I Scream, You Scream ...

Yesterday I was awoken from my daily post-work nap by a knock at the door. By the time I got myself out of bed, put on some pants and made my way to the door, the only thing in front of me was a pizza box, securely wrapped in duct tape. In it was perhaps the most generous collection of goodies ever bestowed upon me, to the point that i'm not sure how to adequately thank the sender, Z For Zombies' Zach Shildwachter. But lets back up a second ...

Internet friends through mutual interest in blogging, horror and Kristy Jett, Zach and I first met earlier this year and have since gone on a couple of what he calls 'field trips' together, where we meet up in the city, lady friends in tow, and together drink wine poured off burlesque dancers asses ... and things of that nature. In addition to blogging and working on many a film set, Zach is also an extremely talented artist, often churning out totally unique and one of a kind pieces for his fellow blogging pals. A couple months back, I asked Zach if he would paint me a picture of Clint Howard from 1995's Ice Cream Man, which I intended on hanging in a prominent spot in my new house, along with a collection of other art pieces from other friends of mine. The pizza box that arrived on my doorstep yesterday housed this Ice Cream Man piece, a piece the likes of which I never could've expected based on my simple request for a painting. Going above and beyond the call of duty, to the utmost of utmost extents, here is what Zach hid inside that unassuming NYC pizza box, amidst a note that nearly brought a tear to my eye, a couple old school horror magazines and a relic from our burlesque field trip that he graciously decided to hand down to me ...



Never having carved anything in his life, Zach decided to take an old wooden seat he had since college and carve ole Clint into it, which he then painted over. As if this piece wasn't incredible enough on its own, he also used the carving, before painting it, as a stamp of sorts and pulled 9 wood cut prints from it, some of which he artistically altered and some of which he left as is. He then painted the seat, ensuring that no prints could ever be pulled from it again. He also sent me these extremely limited edition prints, all 9 of them, a few of which you can see below.



Zach, I know i've already thanked you extensively for this, but I still feel indebted to you and am still totally speechless that you went through all the trouble to make all of this for me. This is seriously one of the coolest things anyones ever done for me and I hope that I can someday soon adequately repay you. Your talent seemingly knows no bounds and as happy as it makes me to be able to hang such an awesome piece in my home, it makes me even happier to be the one and only proud owner of a one of a kind piece that you poured your blood, sweat and tears into. To steal a phrase from you, you are a gentleman and a scholar. Love ya buddy.

Now, back to those wood cut prints for a second. Though I do plan on keeping a few and giving a couple to close friends of mine, i'm also thinking of doing a giveaway on here for one of them at some point soon. If the prospect of owning one of these totally exclusive and limited edition pieces interests you, I cryptically tell you to stay tuned ...