House of Shadows

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.

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…

Here is something I pulled out of my idea files today. It’s a simple way to create a faux leather finish on paper mache. It is also a good technique to use on old books you want transform into a Witch’s Spell Book for your Halloween props collection.

Materials List:

• Black Acrylic Paint
• Sienna Acrylic Paint
• Crackle Medium
• Cordovan Shoe Polish

1. Paint your mache object or book with black acrylic paint; let it dry
2. Apply the crackle medium according to the directions on the bottle
3. Let the crackle medium cure according to directions on the bottle
4. Apply a coat of sienna acrylic; let dry before moving to next step
   
5. Finish with an application of cordovan shoe polish (wax not liquid); buff.
   

Important Tips:

• Paintbrush strokes should only go in one direction
• Do not overwork the paint, you will loose the crackling
• Apply as many coats of polish as you want to get the finish you desire

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This beautiful example of moss covered grave art comes from a grave at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France. If you love grave art then a visit to Père Lachaise Cemetery is something that you should definitely put on your life list of things to see and do. It is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France at118.6 acres though there are larger cemeteries in the city’s suburbs.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world and it is reputed to be the world’s most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the graves of those who have enhanced French life over the past 200 years. It is also the site of three World War I memorials.

Of course in today’s economy, the cost of traveling to Paris is beyond reach for most of us. But the internet provides an alternative opportunity to view the history of the cemetery, look over the impressive list of people buried in the historic cemetery, and even take a virtual tour. Read more at this Wikipedia Site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise_Cemetery

As I have said before on this Blog, one of the things I love most about old cemeteries is the aging of the stone and the mosses that provide such beautiful color and contrast to the stone. The picture above is just one example of what every home haunter tries to simulate when building tombstones. Looking at this picture made me wonder if it is possible to grow live moss on tombstones made of foam insulation if a rough finish texture was applied. Perhaps applying monster mud with a bit of sand mixed in. I’m going to do some experimentation this summer to test the application of a Moss Milkshake on the surfaces detailed above. Instead of risking the loss of a finished tombstone.I will make a few small test boards.

If you want to do your own experimenting, there are several recipes on the internet for Moss Milk Shakes; this is the one I’m going to use:

Moss Milkshake Recipe

Place 1 part fresh, clean, green moss with 1 part milk-based culture (yogurt, buttermilk, etc) in a blender; blend to the consistency of a milkshake. Paint or pour mixture onto the object you wish to age, wrap it in plastic and place it in a warm place that is sheltered from sunlight. Open the cover and spray your piece with water periodically to keep it moist but not wet.

If you decide to experiment with aging your tombstones with moss, let me know what kind of results you get. Either post a comment or contact me at: mail@houseofshdows.net

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Vampiress Morbidia

© 2008 Laurie Franklin

It’s exciting to begin the new week with a new series, which I have entitled 5 Star Artists. It will feature the work of artists who have an exceptional talent for building Halloween props, creative designers of home haunts, painters, costume makers, or writers of Halloween stories and poetry. Some of you may already have seen some of the featured works, but I hope to also give you an opportunity to learn more about the artist.

Our first featured guest at the House of Shadows will be Laurie Franklin, a self-taught artist who builds life-size props of amazing quality. Vampiress Morbidia is just one example of Laurie’s work. Stay tuned to meet her creator and watch Morbidia’s transformation from a humble beginning into the haunting creature you see here in finished form.

Thank you for visiting the House of Shadows.