Lorna Alkana

My homemade up-cycled halloween decorations mix my interests in the absurd, transformation, and play. Last year I decided on a theme: How to Turn Spiders into Cats. I used old cardboard boxes and repurposed empty plastic containers to make cats and spiders and combinations of the two.

I used fluorescent paint and strategic black light placement to make the front yard into a land of experiments and works-in-progress. Spooky eyes of different sizes added depth and more lights in the dark.

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In the daylight the orange creatures stand out in the green garden.

I shifted the spider-cats around to work with the black lights, a general harmonous composition, and according to sprinkler damage and weather. I learned from this project (this was in 2020) that I need to consider durability an element of the art.

I incorporated a chalk art wordsearch and some spider-cat diagrams in the driveway. Not durable, but that’s something I like about chalk.

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Here are a few more pics of the installation. I want to share the night of Halloween (2020) when I had some friends over with their 4 year old, and we wore masks and played some themed games. I made a book out of the day. Good times.

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This year I’m making a BOOtanical Garden.