Carving Pumpkins

Posted on by Thor

I got an invite to attend the Stauton Spookerific Pumpkin Party 3 . I also got a nice note from actress Lindsey Cohen saying she hadn’t seen Terry or me for the longest time, and we should come to the party. Terry and I had just seen the movie “Social Network.” I pulled out my calender and we debated on where we should go next. We decided to head to the pumpkin carving party. We stumbled around in the dark for a bit searching for the house. When we walked in, everyone was on the floor stabbing pumpkins. There was plenty of frenetic activity as pumpkin guts were scooped out and thrown into the trash can. I had told Terry I didn’t need to sketch at the party, but I couldn’t resist.

I stood in the kitchen with a nice counter to rest my art supplies on. Meggin Stailey, an wonderful comedic actress walked into the kitchen with a bowl of freshly gutted pumpkin seeds. She spread the seeds out on a cookie sheet and then reached up into a cupboard. A spice container leaped out at her and landed on the cookie sheet sending seeds trampolining all around the room with a crash. She apologized, but I had not been struck by any of the projectiles. She then rubbed down the stove top quickly. Her frenetic energy was endearing. I first saw Megin perform in a REP production where she played a demure woman focused on reading her book, while Brandon Roberts played a waiter who was constantly trying to win her attention. She remained oblivious. It was delightfully funny. I also saw her perform in Crimes of the Heart where she played the sister trying to keep some normalcy in a dysfunctional family.

Brandon was gutting a truly ugly green pumpkin with warts. Before he finished carving it he announced to everyone that he wasn’t feeling well and he needed to lie down. After Terry and I left the party, I found out Brandon had to be taken to the emergency room by Patrick Braillard and Melissa Mason. Brandon suspected he had a kidney stone. They waited in the ER till 1am. He finally got out of the hospital gown since the pain had passed. Shivering in the ER must have cured him since he had to pay a $150 co-pay.

Haunted Swamp

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I went to the Enzian Theater (1300 South Orlando Avenue, Maitland), to go to the opening night of the Haunted Swamp. I walked around the property looking for hints of what was to come. As the sun set, I decided to sketch these volunteers who were ripping and cutting up strips of fabric and throwing them in a bucket. I was told they were creating a bucket of gore. The strips of fabric were to become intestines and eviscerated flesh. One of the girls was saying, “I have no idea what is going on. A friend asked me to come down and I said, what the heck, why not?” Later as I was working on color washes in the dimming light, the fellow with the red beard came over to see what I was working on. I didn’t recognize him at first since he was now dressed as a demonic clown. I watched as a volunteer got dressed as the extra tall clown. The head and shoulders are worn resting on his head and the large hands are on sticks held by him with the clenched fists inside the sleeves. A women shouted out, “Megan can you get your machete and clear a path down by the weatherman?” Megan ran off in the direction of the hearse.

With the first sketch finished, I realized there was about an hour until the Haunted Swamp came to life. I decided to get a beer and relax for a bit. As I reached for a chair, a man walked up and said, “Were you sitting there?” I decided I had to say, “yes.” He went on to explain that the table was his mothers. He and his friend ended up finding seats right across from me. The friend was saying, “If you had to pay real people to do this, it would be real expensive.” I suddenly realized these to knew what was going on. I asked the fellow I had played musical chairs with, if he knew who was in charge of all the actors. He introduced me to his son named Alex.

I explained to Alex that I wanted to do a sketch on the swamp route. He responded, “Well, I have to do one more walk through, follow me.” I almost had to run to keep up. At the entrance, a channel 13 anchor woman was trying to park in an impossibly tight spot. Alex offered her help in parking. The swamp was illuminated and ready but there were no actors in place yet. As soon as I saw the blood red clearing with a TV playing an interview with a demonic looking child, I knew I had to return to sketch. I told Alex where I planned to set up and he said, “Go for it.”

Terry was looking for me on the lawn next to the Eden Bar. We got our wrist bands and were the second people in line. They were the GAB girls from be_local. Their names were Destiny Bianca Lopez and Sharon Baumeyer, they shot video the whole time with night vision turned on. I looked over Destiny’s shoulder, the footage looked like it was from the Blair Witch Project. These two squealed and shrieked the whole time. Sharon fell down elbowing Bianca in the lips in the process. The blood red interview spot was one of the scariest parts of the swamp tour. Just as I focused on the strange child on the TV, a swamp creature jumped out with a loud howl. Terry clutched my arm, screaming. This was definitely the spot to draw.

