A longstanding love affair with October stems from my childhood—the anticipation of waiting an entire month for its very last day to dress up and be whatever you wanted to be…can life be any more exciting for an 8 year old?
The year was 1959 and the world was relatively safe back then. Neighbors dropped in unannounced, doors were left unlocked, and kids could play outside without fear. My favorite show was the brand new “Twilight Zone.” “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” (episode 22) wouldn’t air for another few months, but monsters were on my mind. A lot of kids from my generation shared the zeal for plastic replicas of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy and the Wolfman.
Back then, the best thing about Halloween was the event lasted a week. With different towns celebrating the holiday on different nights, we traveled to neighborhoods close by. Progress, Penbrook, Paxtang, minding our P’s, but where were the Q’s? We walked together as friends with bags overflowing. It was like Christmas morning in October.
“Two Sisters” by Tina Berrier, at HIVE artspace
Keeping that childlike innocence alive today regarding All Hallows’ Eve can be a real challenge, but, this October, HIVE artspace in York pulls out all the stops with a chilling show entitled, “The Annual Spooky Art Show.” Susan Scofield is the mistress of ceremonies, stirring her cauldron at 126 E. King St., with Kate Rush right by her side. Eye of newt and batwing broth may sound a bit much to swallow but, believe me, if you enjoy being spooked, or playing pranks, Susan and Kate and Heather Greenough are your “charmed” hostesses through Oct. 28. October’s theme for art at HIVE is timeless: the annual show speaks to their tradition as happens every October. It features an entire medley of mediums: pyrography, mosaic, felted wool, assemblage, painting, handmade art dolls, collage and photography. “Spooky” will make you want to jump over the candlestick!
“Hellebore and Death’s Head Moths” by Nicole Smeltzer (photo: Jana MacGinnes)
Susan edited hundreds of submissions down to a magical 100 throughout the gallery. Highlights include the return of Justin Ritmiller, paying homage to classic film monsters of the past, surely my kind of guy. “Of Monsters and Men,” his acrylic on canvas is a tribute to iconic director, James Whale, who immortalized Frankenstein and his bride from the 1930s, as well as Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula for his “Romanian Nobility,” an acrylic on wood panel—is that a stake by any chance?
Daphne Watts burns an image of Elsa Lancaster on a wood plaque in her iconic role as the Bride of Frankenstein. Beverly Hunter’s Nosferatu cuts to the quick with shards of ceramic, glass and mirrors. The ubiquitous Tina Berrier, (yes, that Tina of Millworks fame and the Nothing Pretty gang and the She Serpents) brings legerdemain with her mixed media assemblage piece, “Hellion.”
“Edgar” by Alana Beall (photo: Jana MacGinnes)
Nicole Smeltzer recently completed a wonderful, whimsical mural for the new Royal Square Mural Park. Her piece is “Hellebore and Death’s Head Moths,” an acrylic on canvas. Monique Kelly mixes media into heady potions with bottles assembled to suit her purpose. Sarah Liles may have you fawning over her watercolor, ink and acrylic marker, “Trick or Treat.” Gretchen Nevin keeps “Tradition” alive with her classic pumpkins, oil on canvas. Lastly, Alana Beall has my heart with a too cool for school acrylic and mixed media piece entitled, “Edgar,” the one and only E.A. Poe.
Be sure to check out the other 91 works as their bones are rattling to see you. As for Susan S., I knew when we first met and discussed Walpurgis Night (the eve of Beltane) “that spooky was a moniker that fit her well.” In keeping with the classic monster’s story arc for this exhibit, the carriage driver in Tod Browning’s 1931 “Dracula,” shuddered “do not cross the Borgo Pass on Walpurgis Night or you will never be seen again.” For me, I will wait for All Hallows Eve when the veil between two worlds is the thinnest.
Goes Bump
Illustration by Rob Sheley
The third edition of illustrator Rob Sheley’s “Things That Go Bump in the Night” at Metropolis Collective in Mechanicsburg gave me pause. I started writing this blog back in July as October holds a special appeal that dates back to the 1950s, as you are now aware of…for TheBurg this marks my fifth annual October paean. The 4th of July had just ended when I wrote the title, “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” When Hannah Dobek, gallery director and artist in residence at Metropolis, sent me notice for this show two weeks ago, a big smile crossed my lips. In truth, this phrase had its origin in the 19th century in literature. There is truly nothing new under the sun. The moon, now that is a different story…
“Things That Go Bump in the Night III” fills the eyes with macabre mayhem maniacally manipulated, maudlin and melancholy. Like myself, Rob has an abiding reverence for the “Famous Monsters of Filmland” (Frankenstein’s monster and his bride), making them the centerpiece of his solo exhibition for the new show. In the artist’s own words, “Through color, line, shade and composition,” new life is breathed into classic images formerly seen only in black and white. Rob’s empathetic point of view allows for a richer appreciation of the “monsters” we treasure from the Golden Age of Cinema in the 1930s and ’40s. The show’s fall run encompasses two full moons through its last day on Nov. 25. Rob is a Harrisburg native and has done album work for Elvis Costello, Drive by Truckers, Old 97 and a host of others, including Eastman Kodak. His work over three decades is legendary and begs to be viewed in person for full appreciation of his art. As illustrators go, he is in a class by himself with the images, photographic in detail, yet are not, become otherworldly. Contact the artist robsheley.com.
October Art Events
Arts on the Square, Sunday, Oct. 15, Market Street Presbyterian Church. Opening reception 12 to 1:30 p.m., featuring the works of fiber artist, Gloria McPherson
3rd in the Burg, Friday Oct. 20
Susquehanna Art Museum’s “Shifting Forms: 5 Decades of Abstraction” and “Diane Arbus: Ten Years” Both shows run through Jan. 21
Art Association of Harrisburg’s “Art Is” (members show), through Nov. 2
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