This is Lenore Colina’s very first Gothtober piece in her whole entire life, and danged if it didn’t give us the heebie-jeebies. Come on, we’ve been here seven years now—this is our 8th—and we’ve seen a lot of creepy stuff!
But shiver-me-pumpkins, this might really unnerve your senses with its attention to detail and luscious collection of footwear.
Let’s just say that if you like shoes, you’re going to love Day 17, and if you like blood… you’ll like it even more.
DAY 16 Christine Panushka is an independent filmmaker, freelance animator, artist and teacher. She is currently a professor in the John Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
She’s also just lots of fun, and this piece proves it! Watch the magical musical shapes twirl and swirl to a jugband tune from the olden days, and then… when you’re done watching it, you should watch it again. Stuff is always interesting when it’s coming from all sides; you just never know what’s coming next in this little ditty, and I must say, its charm and mischief warms the cockles of my heart. When I light the candles, put on the spooky record and wait for the kids to come trick-or-treating, I’ll be thinking of the crisp fall weather and this enchanting orange animation.
The rumours are TRUE.As you may or may not know, back in the day, Dr. Henry Frankenstein, using electricity and leftover human parts, made a monster. The only problem is, the monster wasn’t really relating to the people around him that weren’t held together by artificial means or salvaged cadaver pieces… he was mighty lonesome. After many months of the monster’s relentless pestering, Frankenstein created a beautiful blushing bride for his solitary modern prometheus.
Everything was going great, until the Doctor awoke one morning to find both creations missing, as well as his car!
All of us were worried sick, until it was revealed that the couple merely eloped and went on worldwide holiday to um… a few choice honeymoon locations.
Okay, maybe more than a few, maybe they’ll read this and eventually come back at some point, but for now, Congratulations, you two! Gothtober wishes you all the best, and when you come back, we’ll unplug all the appliances, and you can attach yourselves to the outlets and blow out the neighborhood transformer, just for fun!
But seriously, folks, this day was made by Lori Meeker, accomplished costumer and puppet maker and general all-around artist expert-a-gogo. You can actually catch a glimpse of her puppets that she made for the Pop Ups in The Wall Street Journal, as well as NY 1 TV.
Here’s a little trivia about the SONG in Lori’s movie, do you remember the 1983 movie it was featured in many years ago?
Well, I totally thought this song was very Kenny Loggins, but no no no nooooo…. I was wrong, and startled to find out it was actually this guy, and how did I not make that connection all these years? Anyway, Cheers, Lori Meeker and her right hand Gothtober helper, Jeff Levine and the rest of her crew, you guys made a wonderful keepsake the Frankensteins will be able to look at for years to come.
Apparently, mind-blowing fingernails are the sub-theme to this year’s Gothtober; check out those Halloweeny stripes and stars!! Day 12 might be a little jealous.
No matter the state of your manicure, YOU can make an adorable print+sew hobgoblin for Halloween, thanks to the lovely and crafty Miss Christy Chambers. All you need is some printable fabric and a few other widgets and doodads that you probably already have at home! Then just print, bedazzle, clip and assemble per Christy’s fun and easy-to-follow instructions. And just wait till you see the finished product: cutest. hobgoblin. ever.
Also, enjoy the sultry, New Orleans style tune by Doodle M. Farnieflox. Was that the character who made the star-belly-on machine for the Sneeches? In any case, it’s great music to download by.
Meet Fangerson, Squish, Noodle, Trungpa, Zoe, Diabla, Pierre: a parade of baby monsters and their teacher, Mrs. Cuttlefish! Stephanie Abler brings us a very special hand-illustrated treat. You’ll see a wonderful cartoon portfolio scrolling the story of active little individuals having a day at school. Remember: while little monsters may be hard to understand, or may freak you out or make you feel weird, they just want to go to school like anyone else.
This piece was drawn completely by hand, using good ol’fashioned paper, brushes and ink. Read more about Stephanie’s process in creating this tableau of fall schooltime fun on her blog. And you can see more of Stephanie’s work at StephanieAbler.com
Break out the FunDip and the Lick’m’Aide, because as usual, Monica Howe is back with an Atomic Fireball of a music video piece called “Come On, Taste My Rainbow.” It just isn’t’ Halloween without candy, so Monica thought she’d send a siren song to your sweet tooth to signal the season!
Cheezy alliteration aside, you might get a cavity if you watch this more than 5 times, and with the electric stylings of musician/producer, Josh Fielstra at the helm, it’s only going to get sweeter. Look closely at Monica’s nails: each nail has been carefully painted with a TINY RAINBOW from the adroit skills of an extremely patient and caring manicurist in Downtown Los Angeles.
This, and many other strange and sugary distractions and details is the video’s real achievement. In addition to the fabulous rainbow-poof-hairpiece-performance lies engaging lyrics written by Howe, such as “I caught you in my tractor beam of Haribos and Jujubees” and “I got you in my sight, my marshmallow delight.”
That said, after watching this, should you scarf an entire gallon of candy corn or caramel apples and wake up remembering nothing… you can blame it on Come on, Taste My Rainbow.
Visit Monica (aka MuffMaster Flash’s) MySpace Page or her website to glean new information.
Vero Lego’s Hungry Halloween not only gives you recipes for delicious candy ghosts and chocolate spiders — it demonstrates how to create an entirely edible, yummy-sweet action graveyard playset! That’s right, YOU can construct your very own desserty haunted house (is that a load-bearing chocolate wall I just devoured?), make up names for your icing tombstones, put it all together and play ghost-in-the-graveyard in a landscape of macabre, sugary sweetness.*
*Gothtober cannot be held responsible if you choose to consume your scrumptious ghost world in a single sitting, nor are we liable for any ensuing seizures, bouncy spells, comas, crying jags, or annoyance to others.
Lush Newton has graced Gothtober for many years now with her classic cut-and-color crafts. This year, the craft is boombox related, for the Story of the Haunted Boom Box, read this, and then act out the story with these crazy haunted breakdancing puppets!
Lush works as a designer and illustrator and was recently voted Best Visual Artist in Humboldt County by the readers of the Northcoast Journal for 2010.
Newton shows annually at Arts Alive! and Arts Arcata.(If you’re in Humboldt February-March 2011 come to First Street Gallery, in Eureka. Lush has somethin’ BIG planned. You will HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE!)
Accompanying Lush Newton’s piece is original music by Brooklyn based musician Jason Rabinowitz, who you can find in the Wall Street Journal this week!
This doo-wah ditty may sound carefree at first listen, but don’t be fooled: Artist Paul Gailiunas sings of pure horror, of the ages-old struggle between man and nature, of a regular guy just tryin’ to live the suburban dream but subject to tyranny in his own back yard. Even the cats lurk with caution, casting a circumspect almond eye to the treetops.
You might sway and tap your foot; you might even sing along. But when you walk outside, what nightmare awaits you, acorns of doom poised in its terrible claws?
Vampires, zombies and… headphones? Oh My! Today’s treat is six new drawings by Nyssa Oru, Gothtober’s youngest independent artist, accompanied by the sticky black goth tunes of Josh Fielstra.
Nyssa’s been drawing most of her life, and we’re thrilled that she offered to make 6 brand new never before seen pieces for the calendar. They are of a romantic/musical nature, in keeping with this year’s loose theme.
Nyssa is a high school art student, and wishes she owned a tarantula named Bob. Her Mom’s not really into gigantic hairy arachnid-type creatures, however, so it’ll have to wait for now.
You can see more of Nyssa’s work here.