If you search for book sculptures on the internet, you’ll come across some incredible creations, including one that stares right back at you – artist Hubertus Gojowczyk’s “Latest News.” With Halloween on the brain, I thought this would make the coolest, spooky prop for my favourite time of the year.
Filed under Books, Halloween, mixed media
This is an easy craft to help kids get in on all that Halloween action. They can choose to make traditional Halloween characters, or run wild with their imagination.
It’s never too early to begin thinking about Halloween (can you tell I love it), and making a special box for some of those wonderful treasures you’ve amassed over the years, is a wonderful way to start. A few drawings and images, a little Mod Podge, a trip to the dollar store, and you’re all set.
Filed under Halloween
Hope your Halloween night was fantastic! I’m guessing by now your little ones have eagerly examined their candy stash, taken inventory, and are slowly eating their way through it. Here are a couple of ideas from the past to help you make use of your Halloween garbage:
Back in August, I made an erosion bundle which spent close to two months braving the elements outside in my garden. Not sure what an erosion bundle is? Have a look at this post to get a clearer picture.
When I finally went out to collect it, my biggest fear was finding it filled with potato bugs and worms, sucking back those juicy orange slices I included. Turns out it was bug free, and had morphed from a colourful collection of random things, to something you might find in a landfill site. The oranges had decomposed, plenty of stains were now on the fabric and paper, but some things simply hadn’t changed at all. More perishables and more time would have created better results, but there was still plenty to work with for making a Halloween sign and a collage.
Filed under Art and Nature, Erosion Bundle, Halloween
Still-Life With A Skull by Phillippe De Champaigne, early 17th century. (Photo)
Skulls have been used by artists through the ages, to remind us of our mortality. Here’s a small selection of what they’ve been doing with the beloved cranium and mandible combo. It’s Halloween, after all…
You guessed it – toilet paper roll criminals. And they’re up to noooo good. Who’s in the line up? We’ve got Vincent “The Kid” Vampire who eats way too much candy, and his teeth are turning fifty shades of grey. Charlie “Pretty Boy” Pumpkin may look like a real charmer, but he gets his kicks spitting seeds at innocent bystanders. Wanda “Butterfingers” Witch? Couldn’t get a spell right if her life depended on it. Jimmy “Scarface” Skeleton? That’s right, the guy can’t take two steps without breaking a bone. Finally, there’s Cat Capone who keeps crossing people’s paths to bring them bad luck. What does she care? She’s got nine lives.
Filed under Halloween, toilet paper rolls
Dioramas are 3D scenes created in box-like containers, and a spooky Halloween theme is perfect for this time of year. It’s a great opportunity for kids to make a miniature world filled with skeletons, ghosts, and a few imaginary characters of their own.
Symbols of death, like tombstones and skeletons, help to create all those eerie and unsettling feelings we come to expect this time of year, and cemeteries provide the perfect inspiration. To mark the occasion, here are a few photos of artists’ graves I visited this summer in France. The phantoms and spirits were on their best behaviour during my daytime visits, and the only unsettling visuals came from the public washroom. There are times I’m SO grateful I can’t smell.
The artist Niki de Saint Phalle, was a french painter, sculptor, and film maker. Today would have been her 81st birthday. Much of her work is naive in style, and has a playful, whimsical quality. The Tarot Garden in Italy is a perfect example of this, with its large scale sculptures covered in brightly coloured mosaics. So is the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris, filled with water-spraying sculptures made by Niki and her husband Jean Tinguely.
Of course it’s all much too happy looking for Halloween, but as luck would have it, she happened to create a unique looking assemblage called Portail de La Mort providing the perfect inspiration for this unusual, quirky little Halloween project. Trust me to sniff out one of the few colourless pieces she created! Joyeuse Anniversaire Niki.
Filed under Artists, assemblage, Halloween, Niki de Saint Phalle
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