Fantástico, Fantástico!

The 1980s hold such great memories for me as a child. Thinking back I recall receiving a View-Master for Christmas. The red plastic toy that came with reels of eye-popping 3D movie stills was captivating and installed an instant love for photography and film. Some of my favorite reels were Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal.

Fantasy and surrealism nourish my soul and as a photographer it is always fun to challenge myself. The following images were created for Fantástico, Fantástico! A dark fantasy themed art exhibition inspired by Jim Henson, Brian Froud and Guillermo del Toro.

Inspired by The Dark Crystal. I have always loved the extravagant and detailed costumes of the Skeksis and wanted to portray a surrealistic type of film still, but with the character being human.

Helping hands, inspired by Labyrinth. For this double exposure I had my husband and daughter paint their hands for a bit of texture and photographed their hands in various positions.

Inspired by the great Brian Froud. Froud's love for nature, magic, mystical faeries, and creatures is exhilarating. My idea was to blend real nature with fantasy. I took a mirrored photograph of a plant that ended up having a creature like face.

Fantástico, Fantástico will take place Friday November 23rd at Brick and the Blue Star Arts Complex (San Antonio, TX), 6-11 pm.