House of Shadows

Life’s Little Blessings!

It’s been raining cats and dogs for several days now. That’s not unusual for the Pacific Northwest, but the rain tends to dampen my spirits after a while. You would think someone who lives in the same town she was born in over a half-century ago would have adjusted by now. Anyway, tonight I decided I just needed to do something to help lift my spirits. I spent some time looking at family scrapbook pages I’ve done and decided to share one of my favorites with you. My series on Vampiress Morbidia will continue tomorrow, the big day for the premiere of “Twilight”.

There is nothing that makes me smile more than thinking about my grandson, Phoenix. I can’t believe he is two years old already. The pictures you see below are some of the first pictures I took after his birth. The one with Phoenix in his mother’s arms was taken at the moment she got to see her son for the first time. It was a moment I thought I would never see. You see, I have two sons and every time I mentioned grandchildren they would say talk to my brother. But I’m sure my son, Michael, would agree that becoming a father is the best thing that has ever happened in his life. It’s such a pleasure to watch him with his son. He is the loving parent I always knew he would be and I’m so proud of the way they are raising their son.

My younger son, Patrick, lives in New Zealand and has not had the opportunity to meet his nephew yet. He will be home for a visit in April and I can’t wait. I haven’t seen him for over three years. With the distance, cost of travel, and his busy schedule we don’t get to see him often…and of course I always cry the moment I see him and again when I have to say goodbye until the next time. My tears are a mixture of happiness and sorrow. The happiness comes from knowing he has accomplished the goal he set for himself very early in life; the sadness from the reality of being separated by such a huge geographical distance. But at the end of the day I feel blessed to be a mother and a grandmother and thinking about that always helps wash the winter blues away.

We took a drive to Sleighbells in Sherwood, Oregon today. It’s a fabulous Christmas shop that is open all year “and” it has a room dedicated to Halloween collectibles. So far my short description doesn’t do justice to this shop. It is a HUGE farmhouse that would comfortably house at least four or five families, stocked full of every kind of Christmas collectible you could imagine and ornaments of all shapes, colors, and sizes. They have a counter where they sell homemade fudge, in a variety of delicious flavors, and a cute little café where you can enjoy lunch and rest your weary bones after all that shopping. But wait there is more. The shop sits in the middle of a U-Cut Christmas Tree Farm with the most well-groomed trees I have ever seen. Customers are transported to various cutting areas in a tractor-pulled hay wagon and come back to a fresh cup of hot chocolate in the shed while their personally picked tree is wrapped for a safe trip home. If that isn’t enough to make you wish you lived close enough to visit this shop, here is something else… they have live Peacocks who love to strut and show off their colors. Very close in proximity was a pen with turkeys, so homely in contrast to the Peacocks. I think perhaps we should go back after Thanksgiving and check on those fat turkeys. So if you find yourself in Oregon, near Portland, a trip to Sleighbells might be a fun side trip Website: www.sleighbells.biz.

Vampiress Morbidia

©2008 Laurie Franklin

This is the fourth article in the series featuring the work of Laurie Franklin of Diamond Bar, California. If you want to read all posts related to this series, click on the link for Vampiress Morbidia in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

Today we will take a look at the process Laurie used for applying Vampiress Morbidia’s hair. Her hair is made of a product called Silky Yaki Weaving, 20” long that can be purchased from Sally Beauty Supply. It is 100% Toyokalon, which is cheaper than human hair and does not easily tangle. Laurie uses a vent brush on the hair and says it draws through quite easily. The hair is sewn onto a binding material and is attached to the sculpture’s head with Super Glue. As you can see from the photos below, Laurie just started wrapping the strips behind one ear and ending at the other. She continued to add more hair strips until she reached the crown. After all the hair was applied, Laurie cut the bangs. Laurie used 3½ lengths of the product at $6.99 per length to give Morbidia the nice full head of hair you see in the finished pictures.

Tomorrow I will post more details about the support system for the sculpture and the process for making the arms…

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows.

Vampiress Morbidia

©2008 Laurie Franklin

Morbidia’s transformation continues in today’s post. If you might want to read all posts related to this series, click on the link Vampiress Morbidia in the Category drop-down menu in the sidebar.

