Day 361: Happy Hallowe'en!

Happy Hallowe'en from Lizzie Borden! My favourite time of the year. What other time of the year can you gorge on candy, regard scary things, and... Well, I guess that this isn't the only holiday. Not if you're Victorian. Nonetheless... Hallowe'en is a magical time of the year. 

Here is our food table decorated up.

And here is a detail of my Hallowe'en cupcakes.

Aren't they ooky spooky? And a little gory... I got the ideas for both off of Pinterest. The bug one is white cake, hollowed out a tiny bit, and then the hollowed out part was filled with icing and cookie crumbs (to look like dirt), and decorated with (inedible) bugs. The bloody ones are the same white cake, decorated with a butter cream icing (one of the better batches that I've made in a while!), and drizzled with edible fake blood (corn syrup, honey, cocoa, and food colouring). Delicious! But...gross.

Have a happy Hallowe'en, and a happy All Hallows' Day tomorrow!

Day 360: The night before All Hallow's Evening...

We decorated, we planned, we carved. Tomorrow is Hallowe'en, and guess what we're super excited about? My husband and I love Hallowe'en. We are dressing up, hosting a small get-together to watch movies, and giving treats to costumed children. 

This evening, we carved pumpkins.

This is mine,  based on the character Otis from House of 1000 Corpses (I would have based it off of The Devil's Rejects, because I like that movie better, but there is some imagery of Ho1000C that I like better, and is more interesting to carve into a pumpkin).

Here are our Jack o' Lanterns (see my husband's super cool Joker lantern!).

Then we  roasted the unborn.

I know that it's morbid... but it's true. Let the record be shown that I'm one of the few people who tends to feel guilty when I'm cutting up vegetables or making breads with yeast. I mean...  how do I know that it can't feel pain? Have you read Roald Dahl's creepy tree story? Trees with feelings? Ergo, I feel guilty when I'm gutting vegetables... and gourds. Particularly peppers. Y'know when there's the tiny beginning of a pepper inside of it? I just destroyed its mother. I digress. But yeah. That's why I feel comfortable with referring to seeds as the unborn. Nonetheless, delicious. 

Excited for tomorrow! There will be lots of stories to tell!

Oh, also, here is my face.

ERMAGERD. STERCHERS.

Night all.

Day 359: Cut Up

Today, I played around with cut-up poetry for a bit. That was fun. Nothing noteworthy came out of it. Ah well. Maybe I'll create something noteworthy, and worth sharing, tomorrow.

Day 358: Horror Movies

For a while now, I have been trying to create fairly definitive Top Ten lists (for movies, albums, books, et cetera). Let the record be shown that this does have to do with my creative endeavors. Guess what I consume the most of while working on art? All of those things. Particularly movies. I enjoy having television or movies on in the background when I'm working. Apparently the combination of visual and auditory stimuli is just enough to keep me from feeling bored. I tend to feel anxious if it's too quiet. Plus, I think it stems from the days when I used to be home alone, and movies were the best form of "company". Now, you can see what my top movies are. Please note that this list is still a work in progress... and it's not really absolute. In order to absolute, I'd have to go through all of the movies I've ever watched (and there's a lot. My husband is a movie buff, and often times I've seen more movies than him. Mostly because of the whole "I make art so I watch movies while working" thing. Kind of sad). To achieve this mock up list, I went through the list of movies in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (or whatever it's called), went through the movies I've seen, and wrote down my favourite ones from there. Then I drew upon the movies in our collections. And good old fashioned memory. Then I simply went through the movies that I have seen the most times, or stand out to me as being particularly influential. 

Oh, also, warning. It will end up being more than 10. There are some honourable mentions. And the main list isn't in any particular order. That's just too much to ask.

