creepy Valentine Gift Fail

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 13, 2009 - 8:24am

led finger lamps
Every holiday results in retailers trying to convince customers that their product is the perfect gift for that particular time of year. The folks over at www.techchee.com are no exception, but I think the boys from China have pushed positioning of a product just a bit too far in this post for a Valentine gift idea published on Feb. 6, 2009.

The title reads "LED finger lamps for creepy-yet-romantic night on the Valentine's day". As a haunter, I thought the title seemed promising. Even after I saw the picture of the odd LED fingertips, I didn't dismiss the gadget completely, and thought perhaps they would spin it for people who like weird Halloweenish items (I could see prop and costume potential). But then I read the post that explained why these glowing fingertips would make the perfect gift:

You may wanna create special atmosphere on the Valentine's day. What about getting your girl and you in darkness and show her your green-glowing fingertips? It would probably be the most unforgettable Valentine’s night for her.

Pardon?

Confused, slightly uncomfortable, and suppressing the 13 year old boy in my brain who is already stringing together inappropriate off-colour jokes, I keep reading the pitch.

Give Her Your Heart

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 12, 2009 - 8:31am

gummy hearts
Still pushing on with my Valentine theme, I decided to explore Valentine ideas when it came to presents: traditional gift ideas with a twist. Where better to do this monitor shopping (my term for window shopping online) than www.pushindaisies.com.

The first and most obvious choice is candy in a heart-shaped box. These are gummy hearts, and the front of the box reads "My love is pure, my love is true, you can have my heart and eat it too!". *cough*

If she prefers chocolate, then you can get her a chocolate heart instead; a one pound chocolate heart.

While I'm all for candy, I like jewelry even more (probably because Yetch never buys jewelry for me. Say it with me: awwwww, poor Ghoul Friday). Where was I? Ah yes. I really like the skeleton bracelets, and the coffin earrings aren't bad (but my spidey-sense tells me they might turn my earlobes green).

Zombie Harmony: How the Undead Find Love

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 11, 2009 - 8:53am

heart with zombie silhouettes
Zombie Harmony: because the apocalypse doesn't have to be lonely.

This is the slogan at Zombie Harmony's Free Dating Site; a site strictly for the undead. Animated corpses can search through the database, narrowing their selections to fast-moving or slow-moving mates, with or without limbs, ranging from fresh to rotten.

User names include 'Hungry Barbara', 'I_ate_my_family' and 'luvs2cuddle' (who enjoys slow lumbering walks along the beach, and whose interests include staring vacantly).

Bleeding Heart Cupcakes

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 10, 2009 - 4:16pm


While the recipe has made the rounds online, I thought I would post it anyway. I originally saw this on yumsugar.com. In honour of V-day, I am resurrecting it from Internet oblivion.

I should note the recipe is originally from Hey There, Cupcake! by Clare Crespo. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients and Tools

20 glass marbles or small balls of tinfoil
1 recipe batter for White Cupcakes (store bought or see below for the homemade recipe)
2 to 3 cups strawberry jelly or smooth strawberry jam
1 recipe Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting (store bought or see below for the homemade recipe)
Red and blue food colouring
Pastry bag and medium round tip (optional)

Acceptable Valentines Cards

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 10, 2009 - 2:05pm

Spider Valentine Card
Ah Valentines. I never was a fan of the holiday, regardless of whether or not I was in a relationship. I'm a firm believer of year-round wooing (for me and my partner) and I don't have much faith in the authenticity of gestures made on February 14th.

skull cardDespite my general misgivings, I thought I would dedicate a couple of blog posts this week to the theme of marketed love. Today we'll look at your card options.

The spider card (pictured left) is a product posted on zazzle.com (along with a number of anti-valentines day items, for those interested). They also had a rather nice skull card (pictured right).

Painting My World

Submitted by Ghoul Friday
on February 7, 2009 - 1:00pm

GF's Lantern Creature
I was reminded of a quote today by Georgia O'Keefe: "To create one's own world in any of the arts takes courage." This is true of all genres, but I think the statement has a heavier truth when applied to artists whose focus falls outside the realm of the mainstream; whose subject isn't easily identifiable as beautiful to most people.

All artists have to face scrutiny, and there is a chance that some (if not many) people will dismiss the notion of the artist having talent. But I think it's harder for the haunter or artists whom are more dark at heart, because sometimes people aren't just rejecting your skills, but how you view life, and what you deem to be beautiful (or what you classify as art, for that matter).

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