Happy Halloween!

I found this on one of my favorite art/photography sites called mymodernmet.com. It is a cool site and has lots of great art finds on a daily basis.
If you are still in need of a costume idea for a Halloween event tonight and have the artistic ability to pull one of these off, I promise that people will be impressed.

Pop Art

Lucy

Jack the Pumpkin King

Van Gogh

Roy Lichtenstein

There are a few more here.  I am most impressed by the Pop Art one since it took me several seconds to actually be convinced it was a real person wearing make up.  

I do not have the ability to come up with a unique costume like these and ended up going to a party as Paul Bunyan.  Which means I just wanted an excuse to carry my axe, Jedidiah, around town and dress in pretty much my go to outfit....flannel and boots.  Happy Halloween!

-Brian

Artwork of the Week: Sliced

Sliced by Quentin Vijoux

I thought since today was All Hallows' Eve eve I should post something somewhat gruesome to mark the occasion. So here you have it. 

You can see more of the illustrator's very cool work on his website: www.quentinvijoux.com

- Cathleen 

The Revenge of Tricky Treats!

This past weekend we hosted our Fifth Annual Halloween Horrorfest so I decided to throw down on the tricky treats spread again, but this time actually TAKE PHOTOS of the gross-looking/good-tasting food we made before our guests completely decimated the blood-curdling buffet. I used the original line-up from a couple of years ago as my guide, but added a few new gruesome characters to liven things up a bit. I left the naming rights to Micky this year, and some of the place cards definitely got a chuckle out of our friends. Feast your eyeballs!

Braaaaains!

(cheese ball "brain" with Triscuits and Wheat Thins)

[Cheese ball was made from a combination of this recipe and this recipe from Martha.]

Chips & Barf

(little jack-o-lantern spewing forth guacamole with tortilla chips)

Human Vegetables

(the usual suspects: carrots, celery, broccoli, ranch dip and hummus)

Disembodied Mouths 

(apple slices, caramel spread, and mini marshmallow "teeth") 

Kitty Litter Cake

(yellow cake, chocolate frosting, crumbled Golden Oreos and Tootsie Roll "cat turds") 

[Inspired by this recipe.]

Baby Fingers

(Lit'l Smokies wrapped up in crescent roll dough with sliced almond "fingernails" plus ketchup and mustard)

Crapple Sin-amon Muffins

(Apple Cinnamon Muffins whipped up by our gracious co-host Neal Block) 

Breaky Bones

(expertly decorated skeleton cookies made by the beautiful and talented Shannon McKeon) 

Wishing you all a devilishly delicious Halloween this year! 

- Cathleen 

The Witch

Halloween is less than a week away and although I could do without the candy (except the 100 Grand which is the best candy bar ever created) I do love a good excuse to dress up. I've got a Halloween party this weekend and since I'll be flying solo, I was thinking something along these lines:

Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch from the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches.

She is simultaneously terrifying and fascinating. I first saw The Witches when I was ten years old and it scared the pants off me. But I was totally captivated by Angelica Huston's character. Or maybe it was just Angelica Huston herself. 

So much glamour wrapped up in one person.

And glamour is what Halloween is all about, my friends. Plus, you can't get more Halloween-y than a good witch. 

Or the Grand High Witch, as it happens.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

Short Film of the Month: '8' by Acim Vasic

'8' by Acim Vasic from Partizan on Vimeo

I am no expert movie critic. I don't claim to be some film connoisseur. But I do have a thing for finding interesting and well made shorts. In fact, I find a short film to be a lot more enjoyable than most full-length movies and they don't take up nearly as much time. There are a lot out there and several sites where one can find quality flicks.  The two sites I frequent most are vimeo.com and shortoftheweek.com.

Creating a successful short film is, in some ways, harder than a feature-length movie.  They are almost always independently produced and budgets are relatively tiny.  Actors are not always of the highest caliber and a lot of work falls in the laps of a small number of people.  

For these reasons, and many others, it makes finding a really good one very exciting and I hope to post a new one on the last Thursday of every month.

Since we are approaching Veterans Day, I thought this one above, being a military comedy, would be a good start.

'8' by Acim Vasic runs roughly 10 minutes long and doesn't have one word in the script.  Sound and imagery tell the story of two soldiers who cross paths in a setting similar to WWII Bastogne.  It is not laugh out loud funny, but creates a dark humorous tone in a situation that would not be very funny in real life.  There is a bit of a Tom and Jerry-esque battle of the wits between the two soldiers, yet it is accomplished without getting too goofy.  The sound throughout is very crisp and defined, from the crunching of the snow to the heavy breathing of the two men; it helps add to the tension and becomes it's own character in a way. There is also a great appearance by an owl towards the end that is a wonderful little addition.  He is observing the ridiculousness of the showdown and seems to have a real interest in the outcome.

I hope you enjoy this little film as much as I do and I look forward to posting my next short film find in a month.

-Brian

The Hunt for Red (and Green) in October

Rainbow Stocking 

$24.95 from Land of Nod

It's never too early to start thinking about Christmas. Christmas STOCKINGS, that is. We are searching for a new set for our growing family and there is a surprising lack of quality oversized socks to hang from our mantle and fill with toothbrushes and broken candy canes. I want something that looks classic yet not so cute that a surly teenager won't roll his/her eyes when we pull it out every year. See? I'm really thinking ahead on this one. After an exhaustive internet exploration, I think we've narrowed it down to these fine few.

Red & Gray Natural Fair Isle Stocking 

$34.50 from Pottery Barn Kids

Confetti Stocking

$24.95 from Land of Nod

Quilted Red Ribbon Velvet Stocking

$19 from Pottery Barn Kids

Pick Stitch Stocking

$24 from Land of Nod

Ice Skate Glitter Stocking

$34.50 from Pottery Barn Kids

Psst... Land of Nod also has a great selection of novelty stocking stuffers that would thrill adult and kid alike come Christmas morn. Seriously, I would have killed for this bell when I was a whippersnapper. And is there anything funnier than fake dog poop?

- Cathleen 

Artwork of the Week: Visit My Web Site

Visit My Web Site by Charley Harper, 2003

When we left Brooklyn, we finally said goodbye to the little cockroaches that darted across the countertops every time we flipped the kitchen lights on. The new house in Durham has it's own breed of home invaders, however. Spiders sit poised in every corner of this place. I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of bugs, in fact, most of the time I just look the other way. As long as they're not bothering me, I won't bother them. But now that there's a baby crawling around putting all of the things straight into his mouth, I'm trying to keep a tidier house. So I started dust-busting the spiders up, thinking it would be the most effective means to their end and involve the least hand-to-hand combat. Big mistake. When Micky decided it was time to empty out the Dirt Devil last week, they all came crawling out ALIVE AND WELL. I didn't see, but I imagined it probably looked like a giant spider king made of a bunch of smaller angry spiders and I was so grateful he was there to wrestle each one of their spindly legs into the garbage.

Despite my aversion to webs and the cobs that spin them, this is my favorite work by illustrator Charley Harper. The bee stuck in the bottom left of the spider's silk is the very same that I considered getting as a tattoo. 

A lithograph of his original painting is available for $75 on charleyharperartstudio.com.

- Cathleen