Nightmares & DayScreams

Spring has Sprung

Which means I am hopping busy. So far March has featured back to back weekend conventions and travel to Virginia to see friends. I had a wonderful Easter Mini Photo Shoot with Culling Innovations where the Queen of Hearts showed up to teach Alice the fine art of Croquet in Wonderland. It would appear children may need a new way to get their eggs and candy. April brings with it some smaller local conventions which I hope to attend, but first Charles Townsend is filming a documentary about Women in Cosplay and we have an interview scheduled. After that Ocean City Maryland is hosting both the Ocean Reniassance Festival the  15&16th to be followed by a new convention of its kind. OC Animae will debut April 29 & 30th. I am hoping to be able to find time to check out both if my schedule permits.
Busy working on a new cosplay in preparation for my debut at TideWater Comiccon in Virginia Beach in May. So keep hopping.

Haunting Virginia

September 19 2022 -It is about this time of year every year so far that I have been spending alot of time in Virginia. I spent one weekend in Norfolk checking out the expanded  Tidewater Horror convention  and then just this pat weekend I was back at Hampton Roads for  the 2022 Haunted Screams Expo. True to form I brought costumes and did a little shopping amongst my merchant friends. I was unable to be part of the Monster On Makeup Wars challenge this year as my  makeup artist was away on assignment, but I did manage to bring home second place in the Adult Costume Contest. < Many thanks to Charles A Townsend for the amazing images he captured while at Haunted Screams.>This gives me just a few weeks to get together all the pieces I am making for Culling Innovations Halloween Mini Photo Shoot in Salisbury MD on October15th. But First...I have the distinct honor of having been asked to help with makeups for Farragut Forward a local ongoing Star Trek tribute  You Tube Film short being done locally. So Time to clean up my kit and polish up on my beauty skills. 

"Oh Look Another Glorious Morning. It Makes Me sick."- Winifred Sanderson Hocus Pocus
#HauntedSreamsExpo2022 #halloweencostume Angel of Death 2nd Place winner Adult Costume Contest winner

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

August 2022- So fall is finally here. That means I am kicked into high gear once again. Maryland Renaissance festival last weekend. This week I am on the road again to Norfolk VA for TideWater Horrorcon with a quick side trip to  check out this years Howl-O-Scream at BuschGardens Williamsburg. Still working on costumes for next weeks Haunted Screams in Hampton VA as well.  So busy but things keep squeezing into my jam packed schedule with a new special event I just got asked to help out on in Fredrick MD in October...Shh...mums the word for now..must not Jinx it. I have been getting some amazing conversations with a few local independent film makers and discussing their projects.  All this leading up to  my first trip to  FaerieCon in Baltimore in October and as quick trip to World Oddities..all before Halloween. Then there is the HUGE project I have been working on for my return to Ocean City Comicon once again in December. Never fear dear friends things are very active here @ Nightmares & Dayscreams. Can't forget to mention my true new collaborations with David Insley of Culling Innovations coming up in just a few weeks.  Time to get Spooky!! Many thanks to the one and only Father Evil for this stunning photo from our reunion at  Scares That Cares Charity Weekend 2022. 
 **I was So Thrilled to see that FatherEvil recieved a special recognition Award at the New Jersey Horror Film Festival  on September 17th and I truly wish I could have been there to celebrate his special moment with him. Well done my friend. You deserve it.** -xoxo

#FatherEvil #Scaresthatcarescharityweekend2022 Father Evil dance with his favorite Succubus Temptation at the final Scares That Cares Charity Event

And Now for something completely different

After nearly a month on the road on the Eastern Seaboard I have had a very busy September. I have had the chance to be the model for a Makeup Challenge like SyFy Channels Face- Off at the Haunted Screams Expo in Hampton Road VA and the look took first place with all the honors due to  Jeffrey of Infected-FX. With little more than 3 hours to apply and paint he came ready to wow the audience and they stood and watched him work. Even the great actor Michael Berryman was impressed. The next day my own makeup skills and character creation took top honors in the Adult Costume Challenge contest . I had fun doing an on the spot makeup creation for the lovely Wendy Roache of Just a Little Hocus Pocus fame.  This was all after we took top prize for costume at Tidewater Horror con the week before which was great and I will be returning next year. I finished my convention tours with Monster Mania 47 in Hunt Valley Maryland where I got to meet the amazing  Robert Englund and  Kane Hodder is always fun, but photo opps meant not much time for makeup and costumes.
I really enjoyed the NJ Horror Convention and Film Fest too. I made lots of new friends and  was asked back in November but like the Chesapeake VA Monsterfest I will have to pass this year due to needing a break as there are so many new projects in the works and my time is limited now that Halloween has started. Wait and see what is coming next.

