Sweets Anyone? (A Short Halloween Story) | Mixed Media Project

The holiday season I feel kicks off with Halloween. This holiday is upon us once again. People around the world who celebrate will once again on October 31st engage in traditional activities. Carved pumpkins, trick-or-treating and fancy dress.¹

Many people think Halloween is an Americanized festival of ghosts and ghouls. However, most of the activities associated with this time of year are originally from Celtic folklore and tradition.

Halloween, also known as All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed annually in many countries on 31 October dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), Christian martyrs, and all the faithful departed. In popular culture, Halloween has become a celebration of horror and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural.

Popular Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins or turnips into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling frightening stories, and watching horror or Halloween-themed films.

I hate horror movies and scaring people, so I avoid those activities.

Some Christians take a more reverent approach and practice the observances of All Hallows' Eve by attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead. This practice can also be viewed as a secular celebration for some.

During Halloween season, people believed the boundary between the worlds of living and dead became blurred. This opened up the opportunity for the souls of the dead to revisit their homes.²

No matter what one believes of Halloween, I believe it kicks off the the end of the year holiday season where Summer wilts away, bringing forth the change to Fall. The effects are lovely as the wind is crisp; the landscape turns brown, rust, dark yellow, and gold colors.

Have you carved your pumpkin, lit a candle inside, and set it out in the yard yet for the trick-or-treat seekers as they come knocking?

Sweets anyone?

I share a micro story for the occasion.

^{Source 1 Source 2}

Sweets Anyone?

Benjamin moved closer to the tenth story window overlooking Grayharvard Boulevard. Careful to stand behind the thick, velvet curtain, his weathered finger lifted the veil. Gazing down, he studied the mix of adults, teens, and children gather for the night's celebration. They had no knowledge of the ache that stirred in his loins as their laughter erupted and filled the cobbled street. He pivoted slowly; eyes searching the opposite side of the room.

Standing in the dark, an elegantly-shaped silhouette hovered. She emerged from the shadows, tall and graceful, with thick lashes covering smokey eyes. Her long strands, soft and dark like black velvet, fell to her waist.

"Exquisite moon to venture out," Lucretia drooled as she raised the liquid to her mouth. Savoring the flavor, she gulped slowly, then tossed the glass toward the fireplace. The liquid's remnants settled on the embers, blazing them.

Benjamin, clad in a crisp ebony tuxedo with one red rose exposed, an his fingers through his hair, dark like a worn leather jacket, thinking. Immediately, his eyes were drawn toward the wall on the left side of the drawing room.

Young Loraline stared back at him. Her arms lay gently across her lap. The 18th century portrait glowed as her attire reflected demure hues of precious gems against the settee. The same seat he sat many nights in the parlor playing her favorite games.

He paused for a long moment as pale, heavy admonishing eyes pierced his thoughts.

Benjamin shook off her disdain, but not before she rose, turned, and disappeared into the canvas' background.

Regaining composure, he grabbed the tray of cherry-filled chocolates off the pier table Lucretia prepared before placing his youthful hand on the creaking door.

Midnight approached. He must hurry.

Looking past Lucretia into the now vacant portrait, in a silky, practiced voice, he promised, "no children this year".

For my current mixed media project, I wanted to share a design that reflected the Halloween vibe of scary and horror. I discovered an awesome female with long nails and a haunting look. Pairing it with an eerie background, I was able to blend her face perfectly into the landscape as though she were a part of it.

I included in my design two stable diffusion images I retrieved from StarryAI and Night Cafe. I also included one of my pure fractals I designed in the advanced fractal rendering program, Apophysis 7X.

Below are my steps in which I utilized Canva, my design program, to blend the different type images which began with a blank, white canvas. I then added layers of elements to assist in the blending process.

I include here the images used in my design.

^{Wicked Witch ~ StarryAI - Forest fantasy landscape ~ Vulture ~ Night Cafe - Hand holding luminescent flower ~ Blood splatter ~ Chocolate Bonbon ~ Bird Flock ~ Pure Fractal titled "Crystal Cup"}