When I returned to sketch I found out the creature was a beautiful young woman covered in military style grass camouflage. Whenever swamp guests would approach, the man in the straight jacket would stare at the TV and rock forward and back. The actress I was seated behind would crouch down like a cougar about to lunge for its prey. The TV interview repeated over and over… “Are you feeling OK? Can I get you a glass of water?” The alien baby made strange cannibalistic sounds. “what do you see there Johnny? What’s this about your mama?” Johnny, who’s eyes had no pupils, made juvenile “Ma ma” sounds. He breathed quickly and maniacally, his face filling the screen. “Don’t breath like that, it will make you feel real strange. Do you mind if I give you an injection or something like that?” Johnny thrashed about and the screen blacked out.

It was fun watching all the different terrified reactions. When it was time for all the actors to take a half hour break, I decided my sketch was done. They all walked through the final section of the course when suddenly all the lights went out. We were all subjected to the most frightening experience of our lives. Actors and volunteers screamed in terror and when it was over we all whooted, hollered and clapped in appreciation.

Zombie March

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At the last minute I was told by Paula Large that there was going to be a zombie march in broad daylight on International Drive. The starting spot was at Uno’s pizza right across from Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Driving down International Drive the sudden appearance of hundreds of zombies wandering around the Uno’s parking lot was unsettling. I drove around the block making my way back to the mayhem. My pulse quickened. I parked at the Indian restaurant next to Uno’s.

As soon as I walked into the crowd, I was surrounded by pale, lifeless, brain eating zombies. A stage was set up at one end of the parking lot for a band that I assumed would be playing later. I was immediately drawn to this Hurst parked in the corner of the lot nearest the street. I stood on a small island covered with dried out dead vegetation. Little Red Riding Hood seemed out of place until I saw that she had slit her wrists. A young woman in a tight black leather dress had a cross tattooed between her shoulder blades she walked with a limp. With her nose ring and studs, I suspect she wasn’t really in costume. She must live Goth.

Loud music blasted from the two speakers strapped to the roof of the Hearst. A guy in a black leather vest got on the roof of the Hearst and shouted into the megaphone, “Do you want to see some blood?!” He fired up a chainsaw and the crowd of zombies went wild. one zombie never broke character, he just swayed side to side with his eyes rolled back in his head. A foam manikin was thrown on the roof of the Hearst and he started cutting off limbs to the roar from the crowd. When he thrust the chainsaw blade into her chest blood began to fly and spill everywhere. A pizza was delivered from the restaurant . He began attacking the pizza with the chainsaw with shards of crust and tomato sauce raining down on all the zombies. He threw large chunks of pizza into the crowd where I assume they were devoured.

0n the sidelines citizens with signs protested the march, demanding that the undead return to the graves they came from. When the march began I stayed behind frantically throwing blood red washes onto my drawing. The Goth girls limp must have been real since she remained behind as well, seated in one of the two wooden chairs near the Hearst. A female zombie asked to see my sketch. Her eyes had a strange metallic blue shine. She complimented me and thanked me for sharing with a sweet voice that seemed very out of place since her skin had decomposed rather horrifically. I am sure the party would continue late into the night, but I had to get to class back in the world of reality.

Zombietoberfest

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You know Halloween is approaching when zombies roam the streets of the Audubon Garden district. As Terry and I approached late that night we noticed a few zombies stumbling down Corrine Drive. There was a large crowd of zombies outside Park Avenue CD. We arrived at Stardust Video and Coffee around 11pm. When we opened the door, a loud pulsing rhythm shook us as a band played angrily. Decomposing bodies around us writhed to the beat. Terry clutched my hand as I searched for the right sketching vantage point. Rather than committing to a sketch of the band, I decided to search the other rooms for zombies.
The food and drink order counter had a line of zombies that stretched out the door. Chad Bruce and Dana VanZandt were seated at a small corner table and they waved us over. Chad’s sweatshirt was thickly spattered with blood. Dana was dressed as a huntress. When asked about their outfits, they demonstrated their method of hunting zombies. Dana had a human brain that she dangled from a fishing line off the end of a stick. Her job was to lure a zombie close using the brain as bait. Then Chad would unholster the golf club at his hip and strike the zombie down with swift blows to the head.
A zombie was checking his iPhone as he waited in line. A female zombie held a human brain on a plate. When she turned to me I noticed the bullet hole in the center of her forehead. She said she was one of the models at a Boudoir Bombshells photo shoot I sketched several months ago her name is Tamarie Lang. I tried to recognize her but couldn’t get past the blood and bruising. When the quiet demure woman in the red kimono finally turned around, her face wash ashen and blood was dripping from her lips. It was hard to notice if there was blood on her red kimono. Doug Rhodehamel stopped in front of me, frozen mid-stride in his walk. It took a few seconds for me to notice him and I laughed out loud at his attempt to get in the sketch.
When the sketch was done I considered going in the loud room full of writhing zombies, but Terry was tired so I decided it was a one sketch night . My zombie hunting was complete. The event was supposed to end at midnight anyway so I didn’t have time for another sketch.

