A Hallowe'en Tree-t.

NO, not 'treaty', but treat!

And an incredible tree-t it is.

Now I've mentioned more than a few times over the years that I am an ardent admirer of Ray Bradbury, and of the work of his longest/greatest illustrating collaborator, Joseph Mugnaini. Surely anyone who has been around here for any decent length of time should know this.

Another name I've mentioned more than a few times is Shellhawk.

Beyond being 'one of us'-- a truly insane Hallowe'en Kid -- Shell is a fine potter, sculptor, painter, a real artisan, and she fills you in on her work and her life over at one the S&P's longest friend-blogs, Shellhawk's Nest, as well as proudly plies and trades in her craft at her Etsy store, Shellhawk's Creations. 

I have enjoyed her work and her friendship for years, being the proud owner of one of her famous Mini-boo figures, as well as one of her even more famous Jack O'Lanterns of unique, one of a kind designs.

I was also quite proud to be asked to contribute to one of her blog's wonderful themed guest-blogger series in 2012. You can read my entry as well as find the rest of the series here.

Well...

I have just been the recipient of a beautiful, serendipitous melding of Bradbury, Mugnaini, and Shellhawk, in one incredible labor of love that found its way to the ol' S&P, to take its place among the spooky detritus adorning the place...

What is it? Are you actually asking that?

It is a hand-painted, glazed, fired platter from the skilled hand and temperamental kiln of Shellhawk herself, depicting the perfect Joseph Mugnaini illustration of Ray Bradbury's beloved, enduring literary invention, The Hallowe'en Tree.

See for yourself -- the vintage Mugnaini original:

... and Shellhawk's beautiful tribute work:

Not that even Mugnaini himself could reproduce it stroke-for-stroke. For one thing, like an improvising jazz musician, you can't play the same genius solo twice.

For another thing, he's dead. Just sayin'.

Of course, being from Shellhawk, no one piece is ever delivered to its recipient all by its lonesome-if-gorgeous self...

Yes -- a black spiderweb with a rubber spider, two Hallowe'en pencils

(bats and pumpkins!) and a little jar of green slime! Bravo!

But this...

... is an orange and black dream on a plate.

I am just so very, very proud to be the keeper of this incredible piece of artistic Hallowe'en love. It will forever grace the S&P, reminding those whose eyes it catches to read more Bradbury, love more Hallowe'en, and keep and enjoy good friends.

A toast, to Shellhawk, to Mugnaini, and to Ray Bradbury...

DUMDUMSHREKPOP!

My deepest thanks, Shell.

Everyone else... GO to her blog and her store, will ya?

DDSpookyPlate!

Making Christmas.

Hello again, loyal S&P-brains!

I hope you've all been enjoying your own Week Leading Up To That Other Holiday... we sure have.

Here at the Skull & Pumpkin, we do things a little differently for Christmas. Oh, we have a tree and lights and presents and all -- we're not completely crazy -- but there's always a bit of a Hallowe'en touch, of course.

For example, as you approach this old homely house, you can't help but notice our unique holiday spirit...

 I made this Burton-esque wreath years ago, and hang it up every year.

 This be-capped beauty was originally part of a set piece from the

Haunted Mansion movie that came out some years back. 

(Minus the Santa cap, of course.)

 Our driveway skeleton gets into the cap action too. Just to offset

the rotting pumpkins, you understand.

Our gargoyle guards received a bit of garland flair from the lovely V.

Of course, our decorating is not limited to the outdoors, but it's essentially identical to the decor found all year 'round -- we just add a tree and some lights and garland.

But I do want to show off these way excellent construction paper ornaments that were handmade by my nephew, known to you S&Pers as Mr. Jack, when he was just a little guy...

 That's right -- Drac, Frank and Wolfy in their Christmas best!

 Are those some awesome monster Santas or what?

This year they reside in my paper Hallowe'en lantern just above our little tree.

Of course, we still have the amazing monsters handmade by my nieces and nephew in L.A. ...

OH yeah... baked Frankensteiny goodness!

A few shots of our Haunted Mansion corner...

Skull hand-markered and hung by the great Kiara.

So, that's a taste of the Autumn People-influenced Christmas decor at the Skull & Pumpkin.

I can only imagine that you each have your own spooky spin on That Other Holiday... care to send some pics so we can all admire them over a few drinks by the fireplace here at the ol' S&P?