Even bald, Morbidia is an imposing figure. She will stand six feet tall when completed so let’s take a look at how her body is formed. Laurie uses a dress form to shape the torso of her sculptures. She begins by wrapping the dress form with saran wrap to protect it. The next step is to shape wire mesh over the lower part of the neck, the shoulders and bust area. Laurie uses aluminum rain gutter mesh that you can purchase at any home improvement store. The mesh is covered with a 3/4 ” layer of Celluclay both inside and out for the underlayment.

When the Celluclay is completely dry, Laurie uses a paint brush to cover the form with a slightly thinned down coat of Sculpt or Coat. The purpose of this step is to seal and protect the mache. If not sealed, the mache will pull the water out of the DAS clay causing it to dry too quickly. When dry, the form will be rock hard.  At this point, the form is removed from the dress form while it is still flexible enough to give just enough for slide over the cures of the form.

The next step is adding DAS clay on top of the sealed Celluclay. Laurie likes to think of this layer as her skin. She tries to keep this layer about 3/8” thick and spreads it on with her thumbs, a wooden potter’s clay tool, and a paintbrush. She also uses plenty of water to keep the clay lubricated and to keep the tools from dragging too much. Once the “skin layer” is dry she coats the torso with another layer of Sculpt or Coat to seal the DAS clay. Next she starts adding details like clavicle, tendons and upper breasts.

While sculpting Morbidia, Laurie experimented with Paperclay. She used DAS clay on one side of Morbidia’s body and Paperclay on the other side. She found that Paperclay shrunk about 15%, was much easier to spread with her thumbs, sanded a bit easier and dries lighter. The final step at this point was to sand the completed torso with 100 grit sanding screen. Laurie uses sanding screen because it lasts longer than sandpaper. The reason she does the sanding at this point is to see how the details and form are looking, if necessary she can still take appropriate steps to make adjustments.

Sanding DAS or Paperclay is a very dusty process. If at all possible it’s a good idea to sand it outdoors. I have a large covered porch which works well unless the wind blows the rain in under the porch. Because we live in such a rainy area, my husband installed a vent fan in my studio. However, I still prefer sanding outside because the décor in my studio is“black and white”. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but sanding clay is still dusty even with the vent fan running. It’s a good idea to wear a dust mask when sanding DAS or Paperclay because the dust is superfine. Admittedly I’m not good about wearing a dust mask and someday I may pay the price if I don’t correct that behavior. So as my mother would say, “Do as I say, not as I do”.

In the large photo of Vampiress Morbidia at the top of the page Laurie has added eyelashes and more eyeliner around her eyes. The lashes were inserted individually with a pair of tweezers and a tiny dab of Super Glue in small holes made with a push pin. In the picture at the bottom of the page the damage from Morbidia’s tragic nose dive has been repaired. All the work you have seen so far had been completed when the sculpture fell over on Laurie’s studio floor which has commercial type carpeting with no padding covering a concrete base. Laurie had to back up as step at this point, use clay to repair the damaged areas and repaint. She referred to the accident as a SLIGHT SETBACK and reached out to friends to support her request for a “blood transfusion” for Morbidia. A good sense of humor is certainly the best defense to get you through difficult times.

Halloween Forum members had questions about how long these sculptures will last. Here is Laurie’s response, “As far as how long the clay will hold up? Really only time will tell, but I would expect these sculpts to last for many, many years if properly displayed and cared for. I take great pains to make sure that everything is sealed and NOT exposed to exterior conditions, with the exception of dry conditions outside for a few hours. I think they’d hold up just fine if in a covered area even though it’s outside and wet. That’s one of the reasons I seal everything really well with Sculpt-Or-Coat and flat plastic varnish.”

Tomorrow I will continue with Morbidia’s progress and show you how her hair is applied. You will also notice that her repairs included not only a nose job, but breast enhancement as well! It made me giggle and I told Laurie if my body was in such skilled hands as hers I would go for the package deal too. More tomorrow…

Thank you for being our guest at the House of Shadows. Please come back soon!

As a side note, I have added new books and movies into the store. Every time I add more to the book list, my personal wish list grows longer so I’m leaving notes where Santa can find them while there are still enough days to get on the “Nice” list.

So how does one go about giving birth to a Vampiress? If your name is Laurie Franklin you begin with a simple Styrofoam head, Celluclay, DAS, round wooden balls, gutter screen, at bit of clear nail polish, a few coats of paint, and a good sealer like Sculpt or Coat…and before you know it you have a haunting beauty like the Vampiress Morbidia standing before you.

