You simply must check out the Halloween portraits Jim McGill from www.Photo444.com took on Halloween night. Find your mug here to order your prints!

http://photo444.smugmug.com

These are some of my faves…Especially the little candy corn’s smile:)

We survived…and I just woke up from my coma. We received about 100 folks Thursday at our preview, 200 Friday and 1500 – 1800 guests by my counters estimates on the grand day. I myself was the recipient of many hugs from small children… large ones too. My costume allowed me to remain anonymous from folks that didn’t recognize me (he he he) although the feet had me walking like I had giant flippers on…
All leftovers were promptly delivered to the local Fire Station and CHOC Hospital for all the little trick-or-treaters that couldn’t go out and the dedicated folks who nurse them back to health. As always, I have many to thank. Jamie, with her sword, kept the “touchers” at bay. Loren, her husband of 105 years (and my dear friend) and their beautiful daughter Kari handled candy and toy patrol… and that folks… is only duty for the bravest of souls. Many heartfelt thanks to Jim (the photographer) for capturing all the kids, adults and dogs in costumes and to his 2 beautiful assistants Christie and Susan. You will be able to view those soon. I understand Jim took close to 1000 photos. Lastly, my utmost gigantic thanks to Micheal and Mitchell (the Brothers Grim)…whom without their knowledge (and yelling) this and every other Halloween would have never taken place… except in my head. I took a few very quick snaps in the blacklight before nodding off…

I had a chance, before preview, to take a few shots so the folks who can’t come…can see what makes up this years Halloween theme. This is esecially for Yumiko, an Artist from Anuvue Studio & Gallery, who had brain surgery and is at home recovering. High five and big hug Yumi!
This was a very “Green Friendly” year in that most everything is being recycled in some form. What the kids and adults see at night is created with blacklight paint, extremely minute details that they may never noticed,and a bit of mystery. Here’s a sneak peek in the daylight.

The entrance was made from recycled plywood, donated by our friend Gary, used previously for cement work. It was painted from the “not the right color” section of our local hardware store. I thought it was strange, every time I showed up, they had another can of practically the same color…I swear I have Halloween angels at work

This is the view as you enter.

I simply could not resist these clear tubes… You are looking at command central, where the ship is controlled…and every kid in the neighborhood wants to fly. All the neato controls were gifted by my neighbor Greg who works for KOCE. The channel was clearing out allot of outdated gadgets…just in time for a spacecraft. The edging on the desk is actually the stuff they put along lawns… sprayed silver. I think it looks like metal and is very spacey.

Do not touch signs are an absolute must bring the “touching” down to only “minimal madness”.

What a ship without a lab of bubbling jars with strange things. These aliens are cloning humans…with aliens. I love the doll heads so much, they are going in my house when this is over. They fit perfectly into the washing machine overflow tray I found

Fred and Ethel diligently in their tubes…along with a new 2 headed offspring. All the dials are old hairspray, paint and misc. lids with dial stickers. Anything white glares in the blacklight so they look quite real. All the tubes are cardboard that’s been mitered and heck, there’s even some cookie trays and mac computer box inserts painted silver up there.

Tonight, after second preview night, I’ll take some shots so you can see the transformation at night. We had about 100 guests on Thursday night. One boy was so cute in his hotdog costume. I love bringing the kids in to see the candy and watch their frustration of how to pick just one. With all the do not touch signs, one little boy kept whining “Dad, I can’t touch anything…DADDDDDD, I can’t touch anything…finally I let him touch some of the keyboards on the center table with the baby heads. The next thing I know there are 5 little boys jumping up and down, all trying to all touch the keyboard, all shouting “I want to touch it” !
I asked my friend Jamie to be the “don’t touch” person in the room. She raised 2 kids and her costume has a sword…;)

Today it was my utmost privilege to have a group of Seniors from Silverado Memory Care come to view the Halloween display, share some cookies, coffee and conversation. I think they enjoyed my pottery collection and unusual home as much as any aliens. Such a wonderful group of folks to share a day with.

