Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Gothtober Socks it to You! DAY 1

goth_1_sox_002Gothtober 2013 is LIVE!

Lady Winnifred Robarts heralds in the new Gothtober 2013 Season with a wonderful assemblage of Halloween socks! To celebrate her launch, she is wearing orange Halloween pumpkin and cat socks with black pants and a lime green shirt (see photo.)

Here is a secret factoid about the very first pair of socks in the Gothtober DAY 1 Video: 

At the end of last season (2012) I cleaned out my sock drawer and finally let go of them – both pairs had holes in the heels and I decided it was time.  I was such a busy headcase that I didn’t remember my plan to feature them in a Gothtober 2013 submission.  So this Fall when I went to get them all out of the sock storage, I couldn’t find the most important pair of the collection!  Aaaahhh!  So I scoured the web trying to find some – Talbots, Ebay, every purveyor of online socks imaginable, and even a local sock store called “The Sock Drawer”.  Alas I could not find an exact duplicate of the original socks, so I settled on a close facsimile.  The originals were described as “pumpkins on vines on tan trouser socks” but they also had little red berries too.  The stand-ins are described as “pumpkins and gourds on heather trouser socks”, so not *too* different.  In the course of my search, I found so many other great pairs of socks that I kind of went wild and bought at least 7 pairs.  These are featured in the photos but don’t necessarily have their own unique slides.

So you see, dear reader, Gothtober artists go to EVERY POSSIBLE LENGTH to do realize their creative vision. Currently, Ms. Robarts is working on her front yard Halloween display, and if anyone reading the blog wishes to share photos of their yard and it’s Halloween decoration, send ’em in, we’ll be showing photos of some of the crazy yards you can find in Los Angeles!

One more thing about Gothtober DAY 1: You might also find it interesting that Ms. Robarts seems to have lost one of the Halloween cat socks.  So the photo on that slide is of just one sock.

 

sock_models_002
The sock models for Winnifred Robart’s “Halloween Socks” piece, featuring many many fabulous fall feet!

 

 

Posted on

Gothtober Has Ordered its Trick or Treat for Unicef Boxes!

Okay! Gothtober applications are over, Gothtober artists have been chosen (to be revealed to the public soon enough) and while the Gothtober artists toil away, we prepare for another tradition: Trick or Treat for Unicef! My Grandma Bautista would take part in raising money for the United Nations Childrens Fund, and as a kid, I thought that was really cool. I liked being a kid who could help other kids around the world. Here is an awesome PSA from Elizabeth Montgomery (of Bewitched) from 1969, asking you to Trick or Treat for Unicef, but the address on it isn’t correct, so don’t use that if you want more info, go here instead.

 

unicef_grab

Posted on

The Great Gothtober 2013 Call for Artists!

goth_calling_art

Dear Vicious Vile Vampiric Virtuosos,

The sluice gates have opened, and the Official Gothtober Call for Artists begins RIGHT NOW. 

  • APPLICATIONS ARE DUE AUGUST 9th, 2013 >>>> Apply HERE 
  • Participants will be notified of admission on August 12th
  • Upon acceptance, a $25 registration fee is required.
  • Theme: Airport (Gothtober Airlines)
  • Get explanations for just about all of this by visiting the (newly revised!) Gothtober FAQ

Maybe you’ve decided it’s time to share that super secret pumpkin bread recipe after all. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to wear a giant papiér maché head and sit in a tree? Your dog talks to you in a calming and reassuring voice, and you finally captured it on camera? We want to know more! Don’t be shy, don’t sit on those laurels, shove those laurels to the side! Apply for Gothtober and welcome the fire under your ass that we will surely stoke with each creative gory deadline!

This is an opportunity to roust your creative spirit and shake out the mulligrubs. Break out the popsicle sticks, the bubblegum and the fake blood! Get busy with something you want to share for all the world to see. If you don’t think of yourself as an “artist” well, we don’t care. Because you’re not an “artist” you’re an ARTIST and Gothtober is here to prove it. We don’t care if you’re Little Sally Nobody or the Dalai Lama, you both probably have really interesting things to say.

Seriously. Apply for the hell of it, what could possibly go wrong?

Crunchy lost souls with butter and slug slime,

JP Head Candycorn

 

 

Posted on

Scare LA: Coming to YOU August 10th-11th, 2013

scareLA_skelly

Right smack dab in the middle of Downtown LA will be something you don’t want to miss in early August, a grand display of all things terribly wrong (which means it’s terribly right in Gothtober terms) in the name of jack o’ lanterns, vampire teeth, zombies and more! It’s the very first Los Angeles convention dedicated to Halloween! It’s SCARE LA!!! 

Rub shoulders with some of the titans of spooky special effects, learn how to turn your house into an awe-inspiring domain of intrigue and terror, a haunt of no return! You could talk to Garner Holt, who has built thousands of figures for all of Southern California’s major theme parks as well as casinos, museums, restaurants and retail stores around the world. This guy got started in animatronics from building his own backyard haunted house years ago, and now he wants to share his knowledge! This is just the tip of the coffin, there is so much more buried under the surface, go see!

Here is the FULL SCHEDULE of classes and workshops at Scare LA, from how to carve tombstones to costume aging and distressing techniques. Learn how to make custom music for haunted attractions, attend a workshop on haunted maze design, see how to do casting and molding, make zombie prosthetics. There are even “Green Halloween” and “Upcycling your Halloween” workshops!

Exhibitors will be showcasing their freaky stuff, there will be haunt experiences, roaming monsters, and a screening room with some great stuff on it from local horror filmmakers and premiere attraction previews!

