Happy New Year to all!!! -

(art by The Happy Undertaker - 2019) 

May your new year be monstrously good!

Merry Yule to all!

From "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

by Dr. Seuss

Yuletide thoughts to ponder...

Why do monsters haunt Christmas in Europe, but not here in America? 

St. Nikolaus rewards the good little children, while Krampus,
his dark counterpart, punishes them for being naughty

In Austria, 'monsters' like Krampus are used to punish greed and selfishness. 
But in America, that does not seem to happen.

Thought-provoking article with many historical references.

america-doesnt-have-christmas-monsters

Happy Halloween - ^vv^ -

The weather has grown quite chilly (a freeze warning is in effect the next few days) which means we're staying indoors, cooking pumpkin stew (from several of the fresh pumpkins we carved a few days ago) and beef stew, while dear Hubby is baking fresh pumpkin bread and soul cakes to bring to our friend's home tomorrow for Halloween. Yup, that's all we're doing - going to eat, observe the holiday, watch movies, and have a welcoming ceremony to greet with love the dearly departed as the veil thins.

We had our big Halloween party here at 'Castle GreenFuzz,' attended by over 50 friends. It was huge fun, hilarious, a real hoot! A break in the weather allowed us to go outside and light our giant bonfire, so I'm happy it was all not a bust (thank you again, crappy weather!).

The cool photo below of me was taken by my dear friend, Keely, during our party. I have been dubbed, "Skelly Ellie" and I'm fine with that! Wearing the awesome handmade original tophat I bought at Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween last month. It's a big craggy tree with pumpkins around it. I really ought to post a better photo of it, it's spectacular, and I get so many comments when I wear it.

Ok, that's all for now, folks. In the meantime, please be good to one another, spread peace, love and generosity of kindness anywhere you can, to all living sentient beings.

Blessed Samhain to all!

It's currently in the works ...

In between downloading/processing over 2000 photos from our autumn trip, I'm working on the upcoming premiere issue of Autumn Brilliance digital magazine, to debut fall 2020.

So thrilled to be working on this! I feel that with the unexpected demise of Art Doll Quarterly, the Halloween art community really had nowhere else to go to showcase their works. I spoke with many artists at Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween who expressed a shared sense of sadness and disappointment over this unfortunate event. We all looked forward to seeing what new wonders would be in that magazine's pages in every new fall issue.

Since I worked in publishing and promotions for over 20 years, I've decided to step up to the plate and publish this on my own. It will be digital for now, with the hopes of possibly having printed editions in the future. And, also, for now, it shall only be a once-a-year edition (that being autumn and Halloween of course) but a big, special one at that, filled with not only art, but all things Halloween and autumn, including articles on Halloween lore, old time recipes, a travelogue of interesting places all across the US, live events, and more. 

Now as for all the amazing artists I got to meet along the way during our road trip and particularly at Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween, I'd like to say, welcome to your new home! We really are just a big interconnected family, when you think about it, so let's all congregate here and show the world what we do! 

In the meantime, please check the link below for occasional updates.

https://autumnbrilliancemagazine.blogspot.com

Welcome, October -

I have MANY photos to download (like over 2000 of them) from our 9-day long autumn road trip that included Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween in Marshall, Michigan (OMG it was the BEST ever!).

Right now my allergies are out of control and I'm suffering nonstop sneezing, coughing and itchy, watery eyeballs. YUCK. Boy do I feel glamorous, har. Add to that the fact that we're in the midst of a horrible heat wave (96 degrees with a heat index of 102!) which only adds to the misery. Come on, October! I mean, WTF? Bring on the cool autumn weather already, willya? Sheesh! 

Ok... I'll be back soon as I'm feeling more human again... 

This is Halloween, this is Halloween ...

 "The Nightmare Before Christmas" 

by Tim Burton

Mischievous grins on Jack O'lanterns ...

Just one of the many Halloween things that give me joy!

Grinning Jack ornament - created by Me!

I've created a new style of these happy gourd ornaments, which I call Grinning Jacks. Different from my Smilin' Jacks from previous years, these are more in the vintage style, and as always, hand-made from Sculpy and painted with bright acrylic Halloween colors.

