S.L.U.G. Zombies

Found a few packages of these very cool zombie figurines at our local Goodwill Thrift Store. Each zombie is about 2.5 inches tall and have some crazy detailing. You can find out more about this series here. 

Treasury Treasures

I’ve become a big fan of Etsy, besides it being a venue to sell my papier mache wares it is  also a great showcase for creative ideas.

One of the Etsy features is something called a “treasury” which is a collection of items all belonging to a singular theme.

You can browse the treasuries or create your own.

Lately I’ve found creating treasuries to be a very relaxing and fun pastime, sort of like playing Sudoku with images.

The treasuries can contain 16 images arranged in a 4 x 4 grid, the theme can be anything from color to emotion.

Here are a few treasuries I have created; clicking on the image will take you to the treasury.

"Nothing Rhymes With Orange" 

"Like Dust In The Wind"

 "Demons In The Shadows"

 "A Very Wise Treasury"

 "Verge Of Darkness"

"Shiver Me Timbers"

Mostly . . .

Speaking of oversized books here are a couple more of my favorites featuring some incredible artwork.

The two books are Mostly Ghostly and Mostly Monsters, the stories are adapted and retold by Steven Zorn and the illustrations are by John Bradley.

Each book features eight stories adapted from well known authors such as Washington Irving and Charles Dickens.

The stories come to life with beautiful and inspiring full color illustrations, a treat for fans of ghouls and beasties.

Mostly Ghostly was published in 1991 and Mostly Monsters in 1994 by Running Press.

Both books can be found on Amazon.

An Unlikely Source

There is no denying that today’s video games feature images that rival motion pictures complete with great creatures, characters and locations.

Just like a great haunted attraction video games are filled with rich visuals and intriquing storytelling.

One of my favorite past times is perusing thrift stores in hopes of finding a deal or better yet a great idea.

Many times the book section of your Goodwill or Salvation Army Store will have “Official Game Guides” for some of the more popular video games.

These books are a treasure for the home haunter looking for inspiration.

Here are several guides I picked up for 25 cents each, a steal when you consider that they are chocked full of great character, costume and set illustrations.

These guides are also inspirational when looking for concepts, themes or special little details.

The next time you are wandering a thrift store or garage sale keep an eye out for these little treasures.

Chances are you will be surprised at how much inspiration is packed between the covers.

Total Recall

First a word of warning, this post is probably going to be long and rambling and furthermore it will probably only be of interest to myself, so, if you are inclined to continue reading please note that you have been warned.

Have you ever had a series of events quickly come together that answered a nagging question?

Question really isn’t right, what I’m trying to express is a feeling or desire that has finally been answered, or quenched, closed.

The desire in question is “Where does my inspiration really come from?”

That’s a whopper, something I’ve been thinking about for many years.

Many people comment on my style stating that they know it’s my work before they see my name attached.

That’s cool but I’ve always been unable to pinpoint the exact source of the inspiration…until now.

Where to start?

A couple of days ago I posted photos of my troll concept that I submitted for our city’s annual summer sculpture series. The short story is that I hope to be selected to create a sculpture to be displayed in our downtown during the summer of 2011. I posted a clay rendering of my troll concept on my Facebook STOLLOWEEN page and on HauntSpace.

One of the Hauntspace members commented on my post stating:

“This reminds me a little of the claymation work done by Will Vinton, or Aardman Studios (Wallice and Gromet.) If he was sticking out of a small streetrod, and holding a shifter, I'd also be thinking of the old "Wierd-0h" model kits. Good job.”

This was a nice comment and I agreed with the Aardman Studios reference especially seeing that I’m a fan of Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run but I had to google “Weird-Oh” model kits because I had no clue.

Google faithfully returned numerous images of the Weird-Oh model and my brain sort of had a mental orgasm, the gears were turning and my way-back machine zoomed back to the late 1960’s.

Turns out that Weird-oh model kits were made by the Hawk Model Company in the early 1960, the Weird-oh line was a series of dragster and hot rod caricatures.

Looking at the photos of the goofy caricatures triggered something in my mind, something familiar and something important.

Let’s back up again, this time lets go back 40 plus years.

Hang on; fasten your seat belts because things are going to bit bumpy.

I was born in 1963. Fact.

I have a really good memory of my childhood from age three and up. Fact.

For the first three and a half years of my life my parents lived in a house trailer and I can remember many details of those years.

I remember the pink bathroom, yes pink tub, sink and toilet.

I remember the gifts I got for Christmas like the plastic Poky and Gumby characters I got from Santa.

I remember the toys I got out my Trix cereal box.

I remember putting a plastic sailboat toy in the oven much to my Mom’s dismay because it melted all over the place when she turned on the oven.

