White Fright by Shary Boyle

A few weeks ago, The Vampire visited the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and came across this gorgeous piece created by Canadian artist Shary Boyle (check out her other beautiful creepy works at the link below).  This bat is perfect porcelain; the wings are created by attaching lace to the structure, then dipping the lace in liquid porcelain, and when the piece is fired the lace burns away but the shape of the lace remains.  White Fright is a stunning contradiction - bats are meant to be dark, evil, little vessels of pestilence, aren't they?

[Link to Shary Boyle's websites] 

[Link to Gardiner Museum]

Tissue Series by Lisa Nilsson

Artist Lisa Nilsson describes her above creations as "anatomical cross-sections in paper". The pieces are made from Japanese mulberry paper and the gilded edges of old books. According to Ms. Nilsson's website, she uses an antiquated technique called "quilling" to create these masterpieces. Quilling was apparently first practiced by Renaissance nuns and monks who were essentially recycling worn out Bibles.

[Link to Tissue Series on Lisa Nilsson's website]

Abstract Video by Inamoto Shinji

"motion feel" by Inamoto Shinji and Okada Hironari

There are days when I feel exactly what this video depicts. Abstract chaos. And yet somehow, despite the randomness, it all makes perfect sense...

[Link to video on vimeo]

Zombie Bed Sheets - Made in Ontario!!!

Zombie Bed Sheets by Melissa Christie

Check out these awesome linens, designed by Canada's very own Melissa Christie. Her shop is located in Hamilton, Ontario. Great to see a local contribution to the zombie effort!!! :-D

[Link to Melissa Christie on tumblr]

Gory Brain Cap DIY Project

Gory Brain Cap DIY Project

Check out makeprojects.com... they have epic DIY projects, and even an entire Hallowe'en projects page!!! Vampire, we have a date with a caulking gun in October. :-D

[Link to Gory Brain Cap project on makeprojects.com]

[Link to Hallowe'en projects on makeprojects.com]

Bat Skeleton Necklace

Bat Skeleton Necklace by Stephanie Inagaki

Check out Stephanie Inagaki's jewelry collection "Miyu Decay" on Etsy!!! :-D

[Link to Miyu Decay on Etsy]

Skeleton Typogram

Skeleton Typogram by Graphic Designer Aaron Kuehn

"A radically literal graphic abstraction of anatomy." 

(Quote describing Skeleton Typogram, from the Headspinningly Ostentatious Typographic & Applied Art Review (HOTaar) website.)

[Link to HOTaar website]

Rare Hook-Legged Spider Discovered in Oregon Cave

Trogloraptor marchingtoni, a.k.a. Hook-Legged Spider

Scientists recently discovered a rare "hook-legged" spider in the caves of southern Oregon. This species is apparently so rare that it even has a taxonomic genus and family to itself: Trogloraptor marchingtoni. According to the Neatorama website where I first came across this not-so-little cutie (their leg span measures up to 3" in diameter), the spider is named after Neil Marchington (a member of the Western Cave Conservancy who first discovered it)... and Trogloraptor means "cave robber".

Close-up of Trogloraptor marchingtoni's "Hook-Leg" 

According to Neatorama, researchers believe that the spiders have evolved to have hooks - or claws (as can be seen in the above photo) - on their legs, in order to catch flying insects for supper. 

All hail evolution in its infinite, bumbling wisdom. :-D

[Link to Neatorama article]

[Link to in-depth article on ourAmazingplanet website]

Matt Webb, Zombie Pirate

The Vampire's favourite Zombie Pirate.  The scissors make him look especially attractive. ;-)

[Link to Matt Webb's Twitter]

[Link to Marianas Trench's website]

Baby skulls!

Sometimes things can get a little too cutesy, but I just couldn't resist posting another skull related entry.  What do you think of these cute baby skulls?

 Baby Human Skulls (reproductions)

 Angelique's Painted Baby Skulls

Buy the reproductions or just check out either skulls at one of the following links.

[Link to Delicious Boutique] 

[Link to Angelique's skulls on Flickr]

Death in your living room?

I've featured one of Tom Spina's statues before (and that werewolf is still my favourite) and was back at the site browsing today when I saw this little beauty, which I think you will agree is appropriate for the SSWC blog.

Death on a Horse

This statue is life-sized and stands an imposing 8 feet tall.  Purchase it, or your own custom version, for a mere US$4999 through the link below.

[Link to Tom Spina Designs]

Are you Sanding Something, or is that just the Sound of my Eyeballs Moving???

Inner Ear Labyrinth

So, you think *you* have problems? Imagine waking up one day and being able to hear the internal sounds your body makes. Seems cool, right? Not so much... in fact, it could be enough to drive you mad! This is exactly what happened to 57-year old Stephen Mabbutt. He could hear his eyeballs moving around in their sockets and his heart beating, amongst other sounds... leading him to believe that he was going crazy over a period of six years. After extensive medical investigation, he was eventually diagnosed with a rare condition called "superior canal dehiscence syndrome" (SCDS). Essentially, a small hole in the temporal bone of Mr. Mabbutt's skull was causing the semicircular ear canal fluid to leak into his brain. As a result, the internal sounds of his body were conducted to his ear - explaining why he was hearing them. Below are three links: one to the original article, one to another sufferer's webpage (Mindy), and another to an article by Scientific American magazine that explains SCDS in further detail. 

[Link to original article]

[Link to Mindy's story]

[Link to Scientific American article on SCDS]