Countdown Begins...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there. So much to share this week. To start, one week from today, the huge secret project will be revealed! With it will come 12-month calendars and a whole new set of art prints for you to enjoy. So, get excited. The final clue for the giveaway on the Stapelia Facebook page is below. {Remember, the first person to name all 5 clues in order next Monday October 3rd, gets a great prize, so like the page and write them down! [Descriptions are fine.]}

Clue #5

I had a wonderful opportunity recently to photograph a couple of children with CLOVES Syndrome and their families for the CLOVES website. Learn more here. What fun we had! We all went apple picking and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was a pleasure shooting this one, and the families and kids themselves were so dear. Take a look at some of the shots below, and more are posted on Flickr.

I have yet another shoot coming down the pike for your viewing pleasure next week, so stay tuned! (Hint: It involved my new skeleton Bernard, who, en route to the shoot, was asked to pose in a bridal party shot. Haha!)

I just found yet another thing about the Victorian Era that makes me wish I'd lived back then. Via the blog Spe//bound, comes these photos of Le Cafe de L'Enfer, a hell-themed cafe in Paris' red light district from that time period. I almost can't believe someone opened this up back then. The demons in the bar itself, the elaborate facade?! This is better than the 'death' themed bar I mentioned many posts ago... amazing stuff.

And while we're on the topic of the macabre (which, we're always on that topic around here, aren't we?), I found the beautiful work of UK photographer Ellen Rogers recently and I'm amazed. Her female-centric work looks like old hand-colored travel postcards and the props and costumes? I'm really in awe. Oh, and she has a new book out which I plan to yank up as soon as I can. Take a look:

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Things That Go BUMP in the Night...

Hello Lovelies~

I have so much to share this week, so I'll just jump right in. First, I am done with that Addams Family portrait commission I told you about last week! They came out just great, I think. Here are a couple and the rest can be seen on my Flickr stream. Such fun!

I also have some exciting news, a piece from my Everything's Alright Here series was selected by Society6 to be sold in their store as a fine art print! Very flattering and exciting.

And, while we're on business news, the big secret project drops in exactly 2 weeks and it's time for Clue #4 in the contest. It is pictured below, Lovelies. And as some of you know, if you collect all 5 clues and are the FIRST PERSON to post them in order on the Stapelia wall October 3rd (release day), you will win a secret prize! (Descriptions are okay.) So, keep a list going faithful readers, you'll be happy you did.

Recently, I went to the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts as I do twice a year and it was a great one. I found so many neat things I can't even share them all; old Halloween decorations, dime store toys, nude shotglasses, the works. But here are a few of my fun finds and some more pictures here. What's the best thing you've ever found junking?

I've wanted horse ribbons for years, and I found a whole group of them this time!

Oh! And the other day a friend gave me a great gift that I just have to share with you Kiddies. I opened the box, and there inside, were a whole family of dollies, two of which had multiple faces and one was missing a head, all covered in plastic spiders. Weird, yes. But it made me laugh. She knows me too well! Perfect gift for the fall season I think.

It's time for these dollies to meet their new friend: Creepy Clown... hehehe

And speaking of fall season, check out these beautiful pumpkins I found over the weekend! I can't wait to get carving, Folks. This is my favorite time of year.

Let's wrap up with a story, shall we? So, near my house there is a piece of land that has a ton of old junk and railroad stations and signs and mannequins just spread all over. It's a strange place and I've been curious about it for years. Well, Saturday, I went there with a friend and got the grand tour! I took the pics below of some of the sites... but really, they don't do the place justice. It's surreal. Maybe I'll ask the owner if I can do a shoot out there. Hmmm...

Yeah, that's a jail cell. Just sitting there. A jail cell, Folks.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

They're Creepy and They're Crawly...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there! Things here are almost overwhelmingly busy, but very good. To start, I shot a private commission over the weekend that was Addams Family-esque and I can't wait to share it with you! It was such fun to do. These folks get my work, so it was a joy to collaborate with them!

They're going to look like this, only creepier and much better looking.

Also, my new secret project launches October 3rd and it's time for Hint #3! As I announced on my Facebook wall last week, there will be 5 clues in all. The first person who successfully lists the clues (in order, descriptions are fine) on the Stapelia wall on release day will get a very special treat, so follow along and prepare yourselves my Pretties!

After many friends recommended I try it, I have finally signed up for Pinterest. Heard of it? It's a way to grab images off the web and organize them into boards that inspire you and others! I have just gotten started, but it's a ton of fun so far. Follow my boards as I develop photo ideas, pin cool stuff, and gather eye candy for your enjoyment! Here is my page.

While poking around looking for old plastic Halloween masks the other day for a project, I came across this great short video on the Veer website called Mask Infusion. I would like one of each, please.

And speaking of crazy cool stuff. I found a great ceramic collection by Rebecca Wilson (a ceramicist) indelicately entitled Blow Me that I just have to share. She has sculpted perfume bottles that look like Colonial/Victorian Era women. The title, the pieces themselves, the colors are all just divine I think. Take a look at some of them:

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Rainbow Fires & Fall Winds...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well out there. I just returned from a Labor Day camping weekend with my Sweetie's family. It's the second year of this tradition and we all had a really good time. The weather was perfect, we cooked out, laughed a lot and of course, built a fire and got up to mischief. We found this powder you can throw into the fire that makes it burn in rainbow colors and we loved it! Here are some shots of our adventures as we usher out summer and make way for fall (more here).

The release of my big annual project is less than a month away (28 days to be exact), and I have another hint for you to keep the excitement going. I love this album cover (and Les Baxter, actually), but it's really the corny space angle that I'm conveying with this hint. Are you starting to see a theme, my Pets?

And speaking of strange things, have you heard of Bruce Mozert? He was a photographer who shot tableaus of everyday life in Silver Springs, Florida in the the late 30's...underwater. "Huh?!" you say. Well, Silver Springs needed to find a way to keep the tourists coming back, so they hired Bruce to shoot scenes of interest underwater! These shots have an almost surreal quality looking back on them 70+ years later, I think. Take a look.

I want to wrap up with another great find. If you go thrifting/antiquing as much as I do, you see a ton of Victorian era leather gloves that are so small, even dolls couldn't wear them today. What do you do with them all? Enter Ellen Greene. She makes art out of them by combining painting with Sailor Jerry-esque tattoo imagery and I am coveting all of the pairs below. Wow.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...