And So It Begins...

Today is October 8^th and believe it or not I’m ahead of the game…or at least compared to last year.

The light at the end of the tunnel is visible although I’ve got to implement some serious time management skills.

Yesterday I managed to get some items pulled from the garage and organized such as columns, fence, shovels, barrel, etc.

The rafters of the garage are still packed with supports, crates and other things needed for the display.

My list of props that need to be built is winding down, the only things left are five more pumpkins and three bodies for some new characters that will be this year’s centerpiece.

The miscellaneous stuff is the thing that always gets me.

Still to do:

1. Make several hundred feet of barbed wire.
2. Create two new scythe blades.
3. Repair a few props that have been damaged in storage.
4. Repaint six props that are desperately in need of a fresh coat.
5. Run a lighting and audio check so I can replace some broken equipment.
6. Try to find some more apple crates.

Hopefully next week will be productive and I can get these things accomplished.

The goal is to relax the last two weeks of October.

A lovely thought.

My Birthday Present

My birthday was last week and my wife surprised me with a new air compressor.

Yes!

My old compressor bit the dust this past spring and I’ve been chomping at the bit to get out my airbrush so I could paint some props.

Used the new compressor today to paint five pumpkins that were created this past spring for a Great Lakes FrightFest demo…..five more props crossed off the list.

Monster Mud

Dang I love Monster Mud, I really need to start incorporating it into more of my props.

The stuff works beautifully in tandem with papier mache, really the same concept just using different materials.

Added some hoods to three new characters called “The Wardens,” the guardians of the pumpkins for this years display.

Burlap was coated with MM and draped over the papier mache skulls in an upright position.

Once dry the burlap is rock hard and all the folds, drapes and tatters are locked into place.

Eager to see these guys finished.

SkellyShroom

…you knew I couldn’t resist.

Moments after I posted the previous blog I went outside and plucked one of the Giant Puffballs and spent about 10 minutes carving a face and using some black spray paint to darken the eyes, nose and mouth.

Plop the head on a stick and tada….Mr. SkellyShroom…or MushroomRot …or Jack MushroomHead.

The Calvatia Gigantea has a very interesting texture on the bottom, it almost looks like an egg from the movie ALIEN.

Ok, this was a nice departure from reality…back to work.

Mutant Mushrooms?

We have two new residents in our yard, two Giant Puffballs or if you want to get scientific, Calvatia Gigantean.

After doing a quick google search I learned that the largest one ever recorded was over eight feet in diameter and weighed close to 50lbs.

The ones in our yard aren't that big, they are about the size of a volleyball.

I also learned that they are edible...hmmmm....I love mushrooms but I think I will pass on cooking these up for dinner tonight, I get really leery when dealing with wild mushrooms.

What I would really like to do is to carve a jack o'lantern or skull face into them...then they would be welcome additions to our October yard.

In case you want to learn mere click here.

Red Alert

Every October this maple tree in our front yard alerts me when Halloween is approaching.

This year didn’t disappoint as the entire tree has turned into a blazing display of color.

Guess I better pick up the pace!

Everything I Know About ....

…prop building I learned from Project Runway.

This statement may be stretching the truth but it does have some validity.

Let me explain.

I posted a while back about Project Runway and how it is one of the few television shows that I watch every week, I love the display of creativity and problem solving process.

During the last couple of months I have found myself hearing Project Runway voices in my head.

Don’t be alarmed I hear voices all the time but in this instance the voices are those of Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn.

If you don’t watch the show these are the judges, host and mentor for the competing designers.

Once you are done laughing I will continue.

Ok.

During critiques the judges use several phrases again and again and these phrases repeat themselves in my brain as I work, they are: “effortless”, “overworked”, “editorial” and “point of view”.

Effortless. The piece looks effortless.

What does that mean?

In the world of props I think it means that the piece speaks volumes without regard to the medium or techniques used.

The medium is invisible and not relevant; it works no matter how it was made. In my opinion my most effortless piece is Buster Gravesley, this prop came together without any struggle and does not say papier mache when viewed.

My papier mache “Digger” prop made in 1992 is not effortless; you can see the struggle that went into trying to make paper and glue into a skeletal gravedigger character.

Overworked. Quite simply when you don’t know when to stop, you keep going and going and going.

Guilty as charged, my recent collection of tortured pumpkins contains a degree of being overworked.

Live and learn.

Editorial and Point of View. These two terms are very similar in my mind; does the piece speak for you?

Is the prop really saying anything about you as the designer?

I think that Gourdon Rotsworth displays my strongest editorial. This is what I think an undead pumpkin groundbreaker looks like.

There was no struggle in the design and this is what came out without any hesitation.

A couple of gargoyles I made for a papier mache workshop represents what I think is work that has no point of view.

They were made because they had to be made and really don’t express a lot of my style.

They are stripped down generic versions of a gargoyle and really lack a lot of punch because they have no strong point of view.

Thanks to Michael, Nina, Heidi and Tim for giving me something to think about during the long stretches of working with papier mache.

Love your show and I heed your advice…hopefully you are making me a better prop builder or you are just making me a blogger full of shit.

Whatever, thanks!