Days of The Dead Indy 2022

Is our extended weekend already over? That’s how I am feeling right now as I type this. Since the pandemic, my husband and I have not enjoyed one of our full blown horror con weekend getaways. We did a random one day drive to Flashback Weekend last year and prior to that we hadn’t enjoyed a full horror con weekend since Days of the Dead in 2019. That was until this past weekend when we decided to take some days off work, extend our weekend and take a road tip back to Indy for another Days Of The Dead con.

As in the past, I was especially excited to gift some of my original art pieces to those who who would be attending and inspired my work. Unfortunately Lori Petty cancelled at the last minute so this Tank Girl fanatic will have to wait until our paths hopefully cross one day in the future. However the guests who did attend that received my work were incredible and made the experience and road trip so well worth it.

First was John Kassir. It felt so great to be in his presence again (we met him in 2018 in Chicago). There are just some people in this world that you encounter that you get all the good vibes from and John is definitely one of those people. I had shared my “Deadtime Stories” art piece with him via the link to my blog post which he was so kind to stop by and comment on. He recognized it right away when I approached his table with the original and told me how impressed he was with my work and that not all things “Tales From the Crypt” that he collects/owns get put up on full display in his home. However, my piece most definitely will be. He gifted me a 8×10 signed Crypt Keeper picture and took this great photo with Frank and I. Later on we even had the honor of enjoying his company in the hotel bistro and he displayed my work on his table all weekend long. Seriously.. I can’t say it enough.. John really is the greatest!

Later after Patty Mullen arrived and was settled in at her table we visited her and I was able to gift her my “Tossed Human Salad” art piece. She also recognized my work and told me that she had seen it posted on Instagram. She said she was impressed with the way I captured her likeness in such a unique way. Especially her eyes. She said for some reason people have difficulty getting them right but I got her spot on. She was a blast to talk to. Even her interacting with the fans before us in line was a trip to watch. Especially when she was in full Frankenhooker inspired fashion from head to toe! So much purple I was loving it. She too gifted us a 8×10 signed Frankenhooker print and took this adorable photo with me. She was so sweet and so much fun to meet!

If that was not memorable enough. Frank and I decided to enter the That Damn Tattoo Contest that was taking place at the convention. Originally I talked Frank into entering his new They Live tattoo and the people hosting the event insisted I enter my Pee Wee’s Playhouse tattoo as well. We BOTH ended up winning in different categories. Frank took home Best Horror Sci Fi Tattoo and I won Best Small Color Tattoo. The judges who we met on stage during the show had nothing but great things to say about our work. We are now so excited to be able to share these plaques with our tattoo artist Luke Reubelt when we see him next.

It felt all around great to finally have a horror con weekend away just the two of us and experience such lasting memories in the process. An all around great weekend that went by way too fast. Thank you again Days of The Dead for another killer event and to John and Patty for being so kick ass!

Stay Spooky & Magical,
LDG Nicole

Freaky Fanatics: Ian at CryptKeeper1225

Today I want to give a Freaky Fanatic shout out to Ian over at CryptKeeper1225. He gave me a 5 Star Etsy Review of my “Deadtime Stories” print, framed it and then shared it with his Tales From The Crypt fan followers on Instagram!

Be sure to go visit CryptKeeper1225 and show the post some love. If you’re a Tales From The Crypt fan give the page a follow to get some “cryptastic” posts in your feed.

You can also see Ian’s post and more of my happy customers on the Freaky Fanatic page of my official portfolio website!

For those who are interested in purchasing prints, you can do so online from Etsy and Amazon or you can purchase them in person from my store display at Closet Collectibles in Crete, IL!

Have a photo of you rocking or displaying one of my creations? Contact me to submit your photos and videos so you can be featured as one of my Freaky Fanatics too! Sharing on social media? Be sure to tag #livingdeadgirlnicole and send me your links!

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

Spitting Image: Deadtime Stories

When I was a “kiddie” my Aunt gifted me a small tv for my bedroom. Late at night when I was supposed to be sleeping, I would turn on Tales From The Crypt. My Grandma who I lived with at the time was very religious and anything horror was considered “of the devil” so I would make sure to turn the volume down low as I curled up in my bedding for “deadtime” story time with the Crypt Keeper.