Now THIS is what makes me a very popular woman this time of year…yeah, team Halloween builds a set to wow the smallest child to the oldest senior…but we know it’s all about the candy and toys!
This years helpers were Cody, Bella and Marina…

It’s 9:38pm, I’ve been up working since 8am, and I can’t feel my own feet. BUT Proudly, we are ready to premier the Alien Halloween Scene. One child (who helped decorate the Halloween mobile today) asked what I would be doing the day after Halloween. I told her (with a serious face) I would be in a coma

It dawned on me this evening…while I was fitting eyes in my alien’s eye sockets…I might be kinda strange…

It’s about 11:30pm and yes, I do work for a living in the early hours of the morning… BUT, I have 2 more nights to get the lighting straight and march those aliens inside their ship. They’ve taken a liking to my livingroom and are currently staring out all the windows at my neighbors…like they don’t think I’m odd enough! Candy is bought…check…beer, soda…new brain for Heather…check… House looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in 15 years…check! Here’s the state of the union…

Poster is built…check!

Entrance is lit and working…check!

Command central is ready (almost) to roll…even if I have to drive it myself…check!

Shelves are bubbling…check!

“Some” aliens have decided to get to work and are ready…I can always count on Fred and Ethel…check!

I have to say, despite the fact that everything you see was handmade from stuff about to be trashed (I guess I’m going green)…dug outta my attic to recycle or innocently sitting in a hardware store to be used as one thing…and made into an entirely “other thing”…I’m gettin’ happy…

Last year my buddy Jimmy over at photo444.com came to the gallery and shot some of the visitors. He posted them on smugmug and each person could order their own copies for a very, very small fee. This year, everyone will be able to sit with an alien and I ask you, who wouldn’t love that! For now…check out these crazies…

Every year while we’re outside building…lots of new folks ask me what Team Halloween has done in the past. It’s funny, me being a photographer…and not ever having my own photos. All my time and energy goes into the event and only recently have I been documenting the goings on. Yet…they are all still clearly in my head. On event night I play host so I have to rely on others who arrive early in the evening (before the crowds) to take them. I have so many kind and various people to thank for these. I found Halloween 2006 and I’ll see what else I can locate to show those interested in the madness that I live for.

The scary clown head stood 23 feet in the air, had a 6-1/2 foot open mouth for the kids to walk through…and took 7 men to hoist into position. It’s made from plywood and recycled crates from a large press that came into my workplace that year. Scary Clown was made from paper patterns, then hand cut in 26 sections of found wood. I actually had no idea if the proportions were right until I fit it together like a puzzle all down the driveway…and even then I had to stand on a really tall ladder. We painted the sections and then Jamie stood on that same ladder with her air gun, ready to demonized it, while I stood in the street and yelled “more there”. I still smile now because the next day a heavy metal band came to disassemble and load Scary Clown in a truck headed for an Los Angeles music studio. I’m so glad he found a home.

An amazing feat…Micheal, Mitchell and myself took some donated red heavy vinyl and sewed a 30 foot tent top on a 1985 Brother sewing machine that has exactly 2 stitches to choose from. We did it without a pattern (by eye) and it fit! That poor machine squeals to this day. On the left side of the tent (and clown head) was a clown dressing room. This clown sat on a leopard chair in front of a fancy dressing mirror. The kids would walk in…and then at the right position, they would see his scary face and scream. On the right side of the head was a room with one clown hanging onto a very ridiculous donkey while 2 others look on from a crate. Once you entered the mouth you stood in the center of the ring, surrounded by the faces Jamie painted of my neighbors or anyone that popped into her head. 2 clowns were suspended from their own trapeze while other were scattered around the room… And the biggest hits…the popcorn and cotton candy, the bubble machine, the roaring tiger in his cart…and the Kiwi actor / comedienne who insulted all my neighbors while I laughed…