1. Devil's Rejects (2005. Directed by Rob Zombie)

Approximate number of times watched: Once (Itching to watch it again)

It may have been mentioned one or two times that I am a fan of Rob Zombie. I love his music, his aesthetic, and now that I've seen a few of his movies... Well, I like those, too. They're gruesome, cringe-inducing, fascinatingly horrific bits of cinema. This is the most modern movie on my list. It's also one of the few movies I've ever watched where, after I've finished watching it, I immediately want to watch it again. The only other time that has really happened was with The Great Gatsby (even now, I want to watch that movie at this moment). The Devil's Rejects is a sequel to Rob Zombie's 2003 film, House of 1000 Corpses. I didn't actually know this when I watched The Devil's Rejects, but it actually doesn't matter. Watching House of 1000 Corpses does provide context, but really, I like The Devil's Rejects way better. It's a great film. Really violent, really messed up... about what you'd expect from Rob Zombie. However, I found myself kind of sympathizing with the protagonists of this film; The Rejects. Well, not really sympathizing. I mean, they're horrible, evil, messed up, people. Yet, they're bizarrely lovable. How weird is that.

2. Hellraiser (1987. Directed by Clive Barker)

Approximate number of times watched: At least three

I still puzzle over what possessed me to watch this movie. For some reason, I became really fascinated with the character of Pinhead/Priest. Then, it became my favourite horror franchise. Why on earth (or why in hell... Sorry. We are talking about Hellraiser here), I have no idea. But I have a 1980s Hellraiser poster book, a signed photo from Douglas Bradley (Pinhead), and I made a Pinhead pincushion. Some people fangirl over Harry Potter. I fangirl over Hellraiser. I think what interests me in Hellraiser is what type of gorey and horrific it is. It's very arcane, occult, and all around a bit strange. To be honest, I can't really express why I enjoy it so much... but then again, how can I really explain any of the things that interest me (have I shown you my oddity collection?).

3. Village of the Damned (1960. Directed by Wolf Rilla)

Approximate number of times watched: At least three

I. Adore. This movie. I also enjoy the remake (made in 1995, directed by John Carpenter), and I've watched it at least as many times. The Village of the Damned is one of the first horror movies that I actively sought out, back in my teenage years (when my favourite movies were vintage science fiction horror movies). It has a certain nostalgic appeal to me. Along with adoring the movie, and the remake, I also enjoy the short story on which it was based (for quite a while, John Wyndham was one of my most beloved authors). I digress. This film is great. It's creepy, eerie, and who doesn't love being frightened by children with British accents? I first watched the movie by ordering it through Zip (remember Zip? The movie rental by mail system before Netflix?), after reading about it in a book about science fiction movies (a lot of my favourite movies are in the book. Talk about influential reading). By modern standards, this movie would not be considered 'horror'. Still, I recommend it, especially if you enjoy horror movies from the 1950s and 1960s. There are some gems (like Vincent Price movies. Hello.).

4. Candyman (1992. Directed by Bernard Rose)

Approximate number of times watched: Twice 

To date, there are only two horror movies that left me feeling gross, with a strong desire to shower. The Divide (which was disturbing on multiple levels), and Candyman. Candyman only had that impact the first time I watched it, and the first time I watched it, I was terrified. Not "I'm going to have nightmares tonight" terrified, but just the kind of reaction you want to have after watching a good horror movie. The movie stars Tony Todd, and that man is amazing. I've only seen him in two movies, but both are among my favourites. He's just so good. And in Candyman, he is so gruesomely perfect. Candyman is what urban legends and nightmares are made of.

5. The Shining (1980. Directed by Stanley Kubrick)

Approximate number of times watched: At least four. Probably more than that. And for good measure, I've read the book twice.

What. A. Great. Film. Need I say more? We have Jack Nicholson, playing an absolute mad man. It's so terrifyingly brilliant, in every detail. The Shining is synonymous with nightmares, and I've definitely had some that are similar, making it even more frightening. For the most part, I haven't met an adaptation of a Stephen King book that I haven't liked. Still, The Shining is probably my favourite. I've watched it so many times, and I continue to watch it almost annually. I don't know what more I can say. I just enjoy this movie to no end, and it's perfect. Stanley Kubrick was a mad man as far as film making goes, but it pays off. 

6. Carrie (1976. Directed by Brian De Palma)

Approximate number of times watched: At least three.