Well perhaps it’s not that easy, but those are the main elements used to create Morbidia. The magic comes from the mind and hands of her creator. In today’s post I will show the transformation of Morbidia’s head and facial features, tomorrow we will look at how her body is formed.

Laurie uses a Styrofoam head as an armature and shapes the basic facial structure with Celluclay. You can find these heads at Sally’s Beauty Supply, on eBay, or at a wig supply shop. The eyes are added very early in the process, which helps Laurie develop the character of her subject. “Easy Eyes”, available at Haunters Hangout, are printed and applied with decoupage glue on a 1″ wooden ball that has been painted white. The eyes are finished with several coats of clear nail polish to give them the look of glass. This adds depth to the eyeball and also protects it from the inevitable smudges that it gets while sculpting and painting. Laurie uses a clean paintbrush and clean water to wipe off the smudges.

The finish work for sculpting the face is done with DAS, an air dry clay that can be sanded to a smooth finish. When the clay is dry a protective layer of Sculpt or Coat is applied to seal the clay. Laurie applies the paint in layers to add depth to the facial features. Although Morbidia looks like she has been airbrushed, Laurie uses paint brushes to apply the paint. If you own an air brush and are skilled at applying paint with that method it would certainly work.

In the pictures below, the example of the Styrofoam armature is from Laurie’s work on “The Bride” but it will give you a sense of the vision it takes to transform all these simple elements into Laurie’s beautiful works of art.

All of the products used in the construction of Vampiress Morbidia are easy to find at your local craft or hardware store. If you are like most cost conscious crafters you will clip those 40% off coupons for Michaels craft store and arm wrestle yor friends and neighbors for their used newspaper to clip theirs as well.

Links to resources:

Haunters Hangout “Easy Eyes” http://www.hauntershangout.com/home/easyeyes.asp

Sculpt or Coat http://sculpturalarts.com/foamcoating.htm

This series will continue tomorrow with construction of Morbidia’s torso and a revisit of the tragic accident that reshaped her future….

Thank you readers and subscribers for the encouragement you give me.

If you are a new guest, I hope you will return to the House of Shadows soon.

Laurie Franklin

Halloween Night 2008

Our first featured artist at the House of Shadows is Laurie Franklin, who lives in Diamond Bar, California with her husband of 26 years, Chuck, and beloved 12 1/2 year old yellow lab, Emily. Laurie always enjoyed Halloween and became interested in the crafting opportunities when she discovered the HalloweenForum in October, 2003. Laurie says, “I was amazed at the creativity and skill found there as well as the camaraderie of its members”.

Although Laurie was experienced in a number of other crafts; including woodworking, sewing, gardening, and home decor, she had never applied those skills to Halloween-related art. After lurking in the shadows for about a year she was caught by the spirit and knew it was time to make her first monster. She really liked the idea of using mache but had no background in art, anatomy or anything else she felt was relevant. But Laurie didn’t let that stop her! Her first props included a witch and a vampire that were not built to be anatomically correct. She describes those first works of art as “…a hairy, ear-less witch and a bald vampire with funky ears”.

Her next build, a werewolf, challenged Laurie to combine human and canine features. She used faux fur as hair for the first time and made good use of her dog’s nose, ears, and teeth as a reference for building the werewolf. Laurie built her confidence along the way by reminding herself, “… it’s a monster and whatever I do, it’ll be fine.”

With three props complete, Laurie decided to add Frankenstein to her growing collection of monsters. She knew Frankenstein had to be over-sized and wanted his ears to be a bit more accurate than the vampire. This is where the advice of a very talented forum member and skilled sculptor named blacklightmike (Mike Melillo) was called into play. Laurie had admired his work for a long time and says his advice was not only helpful, it “saved me”. She used a tracing of her husband’s hands and enlarged them for this character.

After playing around with making pumpkin faces for awhile Laurie knew she had to make “The Bride” of Frankenstein. She was determined to sculpt a character with anatomical accuracy this time. Laurie felt a need to learn more about the subject so she purchased some anatomy and sculpting books. She also asked for critiques from pro sculptors along the way while working on “The Bride”; which helped keep her from going too far off course. This project gave Laurie her first experience with using dental acrylic. “The Bride’s” teeth were made by Laurie using a mold of her own teeth.

