Category: artists

something about our artists

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Gothtober Day 3 with Odious Ari

Visit www.gothtober.com and click on DAY 3 for a graveyard ditty from Odious Ari!
Well what have we here but international SUPERSTAR, Odious Ari with a hand hewn music video from the good ol’ days! I wanted to know more, so I wrote Odious a telegram, and wouldn’t you know, I got a telegram BACK with some “behind the scenes” information! Here’s what Western Union delivered:
It was shot at Hollywood Forever STOP Joey Jenkins was the cinematographer and David Gutierrez directed and PA-ed STOP We were really concerned about being offensive and/or upsetting people who may have been there to actually honor to their relatives, but it’s hard when you are three weirdos with a mannequin leg, creepy baby doll, accordion and banjolele STOP When people approached where we were shooting, we tried to look “normal” (hard to do as Odious) and hide the goods, hence the photo of the leg sticking out behind the tombstone STOP 
Odious also said “The baby doll and I had a delightful little nap together. It was past both our nap times and we were getting cranky. A little shut-eye and we were back to waltzing. We also both ended up wetting our pants, and that was the cue for the shoot (and Joey and David’s willingness to be around me) to end. The song is called Fifteen More Years and it’s a duet between a terrible father (played by Odious) and a goth, butch quinceanera (also played by Ari) who hates every minute of her “celebration.”
We are delighted as peach pie and pumpkin buckle to show this rousing tune and visual accompaniment to Gothtober’s queasy, creaky, creepy collection of Halloween entertainment! Thanks, Odious!
Read Odious’s and other Gothtober contributor’s bios here! 
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Gothtober Contributors Announced!


The Jack o’ Lantern has SPOKEN!

The orange smoke from the smokestack of Gothtober Headquarters flew up and swirled about the almost full moon, announcing that the Gothtober Contributors have been chosen! The bats will scurry in a hurry, the chattering, clattering, giggling and scrambling continues until the last bit of September is over, and we unveil the first of our participants’ efforts!  Here is the list of THE CHOSEN, their long shadows dance in the moonlight mellow, as will o’ the wisps fly in the chilly meadow!

Look forward to our FIFTEENTH autumn assemblage containing crafts, films, treats of all kinds bringing a cornucopia of strange delights to you phone, your tablet, your desktop screens!

[column-group]
[column]
Fonzie
Cristin Pescosolido
Odious Ari
Roasted Udon Fisher
Danny Torrance
Yuki Okada
Leah Harmon
Nora R
Pauly G
Jenn Paige Gordon
Rick Orner
[/column]
[column]
Sabine Maxine
Federico Tobon
Mike Rainey
Ian MacKinnon
Kendra and Miles
Stephanie Abler
Chambers Family
David LeBarron
Barry Morse
Emily Hansen
Lush Newton
[/column]
[column]
Jenny Walsh
Ignis Fatua
Kimberly Kim
Michael Gump
Yuki Okada
Ananda and Kierston
Del Norte
Waller Family
The Stig
Bona Bones
[/column]
[/column-group]

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Gothtober Applications Close at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!!!

Ask not for whom the bell tolls… it tolls for THEEEEEEEE!!!!

Midnight TONIGHT the door creeks closed, the vault is locked, the tomb is shut, there is NO TURNING BACK.

When witches go flying,
and black cats go MEOW
the moon laughs and whispers,
“Apply for Gothtober NOW!”

Join your fellow autumnal enthusiasts! Share your pumpkin collection, your autumn gardening tips, a recipe for severed finger soup!

Here’s the FAQ for 2017 (theme, tech specs, etc.):
 
READ THE FAQ!
 
Here’s how to fill out the Gothtober Application by August 29th:
 
APPLY TODAY!
 
Participants will be notified of admission on September 1st, 2017.

Upon acceptance, a $25 registration fee is required.

 

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Gothtober’s Application Deadline EXTENDED to Sept. 1st!!!

GOTHTOBER APPLICATIONS EXTENDED! 

 

We’re so close to our roster being complete, but we are still seeking new blood!

Make Public Internet Art and achieve worldwide FAME!!!

APPLY BY SEPTEMBER 1st!

Learn about and Apply for Gothtober, here’s the FAQ for 2017 (theme, tech specs, etc.):
 
READ THE FAQ!
 
Here’s how to fill out the Gothtober Application by August 29th:
 
APPLY TODAY!
 
Participants will be notified of admission on September 1st, 2017.

Upon acceptance, a $25 registration fee is required.

 

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5 Reasons You Should Make Art for Gothtober 2017

AUTUMN WANTS YOU! 

Less than SIX days remain for you to join this happy haunted hovel of depraved creative souls called GOTHTOBER! Why should you sweat and toil to make some kind of artistic offering for the Gothtober Countdown Calendar?

1.) It’s ALL Art! Music, Photography, Recipes, Singing, Dancing, Acting, Gardening, Performing, Fencing, Drawing, ANYTHING can be art! The definition is wide open, we have some perimeters for movie and slideshow length, but other than that, there’s nothing to keep you from being as fabulous and weird as you want to share!

2.) Yes huh you can do it! You’re a human being, which means you’re just naturally curious about stuff, and creativity is an inherent part of your nature. Making, doing and sharing things is your legacy as homo sapiens. You were born to create, use those opposable thumbs and give us a whirl!

3.) Find “You Time” Who has time to make things anyway? NOBODY. That’s where getting your butt kicked by me, Gothtober’s Head Candy Corn, will help you figure out how to carve out time like a pumpkin to meet your Gothtober deadlines. You’ll begin and finish to completion something of yours, for you, for the good of the Halloween season.

