Odd

Last night I reviewed my stats for this blog and was surprised to find that the most popular post on this blog is the entry about building a DNA molecule with my son last March.

Out of 333 posts about Halloween and papier mache the most popular is about a 9^th grade science project.

My guess is that there are a lot of students out there googling for help with their homework.

Congratulations to the DNA Model Project for gathering over 7,000 page views and an honorable mention to the Shrunkle Post for coming in a distant second.

The best news of course is that I’m now over half way to 666 posts, the magic number in the world of the Halloween obsessed.

Troll Sculpt

A 1/6th clay sculpture of my troll concept for the Summer Sculpture Series.

The sculpt is based on some rough sketches, I still need to refine the sketches and produce some Adobe Illustrator artwork.

My attempt at something "not dark, scary or unfriendly" as per the entry requirements.

Sidetracked By Trolls

Travel back in time with me to look at some pictures of troll sculptures that graced our downtown area ten years ago.

These fiberglass forms were painted and adorned by various artists in our community starting an annual event known as the Summer Sculpture Series.

The past ten years has featured different themes including dragons, frogs and turtles.

The 2011 theme is once again trolls and anyone wanting to participate has until February 11^th to submit their concept and design.

Artists have the choice to paint a pre-formed fiberglass sculpture or create something totally unique and enter the free-form category.

Well, after some thought I have decided to enter a free-form submission.

Once designs are submitted they are reviewed and juried by the sculpture committee and if selected the finalists will receive $500 to create their free-form troll.

Sounds like fun right?

I have no clue as to what my chances are in being selected but this sounds like fun and I plan on building my design regardless of the judge’s decisions.

Looking at these photos from 2001 it blows my mind that my boys were ever this small, my oldest is now driving and my youngest is in 7^th grade….man time flies.

Wish me luck with my entry; I will post my design after the February deadline has passed.

You Light Up My Life

Finally got around to cleaning and organizing my workspace…also added 500 watts of lighting so now I can see what I’m doing….let the building begin!

Designing 2011

My apologies for the lack of posting these days, my only excuse is that I’m busy fighting the urge to hibernate during these winter months.

hi·ber·nate-To pass the winter in a dormant or torpid state, which in my case means wanting to curl up with the electric blanket and await the arrival of May. Sounds good to me, wake me up when the grass needs to be mowed.

The reality of the situation is that we have about 290 days until Halloween so logic would suggest that I unplug the electric blanket and get my a$$ in gear.

Make it so!

The past couple months have been a case of having too many ideas. It’s great to spend time dreaming up ideas but at some point you really need to act on the ideas. The weeks prior to Christmas I spent sketching new concepts and formulating a solid game plan, the emphasis was on new directions and designs. I consulted a lot of different sources for inspiration and came up with some new ideas that I feel warrant being built.

This year will also see me embracing technology a bit more; you will see some detailed video tutorials in the coming months. Currently I’m refreshing my skills with some software, essentially getting my skill set up to speed so that I can re-enter the job market in the television arena.

More on that later.

The goal for 2011 is to create some memorable new characters, introduce animation to my Halloween display and incorporate a degree of technological testosterone to my online presence.

Wish me luck as I go unplug the electric blanket, put on a sweater and get to work.

Listen Up!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the year 2011 and time to get busy making your new arsenal of ghoulish creations.

If you are like me and live in a colder climate you may find it hard to find the motivation to work on Halloween props when temperatures hover below the freezing point and the snow shovel becomes your best friend. Don’t give up, there are a number of ways to get your mojo back and one of the easiest and most effective is to listen to an episode of Hauntcast.

What is Hauntcast?

Really?

Hauntcast is a monthly radio podcast brought to you by Chris Baker and his band of merry minions. Imagine a show that gives you a ton of great haunting information all wrapped up in an abundance of gooey R rated humor.

Each month Hauntcast features information on movies, concepts, props and advice that specifically relate to the home haunter. In addition they feature an in-depth interview with well known haunters. Trust me when I say you will learn something from every show and be motivated to boot.

Hauntcast recently moved to a pay per listen format with each episode costing one buck per show and I have to say that one dollar for two hours of information is a bargain no matter how you look at it. Heck you could buy four shows for the cost of one venti double shot mocha at Starbucks.

If you are a fan of Hauntcast please support the pay per listen format and if you’ve never checked it out then give it a taste.

Hauntcast is a great benefit to the home haunting community and supporting the hard work will help keep it around for many haunting seasons to come.

P.S. If you dig through the archives and go way back to episode #4 you can listen to an episode featuring yours truly…quivering voice and all.

Enjoy!