Not one to just practice what she knows, Laurie now wanted to play around with skin textures. Her dear friend, “Spookineer”, made a mechanism for her in which a pair of eyes would move very slowly as if looking around a room. She knew exactly what she would do with this mechanism and proceeded to start sculpting “The Horror Portrait”. Great big eyeballs and tons of wrinkling is what she wanted. He also needed to look like he was breaking through the wall and through a picture frame. This type of sculpture is called “relief” and was another first for Laurie.

“Aloitious” the elf was the next project and Laurie felt he was a nice departure from all the horror related sculpts. Although not a monster, he was still a fantasy character which gave her the freedom to do whatever she wanted with his look. Laurie said with big smile, “I soooo wanted to put fangs on that little guy.”

“Vampiress Morbidia” was named before Laurie had any idea what color hair or eyes she would get. She only knew that she wanted her to be beautiful, yet frightening. Vampiress Mobidia also had to be anatomically accurate. It was such a fascinating experience to watch Morbidia’s transformation, each coat of paint gave her face more depth, more character until you expected her bodiless head to blink or move. And then it happened…

I will never forget the day Laurie posted a notice about Mobidia’s accident. Her beautiful work-in-progress fell over and suffered a broken nose and cracked skull. But with the loving support of her husband, who she refers to as wonderfully tolerant, Laurie dried her tears and pulled herself together after a day of mourning. She rebounded with her wonderful sense of humor, got right back to work, repaired the damage and finished this awe inspiring work months before Halloween night.

Gallery of Laurie’s Halloween Projects 2006 - 2008

We will be taking a closer look at Laurie’s work on Vampiress Morbidia this week, and with luck she will allow me to post a more detailed look at all of her projects in the future. It is encouraging to note that Laurie did not discover her sculpting interest or talent before the age of 55. As one who shares “age digits” in common with Laurie for a few days each year, I am inspired to jump in with both feet and see what I can accomplish as I continue to study her work.

In closing for today I leave you with these words of inspiration from Laurie Franklin …. “Although I did not have any kind of art training, I didn’t let that stop me from trying new things. I never would have dreamt that I could sculpt. So I guess the message here is never say never and don’t assume that you cannot create something wonderful without first giving it a try….you never know!”

Stay tuned , we’ll be back soon to take a closer look at the birth of a vampiress….

Vampiress Morbidia

© 2008 Laurie Franklin

I’m really excited about the release of the movie “Twilight” based on the vampire series written by Stephenie Meyers. There have been four books released in the series: Twilight, New Moon, Breaking Dawn, and Eclipse. Stephanie Meyers is said to be the best writer of vampire stories since Anne Rice. The writer chose Forks, Washington, a small economically struggling town in the Olympic Peninsula, as the setting for her stories. The town of Forks is less than a three-hour drive from where I live. But even more exciting to me is the fact that the movie was filmed in the little hillside town of Kalama where my son lives; just 8 miles from our home in Longview, Washington.

Kalama’s High School is an old brick school building, the likes of which are difficult to find these days. I’m sure it was the charm of the untouched school building that brought the movie producers to the little hole in the wall town of Kalama. But perhaps it wouldn’t have been discovered if Christian Brando had not chosen to establish his home on the Kalama River after he was released from prison for the shooting death of his sister’s lover. What a small world we live in.

I have listed Stephenie Meyers’ books for sale on the Books page and pre-release option to order the movie “Twilight” on the Movie page if you are interested.

The movie version of Twilight is scheduled for release next week. What perfect timing for introducing Laurie Franklin, the first of the 5 Star Artists to be featured on House of Shadows.net. The progression of Laurie’s work on her 2008 sculpture, Vampiress Morbidia, will be the subject of several posts beginning next week.

Thank you being our guest at House of Shadows. Stay tuned for more vampire stories…

Several new features have been added to the House of Shadows Blog this week. As an Amazon Associate I am able to offer my readers the convenience of shopping for Amazon products though my site. You will find a search box in the side bar that allows you to search for any product offered by Amazon. There are also pages listing books and movies that may interest you; however, you can also search for any title using the search box in the sidebar.

Offering this service to my viewers is a way to help support the cost of maintaining this site and provides the opportunity for a home-based business in the semi-retired, too-young-to-be-idle phase of my life.

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