I'm bringing a few with me when I go traveling up north to Anoka (remember, it's the Halloween Capital of the world!) and then on to the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show.

But very importantly, along the way, we will be stopping by to visit the home town of a man who I can rightly say, was an incredible inspiration to my inquisitive young mind of my young formative years: Ray Bradbury.

His stories unlocked the door in my imagination! 'The Halloween Tree' is quite possibly my favorite of all time, and I read it each autumn, before Halloween arrives. Along with my traveling companions (my dear Hubby and our best friend John), we will pay homage to this incredibly prolific man. I'm bringing a few things I wish to leave at the park named in Bradbury's honor, including a small pumpkin, a letter I wrote to him, and a few other things. 

Sadly, he passed away in 2012. I regret never having had the opportunity to have met him...

"The leaves have burned to gold and red

The grass is brown, the old year dead,

But hang the harvest high, oh see!

The candle constellations on the Halloween Tree!

"The stars they turn, the candles burn

And the mouse-leaves scurry on the cold wind bourne,

And a mob of smiles shine down on thee

From the gourds hung high on the Halloween Tree!

"The smile of the Witch, and the smile of the Cat,

The smile of the Beast, and the smile of the Bat,

The smile of the Reaper taking his fee

All cut and glimmer on the Halloween Tree... "

(excerpt from The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury)

Toe Pinchers ...

(This post was from the holiday season in 2016. I like to tout my dear Hubby's talents on occasion when he creates something, so without further ado, read on and learn everything you wanted to know about coffins, caskets and toe pinchers!)

Do you know the difference between a casket and a coffin?

Traditionally, a casket is a four-sided burying (funerary) box. In our modern day, it is the most common burial box in use.

A coffin - sometimes referred to as a "toe-pincher" - has six sides. It is what you generally think of as being used in olden times, though they still are used today.

During the summer, my very creative Hubby made several mini toe pincher coffins in his workshop, all from various wood scraps he had left over from previous projects. Most of them were either sold during our "Monsters & Merriment" show or given away as gifts, but he still has a few remaining for sale: four natural unpainted wood, and four of which are painted black. 

I think the black ones are the cooler of the bunch, as they look decrepit, and just plain macabre! One of the black coffins has a sculpy skull that he himself crafted, to add to the overall creepiness.

 One of the unpainted wood coffins was featured on "Dr. Gangrene's" YouTube channel during his Thanksgiving give-away, which you can see here:

https://youtu.be/QkDzJjQ1BZc

Update: Work in progress -

One of my favorite aspects of creating is applying the paint... 

... and seeing it begin to bring a character to life.

I'm usually one to make an accompanying poem or story for my characters and have conjured up a rather Seussian bit of prose for Batilda. It's still in the works, in a very rough draft state, so I won't share it just yet, but soon.

Happy Celestial Event Evening! -

Happy Harvest Moon!

And yes - Happy Friday the 13th as well!

Works in progress -

Someone is beginning to take shape...

There's a hint of *who* it is lurking in the background, ha ha.

Taking a very long time doing her hair. Each strand is being rolled out super thin and long, with a mixture of Premo and Sculpey clays for strength. So far it's been three days doing this, with seemingly no end in sight! Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have taken this task of creating a 3D sculpture of Batilda, and instead just left her as a colorful 2D image. 

Nahhh! Who am I kidding! I love a challenge, the more difficult and involved, the better. (But, ouch, my neck and shoulders are aching from placing these long strands on her head, one by one. No worries, just keep the ibuprofen coming and we'll be as right as rain!)

Can't wait to see how she turns out. Will post more pics soon.

Hey - guess what? The first official day of Autumn is next week, Saturday the 21st. YAY!!!

Photo from Pinterest 

Happy September 1st! -

Or, as we like to call it around these parts - 
HALLOWEEN EVE!!!

All thirty days of this month is like a tantalizing tease of Halloween Eve, leading up to the very special day we all look so forward to... why, Halloween, of course!

I've posted this before, and so help me, I'll do it again. and AGAIN! You've been warned!

