Maskfest '14 Recap

It's hard to believe that Maskfest '14 has come and gone. Personally, it's my very favorite weekend of the calendar year, and these past few days only helped to strengthen this sentiment. The room full of rubber masks alone is simply stunning, however, the people really make the weekend what it is. Hanging with the friends, family, fellow collectors, and fellow artists is what really makes Maskfest the over-the-top can't-miss-event of the year.

I have little in the way of photos to share. After all, it is very difficult to take pictures with a beer in one hand and a mask or two in the other. It's also all too easy to get lost in endless conversation during the show hours. All of these things take priority over picture taking for me. I'll definitely be on the look out for the influx of Maskfest photos that have likely already started popping up online.

Here's a brief recap of what I did manage to capture... This life-size green ghoul was there to greet us as we began to unload the truck and setup the table. The smell of a room full of rubber masks immediately let us know that Maskfest was underway, even though the doors wouldn't officially open for a few more hours...

Even before setup was complete, my first priority was to secure a copy of Lee Lambert's Illustrated History of Don Post Studios. Apparently, this was everyone else's priority too, as the 50 copies that Lee had at the show were sold out within 20 minutes of the early-access pre-show. I have only made it through the first three chapters, but I'll post a review of the book soon...

...Our Devil's Workshop display went up quickly and the fun began...

Here's a quick shot of my cousin Matthew "Hamm-ing" it up behind the table. This was Matt's second Maskfest, he fits right in with the rest of the weirdos at this show and was a huge help this year...

Here's a glimpse of a few of the Maskfest exclusives we had including a 1-off orange Terror Tomb Zombie, a 1-off Glow-in-the-Dark Ghoul, and 1-off Green Creature...

I busted out the old Devil's Workshop "Dead Head" mold made back in 1997, to make this greenish ghoul...

I made two purchases from Justin Mabry on the first day, both of the one-eyed zombie variety...

By the time the show was over, my Mabry scores included a Frank, and a Rob Zombie Mask from Trick or Treat Studios...

The Rob Zombie mask fits like a glove and is super creepy when worn. I'll be answering the door with this one on this Halloween. This is me posing behind our table...

Before the show would wrap up on day 2, I had purchased a Raging Zombie Studios Critter, and then backed it up with a second Raging Zombie piece on Sunday, the gorgeous green "Slimey Steve" melting man bust...

In addition to the show, a lot of really weird shit happened in the after hours along the way...

The three days were long, and we only procured about 4 hours or less of sleep each night, but the time flew right by. Before I knew it the truck was loaded and we were heading home...