My Mom had introduced me to horror and these moments of young-ghoul-rebellion were very freeing from the life I was forced to live after she had passed away. They gave me something to look forward to late at night. It was a time by myself away from the hell I was living during the day.

In 2009 when Frank and I got married I designed a Tales From the Crypt comic inspired wedding program that we passed out to all of our guests.

In 2018 we had the honor of meeting John Kassir at Days of the Dead and we shared stories with him and told him how much the show meant to us. He told us how he loves hearing these stories and how amazed he still is knowing how determined so many “kiddies” were to watch the show.

Needless to say as a part of that special late night Kiddie Crypt Club, it was only a matter of time that I would be checking this art piece off my art bucket list. I present to you “Deadside Stories” a split face portrait done in pencil and chalk pastels in tribute to John Kassir and the Crypt Keeper…..

I can’t wait to cross paths with John once again so I can gift him the original art piece.

For any Boils and Ghouls who are interested in purchasing prints or wearing this art piece on a shirt, you can find them listed in my Etsy and Amazon shops. Prints will also be made available to purchase in store at Closet Collectibles in Crete, IL as soon as I make my next art drop.

Want to see more of my portrait drawings? You can find them on the Spitting Image page of my portfolio website!

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

Days of The Dead Chicago 2018

This weekend was yet another epic one for horror fans like us attending Days of the Dead “Chicago”. For my husband and myself, we were celebrating another horror-themed weekend away for our belated wedding anniversary. A stay-cation, scare-cation or whatever you want to call it. Either way, it was a nice end to a stressful work week for us to unwind and be surrounded by all things creepy.

Thursday evening I got convention prep ready and bagged up my original Chop Driftwood and #SELFIE art pieces to gift to Bill Mosely and David Howard Thornton.

On Friday we got checked into the hotel, settled in and got a bite to eat. When the convention opened we went downstairs to find Bill’s table first. I loved the way he really took in the art piece when I handed it to him. He looked it over and was smiling at it and loving the whole concept of it being 2 of his characters in one piece. He even put it up behind him on his little display table and gave me a big hug as well as some Chop Top buttons and stickers. We bought a Chop Top metal plate for our collection and he signed it for us. Another memorable moment added to my art bucket list as well as a new memory shared with Bill that we can add to all the others from over the years.

 

We saw that David Howard Thornton was at his table so we went directly there to meet him next. Not only was he as nice as we had expected, but he kept telling me how talented I was and loved getting to see my “Art” piece in person. He had commented on it on Instagram so he had seen it before. But he was even more pleased that I was gifting it to him personally. On top of all my art bucket list excitement, he had my favorite Terrifier scene in an 8×10 photo for signing so I had to have it. He gave us a great deal as a thank you.

But it gets even better…. when we went to take a photo with him he let me hold Art The Clown’s horn!  Let’s just say I was a giddy living dead girl and you can see it all over my face in this photo…

As you can see I arrived at the con rocking one of my favorite shirts from one of my favorite movies, Repo The Genetic Opera. That was not just because we would be seeing Bill. The convention added a few late guests to the list and the one and only Paul Sorvino was one of them. My husband (who also loves Repo) and I were in complete awe when we met him. I mean it was Rotti Largo right in front of us.

Not only was he very welcoming and happy to meet his fans but he got a huge smile on his face when we told him we wanted him to autograph “keep those vultures guessing” on our photo. He started to say the lines from the movie and it was all around epic. The next day at the convention we actually even heard him sing!

Epic didn’t stop there. My husband and I got to live out a childhood dream nightmare come true. We got to meet THE CRYPT KEEPER! That’s right, we got to meet John Kassir and actually hear him say Boils and Ghouls as he signed his autograph for us.

He was a really funny guy and even laughed like the Crypt Keeper when we were taking our photo with him.

I told him how I use to sneak watching Tales From The Crypt. I would turn it on late at night in my room when my Grandparents would fall asleep. He told us he actually hears stories like that a lot and it amazes him how determined so many young ones were to watch the show. He also told us we were a great looking couple. So we are now officially Crypt Keeper approved ha ha. I mean what better way to add a chapter to your love story than to tell people the Crypt Keeper thinks we look good together.

I wanted to also give a shout out to our pal Sid Haig who was not able to attend the convention this weekend. We missed you Sid, but we are so much happier knowing you are home with Suzie and still safe right now from the fires in California. Love you and we will catch you at the next one.

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole