Halloween is tomorrow night, my friends, and though J and I usually skip the festivities in favor of a quiet night at home, we are
headed out this year. If you follow my tweets you know that as of last night I now own
two sets of cheap drugstore-style vampire teeth, neither of which are at all convincing. Not only are they not convincing, they fly out of my mouth unless I keep it clamped shut (with the rubbery incisors poking out at ridiculous angles) and this newest set even triggers my gag reflex (gagging, bucktoothed vampire - now
that's scary). In desperation I tried googling "make your own vampire teeth" and came across several projects that look as if they'd require robbing my dentist's office to pull off. Another site suggested cutting a pair of vampire teeth out of a
white dishwashing liquid bottle (shudder).
So. I shelved the sexy vampire idea (which is probably for the best, as who
isn't going to be a sexy vampire this year? The entire country is currently obsessed with all things sexy vampire) and I spent this morning tearing around the house for the makings of a costume. Turns out, I have several choices...
God knows I have plenty of vines, leaves, dried flowers and berries, so I fashioned a quick wreath and thought if I combined it with
this outfit and added a few more natural elements on my arms and/or legs I could be a wood nymph/earth goddess. Pros: it's fairly comfortable and easy. Cons: the wreath digs into my head, most of my foliage will probably end up littering the dance floor within 10 minutes, and, minus the wreath the outfit isn't anything I wouldn't normally wear. Moss, anyone?
Option #2 felt a little more costume-like thanks to the mask and black wig. Pros: comfortable and costume-like. Cons: still a little boring. Dress doesn't have much give to it for dancing, so there's the potential for an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.
Back to the attic...
To pull
this ensemble together. There's something about the combination of the afro wig and blank white mask that I really love. Remember
this post? Paired up with a vintage 70's polyester jacket and retro-inspired bell bottom pants that I've been holding onto for 15 years for just such an occasion, I could be a creepy, faceless disco dancer. Whatever that is. Pros: I love this wig and am looking for an excuse to wear it. It's a great costume for dancing. Cons: the mask makes it hard to breathe and doesn't have any mouth hole, which will make drinking a challenge. The shoes, while incredibly cute, are going to require me to be carried back to the car by the end of the evening. Still, this is the option I'm leaning towards so far. There are still a few more bird-shaped masks, tuxedo jackets, face paints, petticoats, and prom gowns to shuffle through...
Decided to forgo the black wig in the end. Too goth. Hard to see in this photo, but the dress has little dia de los muertos skeletons all over it. The best idea of the evening was to attach a big flower to my little zipped wristlet, so I can carry my id and cash without having to lug around a bag...
Since I already have a bouquet of red fake flowers to carry...
This is the time of year I find myself visiting the hilly, rambling cemeteries around North Adams, trying to catch a bit of daylight during my lunch hour. Graveyards are also one of my favorite places to shoot. So in honor of Halloween/All Souls Day/All Saints Day/Dia de los Muertos I'm posting photos from a few recent graveyard ramblings tonight...
Option #2 felt a little more costume-like thanks to the mask and black wig. Pros: comfortable and costume-like. Cons: still a little boring. Dress doesn't have much give to it for dancing, so there's the potential for an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.
To pull this ensemble together. There's something about the combination of the afro wig and blank white mask that I really love. Remember this post? Paired up with a vintage 70's polyester jacket and retro-inspired bell bottom pants that I've been holding onto for 15 years for just such an occasion, I could be a creepy, faceless disco dancer. Whatever that is. Pros: I love this wig and am looking for an excuse to wear it. It's a great costume for dancing. Cons: the mask makes it hard to breathe and doesn't have any mouth hole, which will make drinking a challenge. The shoes, while incredibly cute, are going to require me to be carried back to the car by the end of the evening. Still, this is the option I'm leaning towards so far. There are still a few more bird-shaped masks, tuxedo jackets, face paints, petticoats, and prom gowns to shuffle through...
Good grief this is addictive! Here's a memory matching game that uses images from Flickr based on whatever tag you create...want to match up green, Halloween, Border Collies, flowers? Go for it here.
Last Saturday I finally had the pleasure of seeing the Sol LeWitt exhibit at MASS MoCA. It really is three whole floors of stunning (this is just a small glimpse of some huge walls) and it's well worth a trip to the beautiful Berkshires to experience them for yourself. Luckily you have lots of time to plan your visit - the exhibit runs until 2033.
Hello! Just posting this quick link to an interesting piece in the New York Times Magazine this weekend about our endless quest for knowledge...Stop Your Search Engines.
I leaf peep whenever I can in these final days of October. One good gusty rain storm is going to send the last of the tawny gold and orange leaves flying through the air and across the roads, bunching them up in awkward corners and gutters, tangling them throughout the blackening garden. We'll be down to the bare bones then — the shapes of trunks and branches. We'll suddenly notice the evergreens again, grateful for green needles and dangling cones.
Sunrise & Sunset, Thursday October 21
From yesterday's lunch break. Today I'm home and the weather isn't being nearly as cooperative.