Pumpkin Brigade

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The first sign of fall for me this year came when I was driving north on Apopka Vineland Road and I spotted this pumpkin brigade. I was heading out to another sketching location but when I got to the next corner I had to turn around. The 18 wheeler was parked in the grass behind Saint Luke’s Methodist Church. I walked around for a bit and peaked inside the truck to see the hundreds of pumpkins both large and small. I noticed bags of granular ant killer scattered here and there. I considered leaning against a tree but there was a huge fire ant mound at it’s base with granules sprinkled on top. Pallets were arranged in neat rows and the line of adults and children stretched from the back of the truck to the pallets. I chose to lean against a chain link fence that surrounded an electrical power generator.
Halfway into the sketch a man and woman approached me and asked what I was doing. Before I explained, the woman said, “We provide a safe zone for the children.” Wow! She thought I might be a sexual predator, a stalker, a menace! She checked my half finished sketch with little interest, then turned toward the truck and said, “So you find this inspiring?” I countered back with, “Yes, of course how often do you get to see a pumpkin brigade?” I gave her my card and told her to check out the blog. Then she said, “Are you a member of Saint Luke’s?” “No” I replied, “though I have sketched quite a few churches in town.” I doubt I will be going to a service at St. Luke’s anytime soon since the first member I met seemed less than welcoming, perhaps a touch paranoid. Regardless I am happy I stopped and didn’t let this rare moment go unsketched. I am left wondering what moral lesson can be learned from carving pumpkins.

Haunted Yard

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Driving back from Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards, Terry and I discovered this amazing Victorian haunted house. We drove past at 45miles an hour and I shouted, “Stop the car! We have to go back.” Terry did a three point turn and parked in the grass across from this amazing display. It is located on Oakland Avenue just west of Avalon Road, west of downtown Winter Garden. I didn’t sketch that afternoon since I knew Terry wanted to get home. It was two days later when I returned alone to sketch. I set up my portable stool on a grassy center median, leaned back against a huge old Live Oak tree and started to sketch. I really needed a bigger sketchbook since the display is so vast. I squeezed what I could onto the pages.
The Live Oak tree’s trunk took up most of the width of the median so I was just a few feet away from the cars that rushed by me. Once in a while a large pickup truck with its knobby mud tires buzzing would honk in appreciation or annoyance. While I worked SUV’s driven by moms would park and children would pile out and begin exploring. A boy shouted, “Look a jar full of eye balls!” The kids loved the place. Soon the mom would round up the kids and the SUV would roar off.
The owner pulled into his driveway and as his daughter went inside he placed the skulls he had with him around the yard. His name is Joseph Williams and his daughter who also helped with the display was named Josette. This display began on a much smaller scale in 1977. Each year he changes the theme of the display. This year “Pirates of the Caribbean” is the theme. The entire porch is planked to look like the broad side of a ship and dead pirates are everywhere. 20 or so of the figures are animatronics. Joseph was nice enough to walk me around demonstrating the figures that moved. The inside of the house is also elaborately decorated. The house is only open on Halloween night. Each year, two to three thousand people walk through. Joseph gives away glow stick bracelets as well as full sized candy bars, no mini bites here!
Joseph walked me inside even though work still needed to be done to finish the decorations. The first room was my favorite. It was Egyptian themed with a gorgeous gold king Tut mask over the fire place. There was a huge sarcophagus and two sinister mummy’s guard the room.
Across the hall Hannibal Lecter strapped to a gurney is threatening in his snakelike oily way. Also in this room Jason threatened with a machete. A butler breathed heavily in the hall with a python coiled around his neck. In the kitchen Dracula stood overlooking a blood fountain. Here guests are offered a beer or soda before heading to the graveyard behind the home. A ton of ice is shipped in for all the drinks. A garish autopsy room on the side of the home was created entirely by Josette. Marie Antoinette cradles her own head on the back porch and this is just a small taste of the horrors to come as you walk out into the darkness.
On the night of Halloween cars park all along the length of Oakland Avenue for two miles or so. In all of the 33 years the display has been put up there has never been an accident. Joseph said that only once was an item stolen. His cell phone disappeared and he simply dialed the number and asked the person to leave it at the 7-11. The phone was returned. The event is free and open to the public. Joseph even refuses to accept donations since he feels it might discourage people from coming out. I certainly hope to return Halloween night.

