"Nothing says lovin' like somethin' in the oven..." so goes a harmless diddy which somehow went with cookies or flakey dinner rolls. But hum that at Halloween and everything gets wierded out. What is in the oven?When I first met Susi, she said I gave her the creeps. I was crest fallen. Only later did she tell me that she meant the good creeps. You know like, oohhh-whoo-who. I guess. I'm not really sure.
Anyway, growing up (I know) I used to scour my folks libraryand was drawn to books with wood engravings by Fritz Eichenberg (right).
He made everything look creepy. I felt like
it was Halloween year 'round.
Or maybe it was that I was reading Edgar Allen Poe and
Wuthering Heights.
But these are good creeps.
Like visitng my cousins. I would take the train
by myself from L.A. up to Palo Alto in the Bay area.
We road our bikes like bats out of hell.
I seem to remember riding to the graveyard a lot.
We were enthralled by the tombstones and
implications of those departed souls
and not departed remains.
Say hello to my little friend. Carefully laid out on my welcome mat, like my cat is a sushi chef.Happy Halloween. You all give me the creeps. Good ones.
6 comments:
i love the cat's way with animals. chase, catch, play, display! i'm reading the legend of saint christopher to my kids in a few weeks. it's in my hands right now - wickedgood work richard!!!!
fave image - the sky in the plate next to the foreword.
the entire plate featuring the king with his amazing robes and aging face. the rest is merely amazing!!!
steven
Love it, Love it, Love it.
You do realize however, that you are lucky your kitty does not hide her prizes?
Kat
I'm with you on wood cuts-there is definitely something about them-- Wikipedia had a very interesting article on being buried alive- intentionally and unintentionally you might enjoy- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premature_burial
Richard I love your blog home page--words and pictures! Anita
Thanks a bunch, Steven, so glad to found one of my books. I loved painting those pics.
Yeah, no kidding, Kat, There have been times when our cats have tucked some delicacy into a corner, not to be found until...yipes!
Thank you, Julia, for the Wikipedia article tip. Creepy-good. I was both creeped-out and fascinated when, as a kid, I first read The Cask of Amontillado and The Fall of the House of Usher. Ugh and hooray for unearthing (pun intended) unspoken fears. Harry Clark's wood engraving is so effective and freaky I may fold it into a future post.
Oh, I accidentally skipped you Anita. Thank you for your kind comments. Are you *the* Anita Anonymous? Q:>) <-That digital heiroglyph is supposed to be a guy with a ball cap on, but it looks a lot like my great aunt.
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