2009-10-31 - Saturday - Duh, It Was Halloween...

These pictures were taken on October 11, and I was going to save them for Halloween. Well, Halloween came and went and I forgot all about it. (The fifties are rough!) Please revisit Halloween 2009 for a moment with me...

The crypt is as quiet as death (huh?), and you hear a soft scraping sound of stone on stone. Turning, you see the mummy's fingers pushing the lid of the sarcophagus to one side. You freeze, wondering what to do, and then...

Your realize you are in the clay studio and it's not scary at all.

I thought these clay remnants looked a lot like mummy's fingers so I took some photos (go figure!).

The mummy's fingers!

The larger picture.

The back of the hand.

Oh yeah, and I started my teapot on that day...

Barrel Firing # 5 - The Halloween Edition

Barrel firing number 5 was held on Friday, October 31 -- Halloween so we just had to celebrate. Many people attended the lighting of the barrel but the numbers dwindled quickly until there was just the core group left. We stayed way too late, but it was fun.

On Saturday morning we met at the studio and took the light rail to the convention center for the American Craft Council Show. The ACC show never disappoints and we saw a lot of inspirational work. The artists are always so friendly and love to discuss their technique so there is a lot to absorb and I wish I had taken some notes on the spot. Ahhh... more things to try.

Lighting the barrel.

Yup, it worked.

Some of the "regulars".

Pete treated us to some songs he's written.

We had several pumpkins, carved and uncarved.

Nice, blue flame.

Elaine and Becky inspecting after
we put the sleeve around the barrel
and "tucked it in" for the night.

You can find more pictures on Amy's, Becky's (one), Becky's (two), and Elaine's blogs.

Halloween 2008

Stephanie told me she wanted to carve a pumpkin this year since she had never carved one before. After I recovered from the horror of that statement we got to work. Stephanie really likes Batman so she decided to make a Batman insignia (she also dressed as Batman). I stuck with the "scary" face that I've been working on for several years.

The bat.

The creator of the bat trying raw pumpkin.
(And you thought Bob Kane created the bat.)

Looking serious with a knife.
(Definitely scary.)

The scary, the batty, and the bat.

The "scary" face.

Hmm... which one's scarier?