Making Monsters for Good Causes



When you hear the term "monster maker", what comes to mind? When I hear it, I either think of fictitious monster makers (such as Victor Frankenstein and Herbert West) or the real-life monster makers who work in the entertainment industry (such as Ray Harryhausen and Rick Baker). Yet monster makers really do come in all varieties, from garage model kit makers to amateur costume hobbyists. Sometimes, a monster maker can even make a living as a wedding decorations designer (insert Bridezilla joke here).

Meet Georgette Gaynor. She runs her own wedding decorations business in the Virginia Beach, VA area, working with silk flowers, arches and glue guns to create settings of wedded bliss where her customers will tie the knot. Yet in her spare time, Gaynor makes monsters--lots and lots of monsters. Using skills that she originally picked up from her wedding business, Gaynor assembles creative combinations of rubber Halloween masks, spray foam, duct tape, wire, plastic netting and PVC pipe to produce life-sized galleries of ghouls for various charity events. (Providing chills for charity--what a brilliant idea!)
  • In 2007, Gaynor contributed her homemade minions to the Monster Alley Walk, a fundraiser to benefit the Kempsville Middle School Drama Club.
  • This weekend, an army of Gaynor's monsters will strike again for "Nightmare on the Nansemond", a Halloween-themed event in Suffolk, VA to benefit the the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Click here for more details. If you live in the Suffolk area and have some free time this weekend, come to the Nightmare on the Nansemond and show your support.
To learn more about Gaynor and her work, read this 2008 article on the Hampton Road site. Continue reading past the break to see some examples of Gaynor's work (pictures provided courtesy of Ms. Gaynor), including her pack of poker-playing werewolves!
























































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