Future hauntings...

In the studio again watching Hallowe'en 2015 designs materialize...

 This will be a small party-good table-piece with a honeycomb base, inspired by paper ephemera designs for the 1920's-1930's.

Talavera Halloween in Nuevo Mexico

Ambling about the Burque these past couple of weeks, and ran across these talavera (wikipedia link) style Halloween ceramics from Mexico, and wanted to share their bright fall colors! Not sure how common these are to the Southwest region but they were new and fun for me... the first official sign of the season I've seen here so far. (The pumpkins for sure were a bit unexpected since Dia de los Muertos is more prominent in arts from south of the border, and loved how each one seemed to have its own individually-styled pattern)...

In the meantime, inspired, Bindlegrim is spending days now in the studio working on the 2013 line of paper candy container / lanterns. The storminess of the skies during monsoon season are great at setting the proper mood in the evenings... and when conditions are just wet enough the nights offer the rare occurrence of post-storm desert toads emerging from the mud...

   

Grim Happy Outtakes (ILMO El Sr. Muerto)

Here are some early shots and outtakes from the photographic story of Christmas Gnomes from the original 2001 version of The Grim Happy Christmas  --- with a special tribute to the late great El Sr. Muerto:

In 2001 the part of the villain in The Grim Happy Christmas was played by a chain smoking Day of the Dead character (who was known to always play his roles with a sombrero and a cactus backdrop).

This scene (above) taken on a wet rainy day in Seattle and from the original book was redone for the 2011 version with a different actor. The original actor, I believe is listed on IMDB as the late El Sr. Muerto.

Above is an early unused behind-the-scene photograph of Red Hob and El Sr. Muerto preparing for their photo shoot in 2001. Red Hob is getting into character here as the loveable hero, while El Sr. Muerto sticks up his chin looking for the right balance of macabre and machismo.

In this outtake, Red Hob, who is supposed to be scared witless, can't help but laugh as El Sr. Muerto gives him Marty Feldman eyes. Sadly the two were unable to reunite for the newer version, since El Sr. Muerto had fallen apart some years previous in a fit of loco.

And, finally, above is a dramatic take from the early photos used in the 2001 version of this tale as only the great El Sr. Muerto could achieve. While below, in 2011, The Grim Happy Christmas (new version) cast, was honored, to have a new yet seasoned actor playing the role of the sinister villain, and we offer this small blurry outtake from the new photography as a small preview.