Carving Pumpkins

Posted on by Thor

I went to a number of different parties on Halloween day. This sketch is of the back yard of Jared and Lesley Silvia. When I arrived they had just started carving pumpkins. Lesley was still reaching in and grabbing out the guts and seeds. No one was attempting a simple pumpkin face. Andrew Fritta was trying to carve his pumpkin to look like the Death Star from Star Wars. When I started this sketch he was in the foreground sitting at the table gutting his pumpkin. Unfortunately before I sketched him, he decided to carve his pumpkin on the lawn, that is why the center of interest, the table is strangely deserted. The intricate carving involved in the Death Star was mind boggling. Lesley was carving a hang man’s pumpkin which is really sinister when lit up.
At the opposite end of the backyard there was an above ground pool. Some people started to gather around it and I wandered over. It was half full and after looking in the greenish murky water for a while I noticed movement. There were tadpoles swimming around everywhere. One guest was scooping them up with a skimmer net. Someone else shouted out “Leave them alone!” I wondered if they all were doomed. How would they get out once they turned into frogs? I am thinking the Silvia’s need some water lilies for their new Eco-system.
As the sun started to set I got ready to head to my next destination. The little girls in costume were excited because they were going to trick or treat in two neighborhoods and they expected some sweet pickings. I thanked my hosts and hit the road to get to another Halloween party I needed to sketch.

Haunted Mardi Gras

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Evan and Chrsitie Miga, DRIP dance groups art directors, hosted a Haunted MardiGras party at their home. When I arrived there was no mistaking the house which had a huge WELCOME sign above the entry lit with a black light. Dry ice mist was billowing out of the entry and I had to duck in behind a blanket to get to the front door. Visibility was zero but through the mist I could just make out some disembodied masks floating in space. The front door had some satanic symbol painted on it with day glow paint. When I entered the home Strobe lights blinded me once again and I wandered narrow corridors framed loosely with black drip clothes. At times the passage was so narrow that I thought I had made a mistake entering and I considered going back out. At the next turn however I found myself in the kitchen where a small group was assembled. A 6 foot high voodoo doll greeted me and then I recognized Christie as a voodoo priestess.
I was dressed as “Jack the Dripper” better known ad Jackson Pollock. My wife arrived later as Zorro and her friend from Miami was dressed as a cat lady. The party eventually moved outside to the back yard where there was a graveyard with a storage shed that resembled a church. A zombie movie was being projected on the back wall of the house and it was hard to ignore. Periodically a zombie would bite open someones throat or feast on their intestines. This movie used buckets of blood. Then the karaoke began and the highlight for me was when Evan the voodoo doll began making up his own lyrics to songs, looking pitiful and lost in his voodoo doll costume. It was a surreal and unexpected moment.
Much later in the evening the DRIP dancers began to arrive and for a short time I stood behind the singers at the karaoke machine offering my off key renditions of the songs being sung. Theater folks sure know how to party! My wife and her friend left early and I followed soon after, but I knew this party had many more hours in it.

Macabre Vignettes

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At the historic Cameo Theater at 1013 East Colonial Drive, Tamara Marke–Lares set up an astounding, mysterious and strange collection of life sized Marionettes. I went to see Macabre Vignettes on Halloween day to see the “Lights Up” family friendly version of the show. Playful kid friendly puppet shows were going on all day while the sinister large marionettes watched and waited. One puppet show was about trying to find a Pumpkin. It is fun to watch the kids who are totally engrossed in the performances. When the kids realized that the puppet wasn’t holding a pumpkin but instead had an orange they stood up and shouted waving their hands. The puppet would insist it looked like a pumpkin but the kids would shout “No. No! That’s an Orange!” When the puppet asked for the orange back, a boy hurled it back hitting the puppet. All the kids laughed with delight.
I sat in the evil animatronics lab doing this sketch. One woman walked up to me and said “Oh, I thought you were part of the display.” Periodically a puppeteer would go up to one of the giant marionettes and start manipulating the strings. Children were invited to try working the puppets. The walls were covered with dark sinister paintings and scattered about were strange and unexpected sculptures. I suspect this cheerful environment must become a very scary place once the lights go down. This is without a doubt the most creative and exciting Halloween display in town.