Another adaptation of a Stephen King book. (Not to mention my favourite book by Stephen King.) Carrie is one of my most beloved films in general. It's a great horror movie (I love my 1970s horror flicks), and I've always been able to relate to Carrie on a personal level (except for the telekinesis). I saw the 2013 remake a few days ago, and I enjoyed it just as much. I can't really choose between the two, but I just love the aesthetic of the 1976 version. I can't explain why. Whatever the case... Classic.

7. A Clockwork Orange (1971. Directed by Stanley Kubrick)

Approximate number of times watched: Three 

This is a strange film. It's so chaotic, horrific, and weird. I like Alex. He's such a joyful character, but he's also brutal. I feel like I like this movie because of the strange dystopian setting, and the juxtoposition between manic and safe. Does that make sense? I'm rather fond of this film. I have yet to read the book, but Stanley Kubrick did such a great job making a movie out of it. Even though it is supposed to be really different. I'm not sure if it's necessarily "horror" per se, but it's definitely horrific, and unsettling. Yes, unsettling. That's the right word.

8. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920. Directed by Robert Wiene)

Approximate number of times watched: At least five times (For the record, this is my favourite movie of all time)

As mentioned above, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is my favourite movie. It's a silent film, it's German Expressionism, it's horror, it's spooky... It's beautiful and nightmarish. It combines so many things that I love, all rolled into the psyche of a mad man, telling his story from inside an asylum. It's haunting. I can imagine people in the early 20th century leaving the cinema with nightmares.

9. Friday the 13th (1980. Directed by Sean S. Cunningham)

Approximate number of times watched: Three or more

While Hellraiser is my favourite franchise, Friday the 13th is a close second. Jason Voorhees is an amazing character. I sympathize with him. Still, the first Friday the 13th is my favourite. I do really enjoy the second movie, but the first one... Magnificent. It's a great film. Not to mention the fact that it's a really iconic film. 

10. Blair Witch Project (1999. Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez)

Approximate number of times watched: Once

Another iconic film. Particularly as far as found footage horror movies go. This movie took a while to get anywhere, but afterwards I actually had trouble getting to sleep. Both my husband and I did. It genuinely creeped us out, and made us nervous about dark spaces. We were fine, and did get to sleep after focusing on not-scary things. Still, it's a great movie. 

Honourable mentions.

The Changeling (1980. Directed by Peter Medak). This movie traumatized me as a child. For some unknown reason, my parents let me watch it with them when I was no more than seven years old. I have seen it twice. Because of this film, I have a traumatizing fear of antique wheelchairs.

Night of the Living Dead (1968. Directed by George A. Romero). Another one of my all time favourite movies. I've seen this movie at least five times, and it never stops being good. Admittedly, I sometimes like the remake (1990) a bit better, because Barbara is a bit stronger of a character (and bonus, Tony Todd is in that version). Still, the original is just a great movie. I didn't include it in the top ten because it is a zombie movie, and I feel like that's an entirely different genre on its own. 

Every Vincent Price movie ever. Need I say more?

This list is by no means definitive. To do so, I'd have to go through every movie I've ever watched... Specifically, every horror movie. And I've seen A LOT. From good ones to B-movies; gory ones to psychological horror movies. Next, I'm going to try to make a top ten for all movies list.

In other news, I made food.

Brownies. This recipe surprised me. The texture of these treats is perfect.

An impromptu casserole (penne pasta, cream of mushroom soup, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, green beans, milk).

Also, I made hot toddies.

I aimed to make lots of cozy comfort food. My husband was appreciative. He had to wait outside in the cold for buses, only to miss the bus, and later have the bus miss his stop. 

For the record, if I could stay at home, be a trophy wife, have a full time art practice, and a dog, I would be so happy. Hopefully my husband, and I will make that happen. If we did, he would always come home to tasty meals. Any who. That's all for now, kids.

Day 357: Lou Reed

October 27th, Lou Reed died at the age of 71. He was the front man of The Velvet Underground. Amazing man, great musician. He was a legend, and he'll live on through the music.

