Little Parker Pumpkin with Bailey Bat

I have finally finished the painting on two new sculptures, and this is one of them, "Parker Pumpkin."  As is normal with many of my figures, Parker has a story.  It seems as though Parker comes with a well-vined pedigree, with his family's seedstock traced back to at least the 1620s, when his ancestors were shared with the settlers of the Plymouth Colony.  Being native to North America, this little fellow's family roots run deep and proud.

Parker learned at an early age the impact his family had on the history of America, and he was raised to uphold the standards of his family tree, uh, I mean vine.  Parker had other ideas, however, after he overheard a group of young pumpkin boys discussing Halloween and all of the mischief and fun of the night.  The other little pumpkin boys shared their love of bats, spiders and bugs, and told him stories of spooky ghosts, witches and ghouls.  Parker decided he wasn't going to become food for the humans; he was going to become a jack-o'-lantern!



After Parker learned that most jack-o'-lanterns were carved and not painted, Parker carefully rethought the idea and decided instead to train Halloween bats.  Over time, what Cesar Millan is to dogs, Parker became to bats... he became known as the "bat whisperer!"

Parker is shown in this sculpture with a bat named Bailey, in his right hand, and uses this well balanced bat to teach other little nocturnal fellows how to get over their fear of jack-o'-lanterns.   After all, you can't have a bat afraid of common everyday Halloween folk. Not to worry, Parker hasn't failed yet with any of his bats, and it is partially due to the talents of Bailey!

Hope you like this silly pumpkin and understand his batty dreams.

Have a creative week!

Laurie

The Dumpty Pumpkin Boys

New to the Monkey-Cats Studio Halloween line up this year are two pumpkin figures seated on paper mache blocks that I have loving named the "Dumpty Pumpkin" brothers, "Lumpty and Humpty".  (They looked like they could fall off of those blocks and hence the names.)

"Lumpty Dumpty Pumpkin" is the first squatty little fellow shown and he is just tickled pink because a baby bat has landed on his fingers.  (Human children would be delighted by a butterfly, but in the world of Halloween a butterfly just wouldn't do, it had to be a bat.)  Being the youngster that he is, he grins with delight and puts his other hand up to signal his brother about the event.  If he gets too excited and doesn't pay attention that little fellow is going to take a tumble from his perch, and so begins their story that parallels another childhood tale.  

"Lumpty's" brother is "Humpty Dumpty Pumpkin", the elder of the two Dumpty Pumpkin brothers.  "Humpty" is a spider collector and is shown here with his favorite companion"Yo-Yo", named for his ability to go up and down quickly on his spun webs.  "Humpty" also adores his spider companion because he came with a pumpkin shape on his torso so he knew immediately that their relationship was meant to be.

The boys are headed to Michigan next week for Ghoultide Gathering.  Hope you like these silly brothers!

Laurie

Hephaestus the Devil Pumpkin With Horace

Tick, tick, tick....time is quickly approaching for the 14th annual Halloween and Vine this Saturday, September 26, at Hermann Sons Hall in Petaluma, CA. This little guy, "Hephaestus the Devil Pumpkin with Horace" will be one of 58 original works available for purchase at the Monkey-Cats Studio table. Hephaestus is one of two Devil Pumpkin brothers that will be making the journey to California...he is definitely the "cutey" of the two and adores his flaming pattern design on his base as well as across the bottom of his cape that covers his back. You might also notice he has a little devil tail...something this little guy was born with along with the horns sprouting from his forehead.

Not to fear, Hephaestus is a LITTLE devil and he only does small devilish deeds. (Okay, he has been know to fling a jack-o'-lantern or two, but only if they were already rotting and begging to be put out of their shriveling misery.) He is also shown with Horace, his Bat out of He-- (I didn't name him!!). It is actually Horace that you might have to watch...he has been known to fly off with a shiny thing or two, so if you adopt him and you can't locate one of your earrings, pretty pins or car keys (so naughty), you might want to check his favorite hiding spot, which is usually right over the top of your drapes. Of course when you go to look over the drapes he will have moved them and then put the object in plain site to make you feel pretty silly for not seeing them when you looked in the same spot the first time. Maybe you have already experienced the mischief of Horace!!

Well it is off to last minute details for me and maybe a margarita. Hope to see you Saturday!
Laurie