I couldn't think of a way to incorporate the Dead Sentinel into this year's display. I imagined him being a Sentinel that just didn't make the full transformation into the two that are guarding the walkway to the Corn Witch on the porch. He still has two hands, one of them being WAY too human for the witches' tastes. He had a place in the back story, just no place in the yard haunt.
It reminded me of a quote by Stephen King - "Kill your darlings." Sometimes you just have to let a creation go, no matter how much you dig it, if it just doesn't work.
18 comments:
Well, you could always send it to my house. :)
William Faulkner said it first, FYI.
this darling would kill you
Thanks, man. Bean emailed me a minute before your comment correcting me on the facts too. : )
If ya wanna get super technical about it, it's been attributed to many - including Faulkner, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch & F. Scott Fitzgerald. Wherever it originally came from, it is an invaluable tool when it comes to creating in any artistic format.
Blech...that sounded all grad schooly. I just annoyed myself. I apologize.
I also had a particular prop that I felt just didn't quite fit with my haunt this year. I thought I would just hang onto it and perhaps use it next year, but for the past two years I've had this peculiar neighbor that has really seems to come by and study my haunt. I can say I don't even know his name. I sometimes see him through my window walking past my house some 3-5 times a day, sometimes taking pictures at all different times of the day (dawn, dusk, and overcast days)He kind of freaks my wife out. He never really does much to his yard on Halloween usually sets out a couple of carved Jackos and black lights in his carriage lights is mostly the extent of it. He sits alone on his porch and passes out candy. So, I decided I would give him this prop this year. I was not going to use it and hated that it would be hidden in my garage on Halloween. He was so thrilled! He displayed it with such pride which gave it new life and energy. On Halloween as I sat on my porch just taking in the night I glanced over to my neighbors yard watching as his creature haunted his new domain. Strangely the creature seemed to be gazing back at me with an odd grin, as if the creature was thanking me in its own way for not making him stay in my garage for another year. I have always believed that every prop I make has a piece of me in it, and with the magic in the air they come to life every Halloween!
NP! It's been attributed to a number of authors over the years, including Mark Twain.
I can definitely picture Mark Twain doing some murdering - hacking away at pages like a maniac :)
Wow. That's one prolific apocryphal quote!
And I totally butchered it and applied it to Halloween prop-making, of all things!
Like Necro Bones said.... You could of sent him over to my house...
That's pretty admirable to have that kind of restraint. I wish I had it.
no,no, no!!! geez, he was my favorite prop of all time!!! actually, I understand completely the "it just doesn't fit" thing....still, I find myself in mourning for the sentinel..he is truly a masterpiece!
: )
He's still around...just didn't use him for the display.
You should have a "Pumpkinrot Raffle" to give him a home.(To somebody that won't slaughter him!);)
Nah, he's just on sabbatical.
Hey, I like Jay Shadow's idea! Raffle him to one of us! I know I'd give him a good home!
I totally understand though, from an artistic perspective, the idea of having to hold something back that may be fantastic on its own, but doesn't work with an overall theme. Retraint can be a real bitch, but it is certainly an essential tool for anyone of an artistic bent.
One of my design profs went as far as to call it "killing your babies," but of course he didn't have any (real ones).
That dead sentinel is one badass idea, love the seeds.
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