Happy Halloween 2010

2010 Display

This years display was kind of recycled. Not enough time to make any new props so I took what I had and went with it. As a result it was very relaxing and fun to put together. My 4 year old even helped a little. Yes, he's following in Daddy's haunted footsteps : ) I tried to fill the absence of new props with some extra fall decor. The plan for next year is to make another scarecrow or two? and move the display location.























































































This is the only night time shot that I felt was lit well. I REALLY need to experiment and learn how to properly light a display. I'm getting great lighting ideas from Pumpkinrot and Davis Graveyard.

Mask Update

I've been punching straw through parts of the mask. Still need to do some more but it's coming along nicely.

Idea For This Years Costume

After thinking long and hard about it, I think I'm going to make a Bubba scarecrow from Dark Night of the Scarecrow. It's such a classic movie and the costume is so simple yet very creepy. One of the major factors for my decision is the dvd that to be released end of September. I adore this movie and feel compelled to honor its release.

Items needed: mask, trenchcoat, flannel shirt, blue jeans, boots, gloves, straw, rope and pitchfork.

Fortunately I already have the mask, which would have been the most difficult piece to acquire. My plan is to start screening the mouth and eye holes on the mask tomorrow. I'm going to try real hard to post pics as I make progress on this project.

Heck of a Patch

My friend Curt has a HUGE pumpkin patch behind his woods. For a guy who doesn't really do much for Halloween, I think it's pretty neat how much he loves his pumpkins. He grows several varieties of pumpkins, guords, and squash. With the hot days and a lot of rain, this year looks to be one of the best pumpkin crops ever. I can't wait to help pick this year as I have my eye on a few big ones. There are plenty that are a decent size right now but it's exciting to know they have a month to grow into even bigger jackos. I snapped a few pics of what's on the vines.

You can't see much orange in this picture but you can see how big his patch is.

Costumes from 2003

Going through some old pictures of Halloween costumes and thought I'd share this one of us. Ames and I attended a charity costume party for Children's Hospital where I was Narcissic, a cenobite and Ames was Chiana from Farscape. Ames looked fantastic and she received a lot of great compliments. I remember getting the evil eye and hearing a few nasty comments from people that thought my costume was too gruesome and hardcore.

Funny note: I had pieces of flesh hung on fish hooks on the front of my costume. The barbs were dull but kept snagging Ames costume while we were dancing.

Jack O

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Zombie Pumpkin

Here is a new resin bust by Pilcrow Designs. I simply LOVE this piece. You can see more of his art and creations at his website:

http://pilcrowdesigns.deviantart.com/

Peculiar

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Brightly Lit

These jacko's look right at home on our front steps. We do our annual pumpkin carving about a week before Halloween. It's become a family tradition of ours to carve pumpkins, bake pumpkin seeds, and feast on seeds and pumpkin cider. We always have some sort of scary music playing in the background. My son really likes the Halloween 3 soundtrack. He must be a chip off the old block : ) When our son goes to bed we watch a scary movie, munch on some more seeds and drink more cider. Mmm yummy.

So I Like Masks

I have been fascinated with masks for quite some time. It started when I was a kid after I saw John Carpenter's Halloween, Halloween 3 and few of the Friday the 13th movies. My parents were the type that didn't really want me watching scary movies but at the same time they didn't forbid it. I loved how creepy masks looked and this really intrigued me. From that point on I wanted to wear a mask every year for Halloween. At that time I only knew of mass produced masks that were sold at retail stores during the Halloween season. As a kid you don't really know what a good quality mask is; you just know if you like it or not. My mother was nice enough to take me mask shopping every year and if I was to get a mask I remember it had to be creepy. Nothing nice or cute to her dismay.

The first mask I bought on my own was a Don Post Michael Myers (I still have it although it is in poor shape) at a seasonal costume shop. They had a lot of nicer masks that I didn't see in Shopko or Kmart. Then in high school a friend introduced me to Death Studios. He showed me one of their color catalogues and as I looked through it, I was captivated. I had never seen masks of their quality or selection before. My interest in masks grew and I started buying a few high quality masks. Later I found Darkside Studios, another fine mask company. Soon I was discovering other independent mask makers on the Internet. I remember frequently visiting their websites and spending hours staring at all their different masks. They all looked so good it was hard to decide what to buy. When I made the decision to start collecting seriously, I narrowed my interest down to scarecrows and pumpkins. There is something just simplistic yet creepy about them. In my opinion, scarecrows and pumpkins make up the essence of Halloween, just like witches, ghosts and goblins.

During this time I have had the pleasure of getting to know many of the mask artists out there. I have tremendous respect for their art and enjoy watching the new sculpts they create. I hope to collect masks long into the future and for as long as mask artists continue to make them!

My Array of Masks

Most of my collection I obtained from independent mask makers. I prefer to purchase my masks new as opposed to second hand. This is for several reasons: a new mask has not been handled by anyone other than the original maker and I can care for it properly from day one.

Latex masks won't last forever, but I want them to look good for as long as possible. This is why I take very good care of them...ok ok, I'm obsessed. I don't wear any of them except for a few. They are all kept in a locked room where I keep the temperature between 65-70 degrees. Every few months I powder the inside of them with cornstarch and dust the outside. They never see sunlight as this will dry out latex. I rarely need to vacuum the carpet in my mask room because it gets so little foot traffic. Plus vacuums can emit dust while they are running!

This is my collection as of now...

In Flames

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Return of the Sandman

Here is the trailer of a Halloween fan film by Southlan-Films.


Visit Southlan-Films site to watch the entire film
http://www.youtube.com/user/southlanfilmsusa