I remember the dog we had at the time. (Dutchess)

I remember the first swing set my Dad assembled and surprised me with.

And much more.

The year before I started kindergarten at age four we moved to Reed City, Michigan, my parents bought a large 5 bedroom farmhouse which became our home for the rest of my childhood.

This brings us to the late 1960’s…sometime around 1967 or 1968.

During one of our trips to downtown Reed City with my Mom I remember going into one of the dime stores.

Reed City had two at the time, a Ben Franklin’s Store and another called Stars.

I remember buying three brightly colored plastic figures from Stars.

My memory is hazy here at best…all I can recall is that they were modeled after different careers, brightly colored and I loved them.

Red, green and blue.

Yes I loved them.

The hazy images of these toys have popped up in my consciousness from time to time over the years and while the details have always been sketchy the emotion has always been one of fond admiration.

Which brings me to now.

The comment on Hauntspace which referenced “Weird-Oh” models tripped the switch.

The images struck a chord or more accurately hit me over the head like a sledgehammer.

There they were, grotesque caricatures with buggy eyes and drooling mouths opening my subconscious like the San Andreas Fault after an 8.5 earthquake.

My mind was spinning.

This was close, these were in the same family as my fuzzy memory of those brightly colored plastic toys that I wanted…no….need to see again.

Google is God.

Google provided me with the directions, the needed information, the compass to answer the nagging question of “Why do I do what I do the way I do it?”

The search inquires included “plastic toys 1960”, “Hawk Models”, “Marx Toy” and finally the holy grail of all searches, “Nutty Mads.”

Approximately 30 minutes later, the google search engine returned the images that have eluded me for decades.

“Marx Toys Nutty Mads”

There it was the end of the rainbow, the information that confirmed and brought my memories into focus … the Nutty Mad toys by Marx Toys.

Silly, exaggerated and grotesque but at the same time the most beautiful images I have ever witnessed on my computer screen.

These were it.

Three grotesque caricatures that would influence, shape and motivate me from the sloshy depths of my subconscious.

“Donald The Demon” and “All Heart Hogan” and “The Doctor”

There is a lot of interesting history regarding the people behind all of the toys mentioned in this post and I’m sure it will continue to be an ongoing interest or obsession if I am to be completely honest.

For now I can take a deep breath and rest assured that I now know where the root of my inspiration stems.

This whole story boils down to some cheap five and dime figures acquired in the 60’s.

Will this change anything?

What does it mean?

Nothing will probably change other than the fact that I can now connect the dots and provide some sort of explanation for the look of my designs.

I’m done, end of story.

Now I’m going to go savor those two words that I’ve needed for such a long time.

Nutty Mads.

Further Information and photos :

Wikipedia Nutty Mads

Old Model Kits

Cravenomena

Ebay Listings

Please note that images of the Weird-Oh model kits and Marx Nutty Mad toys are not mine, I claim no ownership. The images were only used to illustrate the story, the posted links are the sources of the photos used.

Dragon In The Woods

We’ve been amusing ourselves lately doing some geocaching, a hobby we have enjoyed for the last four years or so and while trekking through The Chippewa Nature Center came across this fallen tree that looked remarkably like a dragon.

The tree featured a well defined head, legs and several branches that formed the wings, a very “Lord of the Rings” find in an otherwise ordinary day.

Sort of nature’s version of a Halloween prop.

Animal Anatomy for Artists

Checked out this book a while back from our local library and immediately fell in love. Animal Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger is an exquisite collection of black and white skeleton and muscle illustrations that are not only informational but also inspirational.

Here is an editorial review:

“Goldfinger, author of Human Anatomy for Artists (1991), stresses that bodies have specific volumes created by anatomical structures, and he reveals how the interrelationship of muscles and bones determines shape and proportion. His straightforward guide starts with animal classification and a listing of nonmedical terminology and then explicates the "basic body plan." Detailed line drawings, black-and-white photographs, and silhouettes, as well as explanations of skeletons, emphasize the functions of various body portions such as lower leg and shoulder joint, and Goldfinger thoroughly depicts individual muscles before progressing to elaborate side views and cross sections of complete anatomies. Feathers, horns, and antlers are treated separately with both diagrams and photos before the text concludes with a brief overview of the venous system. Many will find especially useful the extensive, multimedia, annotated bibliography. This technical treasure is sure to find an audience among artists and serious animal enthusiasts alike. “

Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Available at Amazon.com

Inspiration: Swamp

Swamps are facinating...dense, filled with life but at the same time ominous and filled with death. These photos were taken at The Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, MI during a summer hike.

The photos strike a chord with me, the colors, the textures, the light...something evil is lurking beneath those waters.

Enjoy.