The Art Of Louis Moe

More information here.

The Monsters Of Leonard Baskin

Images from the Monster Brains blog.

Barebones Halloween Extravaganza

We present the popular "Halloween Show" each year as an alternative Halloween community arts event, appropriate for all ages and without a commercial focus, that takes place in a Twin Cities urban neighborhood park.  Over 250 artists, puppeteers, musicians, performers, builders, technicians, ushers, and helpers of all kinds are involved in the creation of each performance. During the past 29 years, the Show has grown from one performance to five, and our combined audience has mushroomed from around 100 to around 8,000. 

Images by schwerdf.

Barebones site here.

Gorenaments

These are pretty nifty.

Click here for the shop.

Now Watching: The Halloween Kid

From artist Rhode Montijo.

Click below (starts at 3:29)...

The Circus Of Lost Dolls

Beautiful works by Marianna Nardin.

Thanks, Revenant Manor, for the heads up!

Click here to see more.

Spoops: The Little Spirits Of Halloween

Who changes the leaves? Summons the autumn winds? Wakes ghosts and spirits to haunt houses and chill the air? Why, Spoops, of course! They hatch from the smallest gourds in your local pumpkin patch at the start of every fall, then tend to your town to ensure everything is just right for Halloween.

My friend A.J. Locascio has a children's book coming out this August, based upon the small creatures he invented and sells throughout the year - The Spoops.  I'm a proud owner of a few of them.

As someone who has looked into getting a book published, I have nothing but immense respect for the people who can pull it off.  It's truly impressive.  

Super excited for A.J. and illustrator Laurie Conley.  Looking extremely forward to adding this one to my growing collection of children's Halloween books.

Click here for his Spoops IG.

Click here to pre-order the book.

Horseman

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Image source.

The Kutztown Folk Festival

All good things...

Last June we traveled to Kutztown for its annual folk festival.  We didn't realize it at the time, but due to "dwindling interest and increased costs" it apparently was the last Kutztown Folk Festival.  The very first one occurred back in 1950.

Looking through the photos from that trip was bittersweet, as we had planned to return again this summer.  Pennsylvania is a glorious state.  Its folk art and history have always been a comforting part of my life.  Seeing old, faded hex signs on massive, tired barns is as exciting today as it was the first time I spotted one as a child.  Summers are like the stuff of Ray Bradbury's short stories.  Falls are pure magic.  Our winter landscapes of layered browns and grays never cease to resemble something the Wyeths couldn't resist to paint.  I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

The Kutztown Folk Festival was a blast... a true celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture.  Rows of vendors and artists of every kind.  Music and dancing and interesting presentations under flapping tents that provided shade from the summer heat.  We listened to the history of hex signs and barn stars and learned how the PA Dutch preserved their food.  We saw replicas of an early Church and schoolhouse.  We bought some terrific coffee at one stand and spiked it at the recommendation of an old farmer doing the same to his coffee, as we all moved to the vendor next-door - a distillery selling some fantastic whiskey.  

That was the most memorable part.  Everyone there was kind and friendly and seemed really proud to share their heritage.

The highlight of the event was a very special "Country Kitchen" presentation of an authentic Pennsylvania Dutch meal (including the seven sweets and seven sours tradition).  In a mockup of a hundred-year-old kitchen with a wood burning cast iron stove from the 1920's, we sat around a table with six strangers as our host and chef prepared everything from scratch and educated us on the process and history.  Keep in mind this was a very hot and humid day in June and we're sitting around in this hot wooden kitchen, near a wood-burning stove.  Incredibly, I wouldn't have changed a thing.  Somehow it felt appropriate.  There was homemade iced tea made from apple mint leaves, and we drank tons of the wonderful stuff.  We got to know the other guests as we passed around plates of delicious food.  By the end of that amazing dinner, it felt like we were all friends.  

On a personal note, I'm not much of a praying man, but prior to eating dinner, the host had us all join hands and say a short prayer of thanksgiving.  It was really quite special, and I felt truly grateful for the opportunity to experience a meal in such a way, and with these super nice folks.  I felt gratitude for a lot of things.  

Below are some photos from that neat summer day.  I made sure to get some shots of the amazing food - that's Moravian chicken pie and the best apple dumpling pie you've ever had.