4.) Fire Up Your Passion Is your guitar gathering dust? Did you forget what it’s like to spend hours working on paper puppets with joints made of dental floss? When’s the last time you shared that awesome recipe for Fall Flavor Allspice Cookies?  What happened to those ghost throw pillow crafts you were going to make and share? Get back into that feeling of making something from your hands, and feel profoundly alive and happy.

5.) Give Something to the World When you make art for Gothtober, along with your fellow Gothtober contributors, you bring something new to thousands of spectators waiting to see what you made! You might get fan mail, you might get weird comments about your work, you might inspire someone, you might surprise yourself with what you’re capable of making!

So come on down, send in your application, commit to a thing even though everything’s crazy and there’s no time! We wanna see what you will do!

Learn about and Apply for Gothtober, here’s the FAQ for 2017 (theme, tech specs, etc.):
 
READ THE FAQ!
 
Here’s how to fill out the Gothtober Application by August 29th:
 
APPLY TODAY!
 
Participants will be notified of admission on September 1st, 2017.

Upon acceptance, a $25 registration fee is required.

 

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8 1/2 Balloons with Del Norte DAY 18

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Visit www.gothtober.com and click on DAY 18 for an avant-garde cinematic EVENT!

Spoiler alert: It has BALLOONS. I guess that’s not much of a spoiler, since the word “Balloons” is in the title. Duh.

There’s a Columbian balloon man, and a professional tumbler who looks kind of like a kid… wait… that IS a kid! It’s a kid in Los Angeles!

The score is original, played with a real theremin and real cello. It gets more and more ominous the more you watch, we may never know how that balloon man feels. The alienating effects of modernization are felt in this arresting film, Fellini surely would agree.

For anyone who participates in Gothtober every year, it’s absolutely the kind of pressure some artists dread. Taking part in Gothtober means you are expected to deliver some kind of art, while facing intense public scrutiny, on a constricted schedule, while simultaneously having to deal with your own day-to-day obligations, work and personal relationships! Can you feel the angst?

We think Del Norte had some good fun, with much success!

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Day 17 with Christine Panushka

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Visit www.gothtober.com and click on DAY 17 to see animation by world famous animator, Christine Panushka! This piece is called “Greed” it involves some pumpkin-type character/creatures, and a certain dynamic that is all too familiar in today’s society. Perhaps this dynamic has always prevailed, but it does seem that lately it’s more pervasive. However, not to worry, as you can see, greed can only go so far, it has an end, just like everything else. But what happens next? Hmmmm!

This author (Head Candy Corn of Gothtober.com) would like to point out that Christine Panushka has been my mentor for 30 years. The guidance, patience, and teachings from Christine as my instructor and mentor over the years has helped me to be the artist I am today. With Christine’s support, I have grown up to lead and take part in projects that not only push my own quest to learn, but to delight in collaborations that help my fellow artists push themselves to make art.

I am not the only one who feels this way, there are hundreds of us. She has built armies of animators, instructors, artists, and film makers, so here’s a 21 Pumpkin salute from Gothtober to Panushka Power!

Find out more about Christine Panushka by visiting her Wikipedia Page! Wow! 

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LA Ghosts for DAY 16

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Day 16 of www.gothtober.com features the night antics of a couple of wayward ghosts on their way to somewhere else. The film is called “Terminus” having to do with the termination of life, along with the terminals we wait in while we’re taking whatever journeys both life and death require of us.

Shot in and around Vernon and 26th St. of Los Angeles, the ghosts make their way in and around the belly of the city. They go a-haunting among diesel engines, intermodal containers, and corridors of active and forgotten tracks.

Julianna Parr does Gothtober artwork under the guise of Danny Torrance, Ichabod Brains, and other pseudonyms. She is head Candy Corn of the Gothtober Countdown Calendar.

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Lori Meeker and the Lava Lady for DAY 15

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Visit www.gothtober.com and click on Day 15 and watch this dear sweet tribute to one of LA’s historic eccentric personalities who passed away in September of 2016. It’s Lori Meeker’s puppet vignette about Rae Susan Strauss! Sometimes you’d see her in the crosswalk, never in a rush, gliding past, one of the regulars, always a curious human to witness. She lived in a black lava covered house, thus, her nickname was “The Lava Lady.”

Not many of us understood her, but we liked her. We liked her a lot, she wore her hair in a tall spike, wore bellbottom pants and extremely tall platform shoes. She was a poet. She was many things. Find out more about The Lava Lady by reading this LA Weekly article.

Find out more about the wonderful work of Lori Meeker by visiting her website! 

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Ian MacKinnon’s Witchy Gothtober DAY 14

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Visit www.gothtober.com and click on Day 14 for the most helpful advice you’ll get this year!

Ian MacKinnan’s coven of witchy sisters are going to guide you toward greatness, if only you’ll listen to their common sense wisdom! Each of them is over 500 years old, so if you think better… Witch Please, think again!

Studies have shown that regular humans like us can gain infinite knowledge from the centuries of experience our dear majikal wimmin sisters have gleaned. If you don’t like what they are saying, don’t be too vocal about it, they can say incantations that make you grow hair on your eyeballs, it’s best that you not explore their wrath! We think you’ll find that if you apply these helpful bits of learning to your life lexicon, you will achieve a level of balance that was thought to be long lost, according to legendary lore.