It Is Finished...

Or at least as finished as it's going to get.

Ever since Scott over at Tortured Pumpkins announced he was running another of his Build-Me-A-Pumpkin contests I've been pondering a design. Frankenstein's monster is my favorite character so that was my initial thought. Someone beat me to it and I didn't want to do what someone else had done. Besides that entry is a fine specimen - I absolutely love it!

So, back to the drawing board... I considered several other pumpkin designs but finally decided on being myself - a Ghoulie Girl. I thought perhaps something girly and ghoulie and semi-creepy all in one.

"Ghoulie Gourd Girl" has sat on my desk for a couple of weeks now. I think that she could still use some shading and touch ups. I've tweaked her when I have had time and while I'm not convinced that she's done, she's as done as she's going to get. We are sneaking away for a few days for a much needed break so my deadline is now. (The actual deadline is midnight August 11.)

If you haven't already, you really need to pop over to Tortured Pumpkins to see all of the entries. I'm so glad I'm not a judge as it would be hard to choose.

Also I'm sending out a big THANK YOU to Scott for running the contest. I haven't had much time the past few years to create much of anything and for some reason this contest lit a fire under my butt and got me going. If nothing else I've got a nice little piece of Halloween art for the new studio.

Haunt on!

Torture The Pumpkin

Doesn't that title sound like a fun game?! Actually it's a contest hosted by Scott Stoll of Stolloween/Arsenic Asylum/Tortured Pumpkins/Scotty Art fame.

Scott is giving away two tortured papier mache pumpkins. You heard me right. You have a chance to win one of these "bad seeds" by the master of mache. Head on over to Tortured Pumpkins for all of the details.

On second thought, don't. I plan to enter and if you enter too that will decrease my odds. No really, it's probably best that you don't enter.

Haunt on!

Something Is Going On...

Something is going on. Something wicked.

It's very quiet, but if you listen closely you can hear him. He whispers to himself now and then and sometimes something other-worldly offers a reply.

If you watch you will see that he's up to something. He leaves behind tiny clues showing only a puzzle piece of the whole picture. He calls them teasers. I call it torture.

Yes, something is definitely going on.

Haunt on!

Goodbye to a Ghoulie Girl

Where, oh where, have the Ghoulie Girls gone? Like the mist fading from the cemetery grounds it would seem they have vanished with the dawn.

Pfffft!

It's been over a year. Did the passion for Halloween burn out?
Nope.

Did the ghouls get into a fight and find themselves in a heated court battle for the rights to the site?
Uh - no.

Well, what's the 411?
Simple, really. It's called life.

There are some changes coming and we'll be back. Well, one of us will be. The name will remain the same but there will be, for a while anyway, only one ghoul behind the scenes.

Tracy has experienced some significant life changes and is moving in another direction. I love her dearly and wish her all the best.

I hope to bring in another Ghoulie to give the blog a bit more bite! I have someone in mind but she doesn't know it. I must craft my approach carefully. Yes, sneaky and underhanded maneuvers will be required. Mwahahahah!

Now - enough of the sap. Onto the business of haunting!

In the News....

Stolloween recently completed his Boris the Troll project for Midland, Michigan’s 2011 Downtown Sculpture Series. This is a must see!

The Mad Lab is back up and running with TWO brand new contests for the haunt prop builder. Plus two very cool prizes. Worth checking out!

Free at last! Free at last! HauntCast is free again. That's right ghoulies. You can once again listen to the hauntalious crew podcast without a subsciption. But hey - don't be cheap! Support their sponsors so we can keep this thing going!

Home Haunt News rises from the abyss and will be launching a new edition on July 15. They are currently looking for submissions so if you've got something good to offer hit them up!

On a final note - As I was attempting to help a fellow haunter run down a prop how-to I stumbled across this:

The French Design Studio, Pool, recently debuted this plastic skull chair. Now tell me, what could be better than sitting in one of these watching the kiddos splash around in the pool? Love it!

Stolloween - A Truly Ghoulie Guy

Ok, so I know this guy. And - he's just not right in the head. He likes to play with paper and glue. And, he hangs out with creeps. Annnnnd - he's extremely talented. If you haven't come across his work then you've been hiding under a rock but I'll introduce you anyway. His name is Scott, aka Stolloween.

Remember making paper mache projects when you were a kid? Well, Scott never quite got over that whole experience and that's a good thing. You see Scott is one of the most talent Halloween paper mache artists we've come across.

The work of Stolloween is fresh, unique and really pushes the limit of the medium. He proves that paper mache isn't just for second graders.

His haunted yard is an unbelievable display loaded with towering demon reapers, a coven of witches, terrifying tombstones, Jack O'Lanterns with an array of expressions and much more. All of this is constructed out of paper and glue. Say it with me - AMAZING!


We had an opportunity to pick Scott's brain recently and see if there were a few things we didn't know about him. (Ok, it's true we twisted his arm.) So here it is:

Ten Thing You May Not Know About Stolloween (from the man himself):

1. My first papier mache prop was made back in 1979 while in high school. A large elephant created from two balloons and some cardboard for the ears. The elephant won 2nd place in the high school art fair.

2. My favorite source of inspiration is a visit to the local library. Surfing the internet is great but taking a few hours to browse through books is much more inspirational and productive.

3. I usually make props in batches of three or some other odd number. One gargoyle, three dragons, five masks, nine pumpkins and so on. I’m guessing I build in odd numbers because I’m a bit odd.

4. My favorite prop is always the piece I’m currently working on. Always.

5. My preferred spelling is “papier mache” vs. paper mache. Both are proper, I must enjoy typing the extra letter.

6. I find it impossible to build a prop without music. Lots and lots of music usually from the 80’s. It’s amazing what Van Halen does for my creative process.

7. I never have a shortage of ideas. Every prop I work on creates a dozen new ideas for future works thus creating a vicious cycle.

8. I am a terror with a hot glue gun having burnt myself hundreds of times. My track record with scissors, razor blades and hammers isn’t that great either.

9. The biggest prop I have ever made from papier mache is a cauldron measuring over four feet wide and close to four feet high. The cauldron seemed like a great idea at the time but too bad I never considered where I was going to store the thing.

10. My current project involves making some life-sized zombie puppets for a short film project. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.

So there you have it.

Best of all, not only is Scott talented - he's also generous. On his sites you can find tutorials and downloads for nearly every project he's made. Head on over to one of his blogs but allow yourself plenty of time. Trust me you'll be there a while.

Stolloween Blog
Stolloween.com

P.S. Don't tell him that I said nice things about him. I wouldn't want it to go to his head ;)