Send them to your humble pubkeep:  --*skellington*35*@*aol.com*-- (remove the *'s) -- and let's have some fun comparing and sharing our creepy yuletide customs!

Here's to everyone having a wonderful, wonder-filled Other Holiday!

DDSPresentsneedwrapping!

A skull and pumpkin.

Yesterday was a bit of a Pumpkin Carving Day.

Kiara the Great was in rare form, using a Pumpkinmasters kit to whip up some design I'm still trying to decipher. But she loved every second of it!

The lovely V procured four or five excellent raw jack o'lanterns, and I chose the one I thought would make the oddest looking chap.

Here you can see I have already done the eyes, but I wanted you to see the warts and scars on this wonderfully warped little fellow. All of his odd features make for a glowering, grotesque but grand little gourd!

When I brought him to the S&P, he immediately began to grumble and shift, and leaving him to his own devices for a time, I eventually found him here:

... on the windowsill at the top floor landing. He obviously knew his place.

And by nightfall, well...

Now that's a skull & pumpkin!

I'm enjoying him immensely, and am quite certain the rest of our menagerie has welcomed him with open... whatever they may have.

Hallowe'en on the way... yikes!

DDSGrumble!

Minighosthunters.

Oh, S&Pers, there is something spooky going on at the ol' Skull & Pumpkin.

I mean, more spooky than  usual.

We have our share of phantoms, revenants, spooks, spectres and ghosts, and they do their own thing whether we're attending pub or not.

But with the addition of a certain Li'l Mini-Boo to our menagerie of minighosts yesterday, I began to notice the four of them moving, just the littlest bit, every time I turned away from them.

So I thought I should fire up the old Spooktrumatic ("See Across The Spooktrum!", man, remember those old commercials?) nightvision camera and set it behind a book on the minighost shelf, letting it run all night long.

I sat through a few hours of boredom, but then finally... this:

 

I knew it!

Of course, I don't want them to know we know, so please, don't tell them.

I mean, I don't want to embarrass them, or scare them.

Hell, they might be working up a fantastic little shelf show for all of us, and I do not want to mess up that deal.

Never mind us, Mini Ghosts, never mind us.



BLOODBREATH!

A spooky mailbox surprise!

Greetings S&P-brains!

A fantastic little bit of friendly gifting is a great way to resume posts for May, and today the Skull & Pumpkin was blessed with a piece of Hallowe'en coolness from loyal S&P'er and fine, fine artist/fellow blogger Shellhawk at Shellhawk's Nest!

Shell's a fantastic sculptor and makes amazing ceramic Hallowe'en goodies from her own twisted mind and capable hands (and clay and glaze and kilns and...). You've seen her around the S&P quite often, and we've mentioned her blog before.

At any rate this little bit of joy started last weekend when, as is my usual practice, I began reading her posts for the day, and happened to know the answer to a little quiz she popped on this post.

My prize? A FREAKING SHELLHAWK MINI-GHOST!

So the Lovely Vee and I go out of town for the week, and what comes to our door today upon our return?

A package containing this:

I've blurred the fun personal greeting she wrote just 'cause it's proper to do so, but look! Not one but two (2) awesome Hallowe'eny, trick-or-treaty pencils, the coolest Hallowe'en glitter/mylars you can find, a hand written note and the absolute coolest little handmade ghost I've ever had the pleasure to be spooked over!

Yes! Yes, yessity-yesowitz YES!

How cool is that li'l guy? Handmade by one of the best Hallowe'en artists around. All I did was answer a question and Shell sent all this out to me.

I had to introduce him to his new home and to place him immediately into the menagerie, but where...?

My first thought was to situate Li'l Mini-Boo (what, that's his name) among some other ceramic lovelies. And for a moment it looked alright, but it didn't feel quite right and then... oh! perfect!:

Of course! Among his fellow miniature ghosties, where he is still the mini-est Mini Ghost in the mini ghost collection! Even as the only one without hands, he's the hippest.

I'm not sure what they're singing, but they look to be winding up for the big finish. They just needed a fourth, and now they have him.

Ah... spooky joy, thy name is Li'l Mini-Boo.

Shellhawk, I thank you so much for making these fantastic little guys, and sending one to the Skull & Pumpkin!

He occupies a place of honor, where he can be enjoyed by all of us here at the S&P forever.