GET TICKETS! One-day tickets are $25 and $45, and weekend passes are $45 and $75. The higher, “Fear Freak” prices provide preferred seating and access to classes and workshops. The venue is at 1933 S. Broadway, Los Angeles. (aka LA Mart, a 724,000-square-foot home design center with plenty of showroom space)

 

Posted on

Halloween 35th Anniversary Blu-Ray-Hey-Hey

It’s the 35th Anniversary of John Carpenter’s Halloween which means it’s time for a special edition Blu-ray release! Featuring commentary by Carpenter himself, take a trip down memory lane to watch one of the great prodigious horror films of the century. Halloween was selected intomichael_myers the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.This brand new shiny HD presentation’s transfer was supervised by the original cinematographer. This means you’ll be able to see every pore in Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis’s) face as she freaks out while many other sexually promiscuous substance-abusing teens meet their untimely demise in blood-curdling High Definition!
Bonus features on Halloween 35th Anniversary Blu-ray include:

  • All-new commentary track with writer/director John Carpenter and star Jamie Lee Curtis;
  • “The Night She Came Home” new featurette with Jamie Lee Curtis (HD);
  • On Location;
  • Trailers;
  • TV & Radio Spots;
  • Additional Scenes from TV Version

It’ll be released by Amazon on September 24th, 2013

Posted on

Griffith Park’s Haunted Hayride is Ba-a-a-a-ack… (shiver)

Screen shot 2013-07-25 at 2.02.36 PM

Oh god.

It’s back, it’s really back, and it’s promising to be more skin-crawling than ever. Take the quintessential charm of a hayride and then freak it the hell out with zombies that hang onto the cart and hiss in your ear and attempt to attack you and you have got an A for effort, my friend.

Even if you are the most stalwart “nothing scares me ever” kind of person, and you ride the whole thing with your arms crossed, looking for every rubber mask and thread of string, you must admit: they go all out.

The Old Zoo and B Rock (the hike to B rock is no small potatoes) have been deemed the most paranormally active locations in all of California, and Griffith Park being so big, has been host to quite a few episodes of torture and murder. This year’s show will be based on real events (ack ack ack) so prepare for some wandering souls that are going to want to climb on your hay cart.

‘Nuff said.

Tickets go on Sale Soon, meantime, visit the site! 

Posted on

Great Flamin’ Brains it’s Oonstein’s Gothtober DAY 20!

Stay Golden, Oh Golden Brain…

Are you a right brained person, or a left brained person? Never fear, find pumpkin #20 and the rainbow bridge of all hemispheres in all colors surprises and delights in this brain counting film from the cerebellum oblongata of Oonstein! As mentioned in previous posts, it is the 10th anniversary of Gothtober, and artists were encouraged to celebrate our very first decade with the number 10, or a Halloween theme, and Oonstein has succeeded in doing BOTH in an especially brainy way.

I’ve been in Oonstein’s workshop, and I was astonished to see brains brains everywhere. The original brain was hand sculpted, and then replicated into an unusually large encephalic stockpile of literally “buckets of brains.” Many buckets full of tiny resin brains were sitting here there and everywhere on shelves, ledges, wherever you could find a surface, there were brains. Trying not to appear too enthusiastic, I casually enquired “What are you going to do with these?” and the answer was “Oh, you’ll see.”

That was awhile ago, so imagine my great surprise to know that ALL THOSE BRAINS turned into a Busby Berkeley-esque tour de force of animated colorful formation! Actually, by now, there may be brains that we don’t even know about, the place could be overflowing with gray matter, and what Oonstein does with them next is anybody’s guess.

In the meantime, let your thoughts wander, imagine your brain, free from your head, wandering around becoming part of a special brainy dance troupe, or being in a brain diorama, expand your imagination and see where your mind goes!

Posted on

Sweetening Things UP for Gothtober DAY 19

Counting with Countess Von Count…

Today we bring you a selection of recipes in honor of Gothtober’s 10th Anniversary, courtesy of Countess Von Count! Click pumpkin #19 on the Gothtober Countdown Calendar and Drool your way through a superabundance of delectable dishes designed to make all of your sweet tooth dreams come true!

Anyone who knows Vero Lego knows that she is an EVIL BAKER. She is evil in that her creations are always creative, always delicious and ALWAYS irresistible! This year she went right off the deep end in working her tail off making a TON of crazy creepy recipes that you can print out and make yourself in time for October 31st on All Hallow’s Eve!

What’s more, she was able to bring her baked goods in to CraftNight and have an unofficial “tasting panel” at Akbar and people were having trouble eating just “one” of the ghosts (which purportedly contain Nutter Butters™) among other treats. I myself enjoyed the mellow snickerdoodle taste of a “witch’s broom” paired with it’s salty pretzel broomstick. Still others enjoyed “Ogre Toes” and Terry (handsome Akbar watchman) kept sneaking in to eat more cupcakes, which is probably the best endorsement a cook could have. He even took home a couple of monster eyes! The “tasting panel” was very satisfied indeed, and contributed to a

When gentlemen in a gay bar ignore their “boyish figure” to eat home made sweet treats, you know it’s a success! Hat’s off to te chef! Also… if you notice that the Countess resembles a certain puppet vampire from Sesame Street, that’s no accident. The Count, as he is known, was played by Muppeteer, Jerry Nelson, for 40 years before Jerry passed away this year. This counting piece is a lovely homage to a wonderful man, who I had the pleasure of working with in 1995 – 96 on Muppets Tonight. He was also famous for playing Dr. Julius Strangepork, Floyd Pepper (my favorite) and Kermit’s nephew, Robin. Find out more about Jerry’s legacy by visiting the Celebrating Jerry Nelson channel on YouTube. And you can read an essay by Jerry about his career here a the Muppet Wikia.

– Julianna (JP) Parr, Head Candy Corn, Gothtober.com