His death is a loss. The Velvet Underground is one of my favourite bands, and the reason why punk music from the 1970s exists. Important part of my life, mostly because it has helped determine a lot of my tastes. To honour Lou Reed, I simply put on the album Loaded and basked in the great music that has shaped the musical world. And my life. It's a great album.

Here are my favourite Velvet Underground songs.

Farewell, Lou. Thank you for your voice, and your guitar.

Day 356: And repeat

My completed repeat pattern. This beauty is on silk, printed with dye. I am pleased. The print is  a self-portrait, using Pagan and Alchemical symbols. I'm looking forward to making things with it!

Day 355: Fabulous Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! Look at me, doing stuff and being productive! Good times for all when I have my day off. Fridays are always my lazy sleep in and make food days. They're also my 'I'm going to do dramatic makeup on my face and then wash it off in the span of a hour' days. At least for October. In case no one has noticed that trend.

First of all, I will say that I felt like a lazy bum today. Last night, we ate food, and then we were wanting to watch a movie. During the decision making process, I fell asleep and faded in and out of sleep. When we finally decided on a movie, I fell asleep after maybe half an hour. I woke up a few times, but for the most part, I slept right through it. My husband woke me up, and then we went to bed. I commenced to sleep for a little over (or under) ten hours. Apparently all of my working and stressing added up to the fact that I just needed a solid sleep, and lots of it. After that, though, I had a lazy morning. Never mind the fact that the first thing I did was watch Haxan (or attempt to... mostly background music) and did Carrie/Weeping statue/Virginal inspired makeup (with lots of blood). Then I went outside, in my bare feet and a blood splattered dress and took photos. 

Bear in mind that I live in suburbia. I was tempted to go further beyond the property to take photos, but I figured that someone wearing few clothes and being partially covered in blood might warrant phone calls. Even so, I got this cool photograph, which I then edited.

Kind of makes me think of when someone takes a 'ghost photograph' and zooms in to show the apparition, so it ends up fuzzy and creepy.

Also on the agenda today, I made pizza and chocolate chip banana muffins. 

The pizza of the week was ground lamb, spinach, mixed vegetables, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan. The crust wasn't my best ever, but boy. Lamb is tasty. Mmmm lamb.

This is the first time that I have made banana muffins. They are tasty. No butter or oil (I didn't have much of either). Definitely not as good as my mum's recipe, but pretty tasty. A slightly healthier ("healthier") alternative to my recent baking escapades. Plus, breakfast food! One of my Facebook friends/acquaintances offered the brilliant idea of substituting pumpkin for banana, thus creating pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. That sounds delicious, and perfect for fall, so I'm thinking that I'll try that out next week. It might mean that my husband and I carve one or two small sugar pumpkins, or something. Either way... Sounds like a good breakfast treat for Hallowe'en morning!

Oooooh Hallowe'en is so close. I get as excited for Hallowe'en as I do for Christmas Eve. I'm weirdly giddy about it this year. 

Day 354: Ruined Repeat

I messed up on one of my repeat patterns. I switched my measurements by accident, so I decided to scrap it. Instead of spending just as much time to fix it, or continue on and end up with something that I would be unhappy with, I decided to start something completely new. I created a new stencil, and a new repeat pattern. I also decided that I am going to do this new repeat on silk. I want to create something that I will use, and I have beautiful images in my mind as to what I will do with the fabric.

Poor photo, but this is the silk. It is more of a cream colour than it appears above, and it is a very small jacquard weave (just a hint of small floral pattern here and there).

I would have done more today... but I came home, I ate, and I slept. Then I woke up. Reluctantly. I was exhausted (and still am) but I don't want to mess up my sleep schedule too much.