Spooky Season Begins

So this year post Covid-19 brings with it the chance to once more get out and be among my people. I love meeting and mingling with my fellow Horror Convention fans and vendors. I love to network and enjoy the chance to showcase the products from so many great creative folks. Every time I post a character I do my very best to credit all of the folks who helped me create the final look. This persons awesome teeth and that ones wicked horns. I credit the people whose contacts I wear ( when I can recall where I got them) and the people who crafters the amazing prosthetic appliances I use. Heck I even credit the people who design my outfit and take the pictures when I can. Collaboration is key right now. We all support one another and by doing so we open the doors to exposure of our work and how it has been showcased to a greater range of people. This year was special because I am hitting new conventions in new places. August was Scares that Care and Dover DE Comicon. So far I have just returned from NJ Horrorcon& filmfest in Atlantic City New Jersey. Next weekend I will be in Norfolk VA for Tidewater Horrorcon and then in Hampton for the  Haunted Screams. I still have Monster Mania the final week this month and October is just as busy. Look for updates and new photos as they become available. Stay Spooky!!

Yet Another Friday the 13th gone by

With Covid still around and mandatory mask making a comeback there are still conventions to attend people to see. Halloween is just around the corner ,even if Summer missed the memo to pack up and head out. What that means is more time to cosplay and  even start working with other models before I return to my Fall festivities once more at Trimper's Amusements on the boardwalk in Ocean City MD. First I have an September full of new conventions to attend. Some old and some new. Some I will just be a guest and others I am volunteering my time both in and out of costume. As my family and friends are well aware about this time of year with Theater colliding with conventions and  Halloween it becomes about like Where's Waldo to spot me. However you can be sure that until they lock us in I will be haunting the east coast. Find me at the New Jersey HorrorConvention & Filmfest , Haunted Screams in VA, Tidewater  HorrorCon in VA and Monster Mania. Can you spot me or my creations? Follow me on Instagram and Faceboook to see more of my work as I get time to upload them. 
Dover Comicon 2021 was fun. Working with Community Players of Salisbury on Para-Cles to be held at historic Furnace Town MD in just a week. And Auditions set next week for Noises Off I will be quite busy.
Unitil later- Sweet Screams


Happy Friday the 13th from 2020 - the year that almost didn't happen

2020-10-31 115514jpg While Covid-19 has certainly made Halloween 2020 much quieter than normal. I was very happy to have the chance to get out and create once again. I was asked by the  kind folks at Trimper's Rides in Ocean City MD to change their staff into zombies for the final weekend of October 2020. It was a task I am used to doing but have honestly never been the sole artist when creating zombie hordes for events. Since they are normally larger groups I have always worked as part of a team for most of my prior events as well as when I worked in OC Screams years ago. Time management and preparation become key when faced with having to do several people in a short amount of time. Also simplicity. My designs are normally very detailed and this time I learned to work fast and go for basic makeup tricks that pack punch and fool the eye. In the end I was exhausted but I think the staff and management were both happy with  my services and I gained more experience.
 Oddly these events led to me deciding last minute to not go out myself on Halloween. I did have the time to create several new character looks that I was quite happy with and I have made several new connections with people through all this down time Covid has created. While I am anxious to get back to work and have a potentially very busy 2021, I know that we are all holding our breath to see if things will go backwards before they get better.
 Keep Creating and People will notice.

Sick of Covid-19 Cancelations

With Conventions and large gatherings cancelling or postponing essentially until 2021 artists like myself find that they become stale or like me you use yourself ,and family if they permit it, as models. I have been watching virtual Seminars, Q& A's and demonstrations when I can. I also have been doing the weekly challenges posted on instagram and hosted by McKenzie Westmore Tatopoulos  of Westmore Beauty & SyFy Face Off Host. I was fortunate to have my Dark Fey look chosen by Patrick Tatopoulos as the Overall Winner. Ve Neil gave my  Mortimer the Mortician entry for the Tim Burton challenge an Honorable Mention and then I got a second Honorable mention so far from Howard Berger during the recent Chronicles of Narnia challenge when I created my own version of me as Aslan the Golden Lion. It has felt great knowing that my work holds up even under scrutiny of such big Hollywood names all while we are stuck at home during the now 6 month stretch of Stay At Home Stay Strong Stay Seperate Together. More creations coming soon as I do have a few small gigs in the works as well as a few events this fall that have not canceled yet.