So much about this fun song gets me up and jumpin' with glee. Obviously, I absolutely love the Tim Burton mash-up of movies, including our favorite, 'Nightmare Before Christmas' mixed with a healthy smattering of 'Corpse Bride' all set to the tune of Oingo Boingo's 'Dead Man's Party.'

Having this play on repeat in the background while I'm here working in my studio sets the mood perfectly. 

What gets your heart soaring with happiness at the beginning of the autumn season?

Happy National Frankenstein Day! -

In honor of National Frankenstein Day (August 30th) I am offering FREE SHIPPING on my original sculpture, "microSTEIN," from my Etsy shop!

Offer is good all Labor Day weekend but ends Monday evening.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MacabreWebs

Batilda - Work in Progress

Batilda - created by me! - 2019

Well!  We are finally getting a wee break from the scorching hot summer weather. Today has been a quiet Monday, outside it's cool, foggy, drizzly -  the perfect day to stay indoors and work on some more projects. Got plenty of spooky Halloween music playing in the background to set the atmosphere properly as I sit at my work table, listening to the sound of the gentle raindrops falling outside...

'Batilda' as you may recall, is a drawing of a little goth gal I created last month. Today she is painted in rich acrylic paint on the top lid of one of those fun 'cackling coffins' (you know, the kind that when you open the lid, a maniacal shrieky cackle lets loose! I just love them and try to paint several each year).

She's still a WIP but I wanted to post here as she's coming along. Not sure if I'll include the spider web border that was present in the drawing... hmm, might, or maybe not. Next, I'll be completing the inside of the coffin, then listing it on my Etsy page. I'm also creating a clay sculpture of her as well! Looking forward to getting that finished as well, and will post here once she's ready.

Ok, back to the studio for me!

PS: took a little break and perused Pinterest - a great source of entertainment and inspiration for me. Found an old (I mean OLD - this pic is from 1886) photo of a pumpkin harvest from the San Fernando Valley, where I grew up. Wow! The Valley was originally mostly farmland among wide-open spaces, but today is an overcrowded, sprawling mega-concrete suburban jungle. I get so nostalgic in a very melancholy way when I see old photos of what it used to look like. Ok, that's it for now. Just had to share...

Magic in the Air ...

My acrylic painting of a fanciful witch 

whipping up some magic

2014

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day! ...

Our sweet resident parlor panther sends you this message of love!

Only 74 days until Halloween... in the meantime, enjoy a happy song!

***UPDATE*** I'm going batty! ...

I'm serious! This late summer hot weather has me hiding inside round the clock. A gal can get mighty bored, just outright stir crazy, ya know?

UPDATE:
I've been drawing a whole bunch of stuff these past few days. 
Adding a few more designs here that I plan to post also in my Etsy shop and on Facebook in the next few days.

My favorite is "Batilda," this little lady with a surprised expression on her face as a bat lands on her head. Or maybe it was there all the time, and she's only just realizing it. 
I dunno, don't ask me, ha ha. 

I added a very muted, pale green to her bow tie, which I intended to be subtle as I prefer to keep it mostly monochromatic.

Pencil and ink here, my usual when drawing. Considered coloring her in, but probably not; I do favor black and white monochrome for this particular piece. I think this would make a really fun sculpture as well, so that's the next thing I'm going to work on this week.

"Halloween Greetings"
A very simple design here includes a witch hat, broom, and big-eyed black cat surrounded by wee spiders. This is probably going to end up as a sort of sculpture too, a bas relief that will be framed.

And, as you'll likely notice, each of my designs here are featured inside a spider web frame. As you can guess, it goes with the name of my shop, Macabre Webs!

Ok, back to the drawing board as we count down the days till Halloween. Only 80 to go, woooo-hooooo!

PS: We're going to take another autumn road trip! Oh can't wait, can't wait, can't wait. This time it's to the northern part of the US, which during the fall is incredibly colorful, especially around the Great Lakes region. This year, we'll be attending 'Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween.' I look forward to finally getting to meet some of my favorite artists who will be in attendance; I have collected original art from so many of them, it will be nice to greet them in person!

