Don't spook till you're spooken to

GodzillaGirl challenged me to dig out some more Fimo modeling compound and try making Shirley Shriek, an early Patti Peticolas "Kooky Spooky" design, who was morphed into the more commercial Mama Kaskit. (My housemate reckons Shirley looks a little too Ku Klux Klan.)



Bulbous-nosed General Gilghouly - note the newly-added bluebird perched on the more-suitable gun, as featured on Patti's sketches - and Shirley Shriek, with her skull necklace, using a length of silver neckchain I accidentally broke a few years ago. Waste not, want not.


Early Shirley Shriek sketch by Patti Peticolas, 1968.


Custom Kooky Spookys by Ian McLean.

Greeting Geisha Ghost

I finally found a tiny sketch of the Kooky Spooky design known as Geisha Ghost, who eventually evolved into Grandma Macreak. Since I still had an unbaked batch of the lemon/nightglow Fimo modelling compound, I figured I still had one more custom left in me.


Early "Kooky Spooky" designs (Geisha Ghost: middle of top row).

Created by Patti Peticolas (1968) for Hasbro. Baby Boo (became Baby Spook'em), Shirley Shriek with pendant (evolved into Mama Kaskit), Geisha Ghost with fans (evolved into Grandma Macreak), General Booregard with gun (eventually dropped), Gaston Ghost with foil and shield (became Daddy Cadava, then dropped), Teena Terror. Note: the banjo went to Vincent Van Ghost (who became Rigor Mortimer, and finally Brother Mortimer). Cousin Gilghouly evolved into Daddy Booregard.


Geisha Ghost from the back, and from the top.


A trio of customs: General Gilghouly, Geisha Ghost and Cousin Cadava


The whole gang!

When you're on a run...

Customised Teena Terror and Mama Kaskit "Kooky Spookys"

I made customized Teena and Mama ghost figures today. I was walking through a stationery store yesterday, and found little pink, heart-shaped, split-pin fasteners, and thought they'd look good as the pink hearts on their cheeks. (I'm not quite happy with the heavy eyeliner, but I'm going to try scraping away excess paint when it's dried.) Their signs were cut out with cookie cutters I happened to have on hand.


Extended Hasbro "Kooky Spooky" family - plus Avon's Gilroy the Ghost

See the previous customising venture HERE!


Elusive: Boxed original Mama Kaskit; opened, original Teena Terror.


My Fimo customs!

My PhotoPeach slideshow about Kooky Spookys is HERE!

Bonjour, Monsieur Poulet!

Leigh Hobbs' infamous Monsieur Poulet, of "Mr Chicken goes to Paris", climbs the Eiffel Tower and then (below, in my version of the story) seemingly meets an appreciative, time-travelling artist. (I'm actually working on a book trailer for this CBCA Awards nominated picture book. I hope. I have to produce something exciting for Tristan Bancks' final class on Monday night.)



Monsieur Poulet was crafted from yellow, black and white FIMO Soft oven-hardening modelling material. Background artwork is from "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" by Leigh Hobbs (Allen & Unwin, 2009).



I bought my copy of "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" the day it came out. It was one of those books you just couldn't leave behind in the shop. Earlier this year, when the CBCA shortlist came out, I grabbed a copy for school. At first, I thought I'd have to forfeit mine. Mai non!


By the way, the French chair (above) is an actual miniature prop
from the 2001 Australian movie, "Moulin Rouge!"



I must explain, too: I was reading "Mr Chicken goes to Paris" today to a group of K-2 students, one of who just *could not* cope with me calling the main character "Mr Chicken" - especially since we read "Kip" (about a rooster) and "Bear & Chook by the sea" yesterday. Every page, the poor kid kept putting his hands over his ears and yelling, "There. Are. No. Chickens. In. That. Book!"

His young colleagues were telling me, "We all have to just ignore him." We kept reading, but I had to avoid saying those magic words, "Mr Chicken", hence the main character was "Monsieur Poulet" throughout!

UPDATE: Okay, I think I've just managed to upload my book trailer as a VIDEO PODCAST! Music: "Parks On Fire (California Burning Mix)" by DJ Rkod (feat. Trifonic). http://ccmixter.org/files/DJ_Rkod/14745 is licensed under a Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/nc-sampling+/1.0/.