Saturday, June 11, 2011

Rainy Day Reference Hunt.

Hey Frightners.

Well it's been a gloomy day here in NJ, the kind of rainy day that makes you just want to curl up on the couch and watch movies all day and pretty much that is what I am doing right now, just watching Goonies one of my favorite movies of all time!

Now I haven't just sat around today. I unfortunately had to miss out on the NJ/PA Make and Take today due to some early morning errands but I did get out this afternoon to do some reference research and got a few helpful books that I'd like to share with you.

Now as you probably know by now I am adding a carnival section to my haunt this year. I will have my graveyard scene, a haunted mansion room and then a carnival that my guests can explore at will but the carnival is new to me so I wanted to do as much research as I could on traveling carnivals and sideshows.

I went to my local Barnes and Noble and got two books that I think will be a big help. The first is called " The Circus Book"  1870-1950, written by Dominique Jando. This is a wonderful book detailing every aspect of the traveling circuses from the mid 1900's to the mid 1900's. The pictures are just awesome and I am happy to have got it not just as a reference book but as a nice book to add to my collection of art books for my home office. I am sure I will be pulling inspiration from this book for years to come.


The second book I picked up was called " Ballyhoo: Sideshow Freaks, Jabbers and Blade Box Queens. Written by : A.W. Stencell. A.W. is a former sideshow circus owner and the stories and photos in this book are all his own. Mr. Stencell gives an in-depth look at the inner workings of a sideshow and I'd say this book is a must have for any circus or sideshow lover.
I'm looking forward to really diving into these book and am hoping the provide me some good ideas that I can try to add to my haunt this year. I did get back to work on my Twisted Toybox prop today. I added some molding to the sides, attached the hinges and lid to the box and am now trying to finish up the artwork for the panels. Hopefully next week I will have the panel art complete and then it is just a matter of installing them and then working on the motor mechanism to make the lid open and close on it's own. I'm excited about finishing this prop and look forward to sharing the final pictures and videos of it. Now back to reading my new books!

Stay Frightful!


1 comments:

Justine’s Halloween said...

Very cool! I think a carnival theme would be a good addition to a haunted attraction. Have you read "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury? That's my favorite book, and I think it would also inspire you with this project!

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