Day 353: Back in order, but nothing to show

My headache is gone, but I don't have anything to show for it. I didn't do anything today, other than think about ideas, and take notes. At the moment, when I don't have to work on projects, I don't want to do anything except laze around, and waste time on Pinterest. Still, Pinterest can be really inspiring, especially when you are mining for particular ideas and themes. I'm at an odd sort of stand still right now. I'm in the middle of writing my grad paper, and thinking about the work that I want to be my body of work. We had a midterm critique in the senior class, and in the middle of it, I realized that I didn't want to be making the work that I've been making. The one thing that relates all of my work is the fact that it's heavily researched, and is influenced by history in some way. However, I am currently most interested in the history of witchcraft, particularly the symbolism, and the Salem Witch Trials. I have so many ideas, particularly in regards to things that are almost strictly formal. I want to break away from the work that I have been working on, and diverge completely. Only create work that is inspired by the occult. It's an odd place to be. I might discuss it with my instructor. I'm a bit troubled by it. It also doesn't help that the strongest work I've been creating is in other classes, and are pieces centering around myself. Again, I'm rather troubled. Where do I go from here? How can I completely change gears, especially when I need to be writing a grad paper that is fairly encompassing of all of the work that I produce?

Day 352: Out of order

Brief hiatus. Don't you hate the combination of headache and empty stomach?

Day 351: This and That

It's difficult to do anything particularly interesting or separate when I have so many things to do. If I'm not working on my grad paper, I'm embroidering. If I'm not doing any of those things, I'm preparing for other projects in other classes.

I would post a photo of my embroidery again, but at this point I think that I should just wait until it's completely finished. Hopefully by tomorrow morning. Or at least as much as is humanly possible.

Day 350: Keys

Another trip to the flea market. This week I spent $3 on a vintage rusting key. I've been wanting to make a choker with a vintage key for a while (thanks to Etsy), and it was the price of a vintage key (or less than) any where else, but I didn't have to pay for shipping. Good combination! And I like the key. 

The writing behind it is a collection of notes about witch craft, superstitions, and lucky rabbit feet. I'm planning stuff.

Day 349: Malice

Last night we went to a friend of ours for an impromptu Hallowe'en party. It was more of a small get together (only six of us) than a party, but it was nice. I spent most of the evening with my friend Christie, sitting on the sofa and working on handwork. I got lots of embroidery done, which was nice. It's nice to chat, eat food, and stitch away. 

For the party, costumes weren't necessary, but I take any opportunity that I can to dress up. I decided to dress up in the style of Alice in Wonderland. With a bit of a dark undertaking. My makeup was really simple (lots of silvery grey, with lots of black mascara on both my top and bottom lashes). I was aiming for a bit of a doe eye, doll-like-ness. Just simple, and pretty. 

I made a necklace out of my rabbit food, and a chain. Why? Because Alice finally caught the rabbit.

Day 348: Kitchen Magic

A successful day in the kitchen! Friday night is pizza night, and I keep getting better at making pizza every week! This week's flavour was an arbitrary collection of things that we had in the fridge. Tomato sauce (technically pasta sauce), cheese, Italian herb mix, green peppers, bacon, mushrooms, red onion, and squash. Yes, squash. (Guess what, Mum! We cooked, and ate squash two days in a row!) I tried putting squash on pizza because the organic market in Kensington had an amazing pizza with goat cheese, squash, and a bunch of other delicious toppings. The more toppings, the more eclectic... the better. It seems that, often times, the weirder combination, the better. Hello, Tasty McTastiness.

In other news, I also made sugar cookies. It's been a while since I've made any kind of roll-out/cut out cookies. 

I finally gave myself the opportunity to use my fancy cookie cutters. My mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law gave my husband and me fancy cookie cutters for our wedding. Woodland creatures, and voodoo doll cookie cutter. We also had bought a "ginger dead man" cookie cutter a while ago, but I never had the opportunity to use it. And thus, today, I made fox cookies, voodoo doll cookies, and skeleton cookies. They are delicious. I'm proud of myself; this is the second week in a row that I have welcomed my husband home with the surprise of freshly baked cookies. 

Day 347: Greatest Show on Earth

Success! Kind of.

