Halloween

Finally dove in and sculpted the hair. Decided to go super cheap and use Crayola Model Magic. I was concerned it wouldn't adhere to the paper mache but my fears quickly vanished once I got going.

It's interesting to see the progression from start to finish, don't you think? 

Sure, she's no Venus, but I'm pretty happy with it considering I had no idea what I was doing. 

I'm not sure where the original ad came from (I spotted it on a Tumblr account), but I love the description.

You put your coin on the step of the house and "With a groan and a rattle, the house lights up - spookily - and the door slowly opens. The Horror Hand sneaks out of the doorway and snatches the coin back in! "

Sold!

Best part? The money back guarantee. As if I wouldn't be satisfied!

Of course, I wonder what it actually looked like. The artist rendition is lovely but I get the sense the bank itself may not have been so detailed.

Let's pretend it was. 

This would have helped me save as a child. 

Heck, this would help me save as an adult. 

And shudder, apparently.

There hasn't been much time for anything, lately. I've tried to put the brakes on a little and remind myself to enjoy the season (don't want to be all Sally Brown, lamenting "Halloween is over and I MISSED it!"). 

A huge part of that - as a child and as an adult - is media. Be it film or television, the one constant in my celebration regime is animation of some sort. 

Is it me, or does there seem to be a lack of Halloween cartoons in the last 10 years? The Nickelodeon collection of cartoon series are good to deliver a special episode, but where are the stand alone features? And I don't count newer Disney specials which star people (hey Disney, remember when you made cartoons? I think it made you famous). 

Dreamworks has stepped up and tried to fill the Halloween gap with Shrek and Monsters vs Aliens specials, but where is everyone else?

And so I am left to be nostalgic, reaching back to my childhood (which is why I posted the picture of Grover by Jack Davis I came across last night as I was trying to catch up on all the Halloween Countdown blogs).

If you were a child in the 70s and 80s, or you love older cartoon Halloween specials, come sit by me. I'm going to share a couple of blogs that might make you feel better.

I'm a big fan of the site Doo Wacka Doodles  (and Belle Dee's art) throughout the year, but during the Halloween Countdown it's an even better treat. 

Spotted this post about a Mad Monster Party Art Show in Sherman Oaks, CA. Belle has put a link to the gallery and samples of what's being shown, what's for sale and all the details so please visit the links above.

Instead of repeating all of her post, I just wanted to highlight one piece for sale by Dan Szczepanski of a carved pumpkin (selling for $900). There's a video where you can see each side.

Dan Szczepanski has an entire collection of carved foam pumpkins which are quite stunning. Like the Haunted Mansion pumpkin, the Edgar Allen Poe pumpkin, the Headless Horseman pumpkin, and a whole lot of Disney, Universal Monsters, and Halloween goodness. 

(picture from adaytimesinner on deviant art)

I had a grand theme planned for this year. Several large sculpting projects. One huge build. 

When September 1st hit, I realized I wasn't going to have the time or the budget to execute the plan this year (but maybe next year). As the start of September crept closer to mid-September, I started to panic. I couldn't decide on what to do. Finally I asked myself "if you could incorporate any theme into your Halloween party decor, just for your own enjoyment (as opposed to what I think would look really cool), what would it be?"

Well, THAT'S easy. Twin Peaks.

Huh. 

And just like that, this year's theme was decided.

I'm a big Twin Peaks fan. I would drop everything and run away with Agent Dale Cooper in a heartbeat. I've been to the real Twin Peaks (twice), sat in the real Double R Diner, and had coffee black as midnight on a moonless night with a plate of cherry pie.

I've refined the theme a bit, of course. I could do a general Twin Peaks party, but I wanted to stay true to the Halloween element. I'm designing the decor around the Black Lodge/White Lodge concept (for those who never watched the show, basically it's believed there are good and bad realms the spirit must to pass through, and where evil/goodness presides).