My grandmother had a mask on her wall. I remember when I was a child how much it disturbed me. This is the same grandmother that got me into Creature Double Feature and horror movies. Coolest lady around. We would hide her cigarettes when she babysat for us. We couldn't wait to see her whenever she visited.
Well, the mask on her wall was the face of Satan. Such a peculiar thing for my mother's mother to have on her wall. We'd make her take it down when we slept over. Creepiest eyes and teeth. When she died, that incredible mask was thrown away. I didn't speak up about wanting it. I don't think I truly appreciated it at the time or realized how much I would be looking for the same mask since then. Never found anything close.
My searches for devil wall masks convinced me that there might be an interest in this sort of mache wall art. Devil masks are hard to find and rarely look creepy or like something I'd want to hang on my wall.
So I tried my hand at making one for the shoppe. Hung it on the wall above a lamp and it had cool shadows in all the right places.
Old Scratch on the wall.
Pumpkin Hollow
Monday, September 22, 2008
Devil On My Wall
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15 comments:
Looks awesome! I hope you keep making stuff like this after Halloween when I actually have some money to spend
Yep, we're going to build props every month of the year. I have a few special orders that I'll be making for November and December, so it really will be Halloween all year long. : )
I have some marketing ideas for this but I don't want to besmirch your nostalgic moment.
jon, do tell. : )
I very much like your mask; I wonder though, is it your own design or trying to recreate it from you grandmother's?
My grandparents had something similar hanging above their bedroom door - it was an Oni mask (japanese demon, much like a gargoyle - hung to protect the house). I used to sit in the dark and stare at it for hours at bedtime -- it looked like the devil.
I stumbled upon those japanese masks about a year ago while looking for devil wall masks. The Oni mask doesn't quite fit my memory of the mask, though at one time I tried to convince myself that it was one of those japanese masks. I remember it having circular eyes, like the Oni.
But this mask is my design, and not the one from memory.
Very good work Rot! You should buy some clay and make a sculpt out of clay, then mold, add latex, some paint,...wallah!!!
Mike
Great mask! It looks like someone found a devil in a peat bog and peeled his face away.
Really nice! Made me think you might do some variations on your ground breakers... zombies coming through
old wood planks like a boarded up window.
A great memory attached to the creation.
Finally, Rot- I've retrieved my long lost Google account info! Blogger recognizes me again...lol. You and 'ol scratch, man! Reminds me of the favorite ornament on your Christmas tree.
Fantastic job!
Branding: "Grandma's Old Timey Satanic Wall Art"
Tagline: "Old Scratch from scratch, just like Grandma used to make!"
Logo concept: A smiling, grandmotherly figure with an apron and oven mits holding a cookie sheet full of fresh baked Satan masks. Oh, and the oven should look like the gaping maw of the abyss.
That one's free. If you need more genius marketing concepts you know where to find me. ;)
HA! That's GREAT, man!
Gah; I've been thinking about this mask all day. It's just too good.
Your blog makes me so giddy sometimes.
Years ago, my dad had a friend that did readings in Cassadaga, FL. While I find doing readings completely unethical, her house was decorated perfectly to fit the part of a 'witch.' She had statues of the grim reaper all over her house, and over the front entrance, there was a devil mask. She was the only person that I've ever seen to have satan be the face that greets you in the entrance of your house. I for one thought it was very cool
Your props have given me lots of inspiration in the past for my prop building, and reading this post just inspired me to make a few masks to hang up on the walls of my house this Halloween...
Love the mask! Also, Jon's marketing idea is wonderful! We have a cheap rubber Satan mask that cost a dollar that we have hung on our wall for the past few years. It actually looks creepy. We've placed lights behind it in the past. We get more comments on that cheap mask than any other decoration we have.
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