It is the beginning of October 2010 and I find myself toying with the idea of entering the photography competition at the upcoming Tonner Halloween Con. It had been a long time since I got excited about doing a creative project, but after attending the 2009 Halloween Con and seeing all of the brilliant creations I found myself with a new energy to use my imagination and “create”. There was nine competition room categories and Photography was one of them… right up my alley. I pondered many ideas for the "Mysticism & Mayhem" theme and then came across the special edition Martha Stewart Halloween Handbook… B-I-N-G-O! I would recreate that magazine cover with a Tonner doll, and lucky for me, I came across a 2005 Bubble Ballroom Gala doll that just screamed Martha Stewart wannabe. She had gold glitter eyeshadow and braided blonde hair. I took out her braids, brushed out her hair, swooped it up and out and to the side; and then with the help of some cotton balls and tiny bobby pins was able to re-create Martha's wig. I found an orange-ish colored boa to wrap around her shoulders and a close friend made her some jewelry; a small white, marbleized bead was placed in her hands for the crystal ball. After many photo shoots I finally got a picture I was happy with; those damn dolls can be so persnickety! In Photoshop I added the star tattoos to her face, changed her eye color to amber, and added all the wording from the magazine cover. I was so excited with how it turned out and secretly felt that it was sure to be a showstopper. Perhaps it was because I copied a design and that was not looked at by the judges as “original”; but I won 2nd place in the photography category. And I didn’t lose out to just to one entry but two; two people tied for first place. I’ll be honest, I was a bit perplexed by the judges’ decision, but I proudly walked away with my shiny red ribbon and the joy from pushing myself to tap into my inner creativity that I hadn’t given any attention to for many years.
The first place winners. And yes, that ladies head in the photo is really in the photo, it's NOT a reflection.
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