How to Give Heirlooms a Spooky Halloween Makeover
By: Allison Gilbert
My grandmother took a ceramics class after my grandfather died. She got out of the course exactly what she needed — distraction, friendship, and a sense that she could be happy and engaged once again. My grandmother made more than a dozen pieces, and a few years ago after she, too, passed away, I did something I thought I’d never do: I gave them a Halloween makeover.
My inspiration came from Blair Stocker’s handsome how-to guide, Wise Craft: Turning Thrift Store Finds, Fabric Scraps, and Natural Objects into Stuff You Love. In Forget Me Not #74, from my book, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive, I reveal Stocker’s Sinister Ceramics concept: coating figurines such as cats, birds, and owls in black spray paint and sticking red jewels on the eyes.
I adore this project because it gives new life to old objects while provoking conversation about the objects’ origins. For a while, I wondered what my grandmother would think of her ceramics’ new, decidedly dark look. Would she be offended? I truly don’t think so. I like to imagine she’d be gratified that I found a way to share a part of her life she was proud of, too.
Allison Gilbert is the author of numerous books, including the much-anticipated, forthcoming biography of Hearst newspaper columnist Elsie Robinson, to be published by Seal Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, in 2022. Her latest book, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive, reveals creative ways to remember family and friends we never want to forget.
To mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Allison is executive producer of two film projects in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum: a documentary called, "Reporting 9/11 and Why It Still Matters,” and a 20-part series, "Women Journalists of 9/11: Their Stories.” Featured journalists include Tom Brokaw, Savannah Guthrie, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, NPR’s Linda Wertheimer, and 60 Minutes' correspondent and anchor Scott Pelley, and many others.
Please take a moment to follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. She’s everywhere as “agilbertwriter."