However, nothing beats the road trip we took back in October 2017 - it was epic!
We went to Sleepy Hollow, NY, and then on to Salem, MA to meet up with our friends, Ethan and Abigail. Truly was the best road trip, ever, including a drive down the entire Eastern seaboard and making many stops along the way. It was incredibly beautiful. What they say about autumn in the east is true, it is astonishing. Tennessee and the south is quite gorgeous in autumn but it all pales in comparison to New England.

Me and the hubby have done a lot of road trips, and let me tell ya, going to Witch City during Halloween is something everybody needs to do at least once. Really love to go back there again when we can - hopefully, sooner rather than later!

Me, Mark, Ethan and Abigail peering into the magical crystal ball in Salem, Massachusetts

Halloween, 2017

Har-har! Harvest Humor

I'm growing an ornamental variety of corn in my garden this year, along with pumpkins (have many big fat ones already!), cucs, tomatoes, zucchini, several types of herbs, black-eyed Susans and of course, plenty of sunflowers. I have an amazing mix of sunflowers, from short colorful autumn-colored ones that grow from 4 to 6 feet, to the gigantic mammoth variety, which is at least 12 feet high now. 

Love looking out my second floor bedroom window to see these awesome sunflowers - my favorites for sure. So pretty!

What are you up to, during these hot summer days?

The countdown continues ...

Happy 20th Anniversary to Dr. Gangrene! -

Today marks the 20th anniversary of CHILLER CINEMA - the program that launched TV host, Dr. Gangrene - into the eternal annals of Nashville horror! 

We raise a toast (a Bloody Mary, of course!) to our good friend. Here's to 20 more years of frightfully good entertainment. 
Bwa-hahahahah!!!!!

Scaring up some fun with the Dr. in 2006

Halloween countdown continues! -

We've been experiencing delightful, autumn-like weather here in Tennessee the past several days ... it reminds me of Halloween! Gets me cackling all giddy and excited for fall to come (and it can't come soon enough for me!)

"Winifred, in her finery, presents a Pumpkin"

by Ellie Gee - MacabreWebs Studios ©

I love creating witches especially! You can be as colorful, fanciful, wicked, scary, silly as you wish. "Winifred" will always have a special place in my heart...

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MacabreWebs

SOLD! - Nosferatu, The Blood is the Life

Thank you to the art collector in Los Angeles for falling under the spell of Nosferatu!

Nosferatu: The Blood is the Life, by Ellie Gee 2017 ©

I created this extremely detailed piece in honor of the 97th anniversary of the 1922 release of NOSFERATU, by German impressionist film maker F. W. Murnau. Displayed at the 2017 Monsters & Merriment Halloween & Horror Art Show in Nashville, TN

Must say I will miss his eerie countenance and mesmerizing stare from the shelf here in my studio...

You all rock!!!

Sincere and most loving thanks to all!

Thank you ...

My dear friend Robert, posing with my art doll sculpture, 'Drusilla.'

All proceeds from this sale are going to help with my beloved friend Sheree's final burial/resting place. Sheree passed away on January 30 of this year, after a long and very painful struggle with thyroid cancer. She was only 50 years old.

(Her death came on the same day as my father's death anniversary, too.)

If you knew Sheree, you'd agree with me when I say, there were none other like her! A true Goddess, beautiful, kind, loving, funny, and totally bad-ass! We loved to cackle like demented witches together, dress to the nines, and go out on the town to have a blast. She loved makeup and fashion as much as I do - well, she took it to a whole new level I must say. 

And she was as big a Halloween freak like me! Every day was Halloween!

Scaree Sheree and me, getting spooky
at Dr. Gangrene's Horror Hootenanny - October 2011

There are no words for me to describe the feeling I have over her loss. Just no words. Any time I see photos of her or hear a story about her from one of her multitudes of friends, I get choked up inside ... much like I am feeling now, as I write this small remembrance of a big, fabulous woman who was larger than life. I feel this great sucking void where Sheree once was, and I hate that.

I know that she'd be happy to know that Drusilla, a combination of Vampira and Sheree herself (her nickname, after all, was "Scaree") is now residing in her fancy new Hollywood digs with a guy who totally loves her (thank you again, Robert!)