Yep. We're Hallowe'en folks.

Don't ever tell me Autumn People aren't the coolest bunch of friends in the world.

BLOODBREATH!

Kiara, the crayontastic kid.

Listen up, good S&Pers.

Just a few nights ago, the as-you-all-know-by-now-light-of-my-life Kiara worked up a fascinating study in abstract horror I thought I should share.

So proudly I present:

Green-faced Legless Long Tailed Cat with Vampire Who Turned Cat

Into a Vampire Cat, with Arrows and Blood Trails

12 x 17", crayon on cut-up grocery bag, 2011

It's a real beauty.

She told us that the cat has this really really long tail that the vampire bit thinking it was the cat's neck, but it didn't work right away because it was the cat's tail, you see.

Then, the blood from the bite went up through the tail and outside the tail to the cat's face, which turned green because now the cat's a vampire cat, and his fangs send blood back down to the tail and the vampire.

Totally makes sense.

Detail:

Here's the vampire, sending his vampire blood like lightning along the tail. Complete horror.

The Vampire Cat has these enormous fangs that 'send blood'. You can also

see the legless bean-shaped body, and the base of the longest cat tail

the art world has ever seen.

It exhibits a kind of unbound artistic abandon to which Picasso, dare I say even Dali, would tip their respective  berets.

It also makes me smile.

It will adorn the walls of this delightfully dark den of decor, forevermore.

 Kiara, the artist. The Kiartist.

The next time we have her over, I am going grab the camera and have her tell us a scary story.

In dim red light with a flashlight held below her face, as she now does.

There may be exploding dogs in it. 

Seriously.

Proud Pa.

O'ZOM-beeee!

What's that up there? (part four)

Welcome, welcome.

I know it's been a bit quiet around here.

Been taking care of the Keek all week. A pure pleasure, and completely exhausting!

There have been a few additions to the Hallowe'enly decor around the ol' S&P, and I think I should point out these two.

An advertisement for Edison's revolutionary (get it?) phonograph. 

Plus Hallowe'en. Too neat.

And then there's this gift from a friend:

Incredible imagery! Sheet music for a 1922 novelty tune by Nacio Herb Brown.

Brown was a legendary songwriter who composed (wholly and in collaboration) some very well-known tunes -- Singin' in the Rain, All I Do is Dream of You, Broadway Melody, You Stepped Out of a Dream, Make 'Em Laugh, Broadway Rhythm, You Are My Lucky Star -- and many, many others.

Perhaps I am overimpressed, but this is just an astonishing image to me. From the bizarre title graphic to the whatever-the-heck-it-is just below the li'l devil guy (I'm guessing, oh, The Sneak?!?), to the color choices, to the single eye in the tree... it's just a beaut!

Just a few looks at some neat things acquired since I last posted.

They are now, of course, a permanent part of the Skull & Pumpkin.

DDSP!

"Gummy Face, I love you,

Gummy Face, I need you!"

With apologies to Donna Fargo for sullying her '72 hit, I present for your shivery perusal an incredible gift I just received yesterday -- the opaque, gelatinous terror known as Gummy Face:

"Oh, I think it's cute, he reminds me of ..." *slap!* WRONG! He's the single most terrifying gift I've received in a long time, perhaps my entire life. Just LOOK at it!

It would be less disturbing to me if it were just a rubber face, one of those silicon stick-to-the-wall throwing toys, but it's a gummy item. It's EDIBLE, which adds a wholly transcendent level of disgust for me. I'm not really a gummy candy guy, but little colorful bears or good ol' Swedish Fish are fine with me; this is that horrible opaque, gummy horror that has always reminded me of the melting flesh from The Devil's Rain (especially in fleshtone like this!).

It would also be less disturbing if it didn't remind me of so many other odd things...

 

 

I think this one is spot on.

Yep. Pretty uncanny.

It's not that I don't appreciate the gift -- anything that makes me giggle and cringe in terror is a good thing.

But I won't be eating it.

I'm thinking that if I left it in its packaging (do gummies go bad? Is that a new reality show?), it will shrink down to a dark, hard little face... that I can then put in a bowl of water and watch grow over 600x its size like those other weird toys:

Gummy Face, you are candy, toy and traumatizing demon in one stark, scary little package.

And it looks like he was made from

MELTYBEADS!