Greetings, ghouls! The bats are loose, jack-o-lanterns roll willy-nilly in the streets, and fanged freaks lurk down long alleys longing for your blood. In other words, it’s HALLOWEEN! Almost. It’s certainly an October with a Friday the 13th therein, and that, constant reader, should not get glossed over. Not one to let a spooky opportunity bleed down the drain, Time Essary, professional artist and tattooist, has created the second annual “Candlelight: A Celebration of Halloween” art show. It’s a dark art showcase that glorifies the gory, hallows the horrific, and opens at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 in the secondary suite of Jake’s Tattoo and Flash in Farmington.
With vampires being the theme of this year’s “Candlelight,” I have a question for you, boils and ghouls:
What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit?
A NECK-TARINE!
Don’t look at me like that. It’s better than asking about a vampire’s favorite sport. (that would be bat-minton). ::cackles::
There are near 20 artists peeling back the skin and ribs around their macabre hearts to create paintings, pottery, sculpture, and more, all inspired by bloodsucking fiends.
“I’ve always been a fan of horror movies and, this year, vampires stuck out,” Essary said. The self-confessed horror nerd was a vampire for six Halloweens in a row. “They’re mysterious and kinda sexy and they have almost eternal life, but with a human quality that other monsters don’t necessarily have.”
I don’t know if the carnage and camp give it away, but this ain’t an uppity art show where you’re gonna walk away empty-handed due to rich-people prices. “I’ve been to bigger art shows with price tags of thousands and thousands of dollars,” Essary said, “This is more about enjoying the season, enjoying dark art, and putting it to the public at an affordable price.”
Though a revel of the dreadful and deadful, “Candlelight: A Celebration of Halloween” began because of a supportive, upbeat woman’s life. Brenna Franklin, Halloween-lover and Essary’s mother-in-law, passed away in 2015 and, each year, “Candlelight” is dedicated to her.
“She was the biggest Halloween nerd I’ve ever met in my life,” Essary said. “I’ve always been a big Halloween fan, but when she passed away it put the fire beneath me to say, ‘Hey, we need to do these things that we’ve been talking about for so long.’
“She was a huge supporter of my artwork and tattooing,” he added. “I was a shy kid who drew in the bedroom by myself but she was like, ‘Nah, you need to get that artwork out to people.’ Now, I’m a professional tattoo artist and a professional painter and illustrator. All of that was because of her.”
The vampire edition of “Candlelight” will be held at 101 S. Orchard St. in downtown Farmington, near Three Rivers Brewery. The gallery space is in the basement of Jake’s Tattoo and Flash.
But back to vampires. DGO couldn’t let Essary go without throwing down about the everlasting cadavers.
What’s your favorite vampire movie? By far, my favorite vampire movie is “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” with Gary Oldman.
“Near Dark” or “Lost Boys?”“Lost Boys,” for sure. It’s such a cult classic.
1931 “Dracula” or “From Dusk Till Dawn?”Oh man. “Dusk Till Dawn” is one of my favs, but I’m gonna have to go with Bela Lugosi and “Dracula.”
Who would win in a fight, a vampire or a xenomorph alien?The xenomorph alien. [Laughs] But maybe Blade versus a xenomorph – he could win. That’d be a fight I’d like to see.
Would you rather battle a single vampire or a gaggle of 30 gremlins? I would take my chances trying to defeat one vampire.
What’s one more vampire movie you’d recommend for people who don’t normally watch horror?“Interview with the Vampire.” It was a really good movie and a palatable entry point to horror, for most people.