Hug your loved ones often.... and always tell them you love them. Tomorrow is never guaranteed.

I love you, Robert - we've been friends for about 30 years now, which means, you ain't getting rid of me any time soon. BOK!

And I will forever love you, sweet Sheree. You are my Boo, my heart. 

Rest in POWER, my dear Friend!

Rocking it as a blonde! 

Just us girls, hanging out in NashVegas - 2010

This is the last photo we have together, taken May, 2018.
It was during our surprise visit to Las Vegas to see her. CJ, her wonderful boyfriend, was my cohort in setting up this visit. I really thought she was going to beat cancer! I am angry that cancer took my wonderful friend from this earth. But I do feel her presence every so often - including as I was writing this paragraph: David Bowie's "Let's Dance"  just came on the radio! We were both total Bowie fans. 
Thank you, Boo, those goosebumps tell me everything.

Good cheer and best wishes to all!

Happy Ostara/Easter to all!

(Did you expect anything less from me? Lol!)

And, I just wanted to say thank you to all who voted! 

I am humbled and remain eternally grateful to you.

Final week to vote for Rondo Awards ...

Thank you for voting for us.

 Fingers, toes and eyeballs are crossed that we win!

https://rondoaward.com

2019 Rondo Awards ...

Life is always full of surprises. I do the things that I do only because I enjoy doing them - creating art being the center of my activies. One of my biggest and most fulfilling joys of recent years has been putting together MONSTERS & MERRIMENT, simply because it was my way of sharing the joy of Halloween and horror art/movies/music with as many others as possible.

So can you then imagine my shocked surprise when I learned that my show was nominated for a prestigous Rondo Award for Best Event of 2018?! (damn near made me faint!)

rondoaward.com

The Rondo Awards are like the Oscars (Academy Awards) of Hollywood, honoring the very best in horror, sci-fi, creativity, and film preservation. 

MONSTERS & MERRIMENT was nominated for category #23: Top Event of 2018, sharing the honors with such horror heavyweights as Rick Baker, Tobe Hooper and - gasp! - Ray Harryhausen (again, I want to faint!).

I'm a realist. I know I'm up against the Mount Olympus gods of Halloween horror, and probably don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning... though my fingers (and toes and eyeballs!) are crossed, hoping to win this very prestigious award, it is merely the fact that I was even nominated, which is what I'm incredibly grateful for. I don't know which fans were responsible for putting me on the roster this year, and that's ok, they can remain anonymous. My simple hope is for those particular individuals, and everybody who has been involved in the process of both the Rondos and MONSTERS & MERRIMENT, to be made aware of my deepest and most sincere thanks to them. 

That being said, please click on the above link to take you to the site where you can read up about how to vote (simple to do, and no, you do not have to vote in every category). And if you do vote for MONSTERS & MERRIMENT, thank you from the very bottom of my heart! 

 monstersandmerriment.com

Love never dies ...

Happy Valentine's Day, 

to all my favorite Monster Kids!

On a cold January day...

I am refreshed with thoughts and memories of blessed Autumn!

'October Eve' was definitely one of my favorite sculptures from 2018. 

I enjoyed creating him so much, from his smiling Jack O'Lantern head to his snazzy tux & tails, to his dangling spider friend, to his spider-webbed gated surroundings.  

To me, the entire piece said "Welcome to Autumn! Won't you step inside and enjoy some Halloween fun?" He stands inside, atop a brightly colored vortex, welcoming all who enter to a world of magic and fun. 

As I've said many times before, most of us artists form a sort of emotional attachment to our works. We tend to put so much of our own selves into them, infusing each piece with a very real essence of our hearts and souls ... making it hard to part with them! But I am very happy to report that this jaunty sweet fellow is residing in a home with a very nice lady who fell head over heels in love with him at last year's MONSTERS & MERRIMENT.

I am indoors mostly, as the weather is whipping up into a wintry frenzy outside my window. I watch as the barren trees sway to and fro in the wind, as Jack Frost announces his imminent arrival. No worries, I love the winter and am busily creating more Halloween happiness here at MacabreWebs Studios.

What are you doing right now?