Behold! My first repeat pattern, silkscreen printed on cloth. The photo doesn't give the best representation of the colour (it's a bit brighter, and more pink). It is cotton, dyed with fuschia and black dye (using pigment dyes). It is printed with ink. The repeat pattern is inspired by sideshow celebrity of the 19th century. The faces depicted are all caricatures of freaks. Clockwise from top left corner... Charles B. Tripp (man without arms, who had beautiful penmanship), Admiral Dot (a gentlemanly midget), Ella Ewing (an introverted giantess), John Coffey (the incredibly charismatic, and jocular, living skeleton), Nora Hildebrandt (one of the first tattooed ladies), Eli Bowen (legless man who wanted a daughter, but instead had four sons), Myrtle Corbin (four legged woman, whom I drew as a child, because she was so beautiful). You may have noticed that in the print imagery, there is is no indication of any deformity, abnormality, or freakishness in any way. They are simply the faces of beautiful and fascinating people. We mustn't focus on the things that we find strange. We must focus on the things that are so wonderfully human. 

Day 346: Are we sick of this yet?

Once again... This. Other than reading books, it is pretty much the only thing that I have been working on. It's kind of important, and I need to get as much done as humanly possible by next Wednesday. Believe it or not, but it's advanced even further since the above photo was taken. Now, to give you a better idea of what it is that I'm doing (and shake things up a bit), here are the images featuring the graffiti that I am embroidering.

Day 345: It was more fun in...

Another day spent working hard at school. I'm such a good little art student. After spending a few hours transcribing one of my sketchbooks (because that is what I am doing for my drawing project), I decided to move on to bigger and more important things. This meant watching Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses and working on the embroidery on my straight jacket. It's going really well. The photo above was taken earlier, and the embroidery has progressed a lot since then. I'm almost done embroidering 'It was more fun in hell'. To explain, I am embroidering the straight jacket with phrases that have been graffiti-ed on the walls of abandoned asylums. So far so good.

Also, check out my cool pens. 

Day 344: Happy Birthday to my Husband!

A rich, full (albeit lazy) day! Today was my husband's birthday. Also, it's Thanksgiving, so we had the whole day. It was a nice break, and a nice way to celebrate his birthday. I forgot to take photos, but today I made a wonderful breakfast. I made French toast, bacon, a fried egg (just for my husband), and pseudo-fruit compote (it was more like berry syrup, but it was still tasty on top of the French toast). Delicious. We watched some cartoons, and lazed around. Later we adventured. It was just a good day. I love my husband, and I'm glad that he had a happy birthday.

Day 343: Adventures in Hillhurst

I forgot to take photos of my activities today. However, I got a decent amount of silkscreen prep done (I am now going to be able to get to school early on Thursday, and start working on my repeat print). After I was done, my husband, and I went down to the Hillhurst Community Market. It's a nice flea market, and it's a good opportunity to visit with a friend of ours. On the way, we got a bit lost (neither of us could remember with perfect precision as to how to get there), and we passed a church. While walking, my husband spied a tombstone, after peering through some shrubbery. Naturally, I was intrigued, so we investigated. We found a memorial garden, and we think that most of the 'tombstones' didn't mark actual graves. They were too close together, and looked quite new. However, two tombstones (one of which was technically a mausoleum-type grave) were both from the 1900s (1907 and 1909). One of the grave of a married man, and the other was that of a one or two year old child. It was an unexpected discover, but a welcome one. I do enjoy graveyards. Dead people are tranquil, and reading epitaphs are like reading ornately minimalist biographies of an individual.

Day 342: Dying Mermaid

 

What do you do with sequins? Well, personally, I glue them to my face, in order to help create weird mermaid makeup. Kind of a dying mermaid, with questionable ooze dripping down my face. I spent roughly an hour on the makeup, only to take it off after roughly twenty minutes. Because, my friends, that is what I do on my weekend mornings.

Day 341: The Greatest Show On Earth!

Work in progress for school. This is the beginning of my stencil for my repeat pattern project. The assignment is to create two yardages of cloth (each measuring at least nine feet long), utilizing dying, and repeat pattern techniques. I am creating cloth that is inspired by old sideshow banners, but hearkening to my adoration of freaks, and geeks, and how I am fascinated with them as human beings. For one yardage (the one that will utilize the above stencil), I am avoiding the aspects of the individuals that made them famous. Unfortunately, this means that I won't be able to utilize my beloved Stefan Bibrowski, or any of the beautiful bearded ladies, until the next yardage. Still, I am able to capture the images of a great deal of individuals, portraying them as just people. In doing this, I am hoping to pay homage to the integrity of these celebrities, and paying respects to the sincerity, and personality, as well as paying respect to those who never wanted to be regarded as freaks. They are just faces. Faces who would be recognized by few. The only people to recognize them will be those who have poured over their histories, fascinated by their stories. Fascinated by the individual beyond their dollar value, and the "deformities" that made them stand out. 

Day 340: The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Rain. Utter dreariness. We responded by curling up with popcorn and hot chocolate, and watching The Abominable Dr. Phibes on VHS. Cozy, and everything is bettered with a bit of Vincent Price. On top of that, I decided to draw bats. That resulted in a bit of bat adoration, and bat craze. Bats are such fascinating, and adorable, little creatures. Have you ever seen how vampire bats feed? It's curious. It's one of those things that I think would be fascinating to experience. I doubt that I ever will... but do you ever have those strange questioning impulses that make you curious about something in an odd way? For me it's vampire bat tongues and Stefan Bibrowski's hair. It looks so much softer than any one else's hair. However, again. I will never know. Not to mention the fact that it might be impolite to ask about someone's interest in being a dentist, and then commence to ask if one could touch his face. Whatever the case... these are the things that fascinate me.

Day 339: You've got the shine

What would fall be without watching The Shining? It's one of my favourite movies, and I realized while watching it that it is the embodiment of some of my nightmares. Terrifying. While watching, I drew some Jack Torrance sketches/doodles. I'm most pleased with the above.

And the rest. I will say one thing- I do not enjoy drawing stubble. 

Day 338: Drew Some

I forgot to take photos, but during my Social Sciences class I drew some comics and different sideshow-inspired comics. I recently acquired American Sideshow from a thrift store, and it's an amazing book. It's a very concise summary of all of the most famous freaks and geeks to have worked in sideshows in the United States. It's beautiful. I'm fascinated by freaks and geeks, and their stories. They're such beautiful and fascinating people. I am infatuated with them. They're just such handsome men and beautiful women. For the record, my husband is a casual blockhead, and magician, so apparently I have a type. I find sideshow to be so very inspiring, while also thought-invoking, and fascinating. I would love to learn to do geek performances, like blockhead and sword-swallowing. 

Speaking of sword-swallowing, did you know that you can make your gag reflex stronger by clenching your left hand into a fist and squeezing your thumb? I have a weak gag reflex. I tried it and it worked. Ah, the wonders of the human body.

And... to bed!

Day 337: Mini-Sabbatical

Today, I took a mini-sabbatical. I decided that it was more worth my time to stay home, and get Grad class work done. It was the best way of taking a bit of stress off of my mind. 

I started my day with creepy make-up, then moved to finishing the body of my straight-jacket (commence embroidery!), start beading my corset, and then I made pretzel-bun-things to add to supper. I felt like I got a lot more out of my day, which was much-needed. The weekend was just too busy, but also too lazy.

In the photographs, the straight-jacket actually looks like it could be a mid-century straight jacket. Which is neat. Even cooler- dead cows make for the perfect photography background! Who knew. The straight jacket also works. I can't get out of it very easily. My husband can get out of it a bit easier, but that's because it's too small for him. The last photograph is the work-in-progress beading detail on my Elizabeth Bathory corset. The aim is to make it look like dripping blood, while also being encrusted in class beads. So far so good... almost starting to look like blood... almost. 

Day 336: Embroidery, laced and corseted

Work in progress. Lots and lots of embroidery. None of it can be read in the photograph, but it's meant to be subtle. It's turning out quite nice... though I need to figure out what to do to finish it.... mostly because I'm enjoying how it looks as an unfinished corset.