Yesterday was chilly here in Los Angeles. Walking from the train station to the office, the hair on my arms was standing straight up and I had goosebumps all over. It really felt like Fall. Typically, the weather will cool down for a short time in August to trick me into believing that Fall is here early and then September will be hotter than hell.
While the Fall temperature may not be here to stay, pumpkin products have already started showing up on the shelves of several retailers. The first pumpkin display I saw this year was at JoAnn’s Craft & Fabric store back in July. Even for a pumpkin fanatic like me, this seems way too early and lots more displays have crept up since.
Just this past weekend I saw Disneyland staff stocking shelves with pumpkin memorabilia and they even had a Fall window display. I think it was the sight of a Mickey Mouse hat decked out as a pumpkin that finally got me excited about the upcoming 2009 pumpkin season. I’m really looking forward to seeing Disneyland all pumpkin’d out and now that we just got out pass I’ll be able to take lots of pictures.
The 2009 Pumpkin Eatin’ Season is shaping up to be a good one. Only two more weeks until the official start! Woo Ho!!
I am not admitting anything but I’ve been told that I have an obsession with cute, fat, Japanese things. Examples of this would be Hello Kitty or Studio Ghibli films. I now have something else to add to the list, Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin.” I’d seen similar photos to the one above but hadn’t looked into them any further. Today, I did the follow-the-Google-trail thing and was completely WOWed that I’d missed her art work up until now. She often gets put into categories next to Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara —both of whom I love’s .possibly because a considerable amount of their work would fall into the “cute, fat, Japanese” category.
What most interests me in Kusama’s work, besides her use of pumpkins, is her life story. Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Japan in 1929. She labels herself as an “obsessive artist” covering surfaces of just about anything in polka dots.
“Kusama has experienced hallucinations and severe obsessive thoughts since childhood, often of a suicidal nature…The vast fields of polka dots, or “infinity nets,” as she called them, were taken directly from her hallucinations…
‘One day I was looking at the red flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows and the walls, and finally all over the room, my body and the universe. I felt as if I had begun to self-obliterate, to revolve in the infinity of endless time and the absoluteness of space, and be reduced to nothingness. As I realized it was actually happening and not just in my imagination, I was frightened. I knew I had to run away lest I should be deprived of my life by the spell of the red flowers. I ran desperately up the stairs. The steps below me began to fall apart and I fell down the stairs straining my ankle…’
Today she lives, by choice, in a mental hospital in Tokyo, where she has continued to produce work since the mid-1970s. Her studio is a short distance from the hospital. ‘If it were not for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago,’ Kusama is often quoted as saying.”
Kusama has become a well-known pop artist here in the states. She moved to New York City at the age of 27 after having corresponded for several years with Georgia O’Keefe. She’s so well know that one of her works recently sold for over $5 million at Christies in New York, a new record for a living female artist.
The pumpkin sculpture pictured above is found at the Benesse House in Naoshima Japan, Kusama has done other large pumpkin sculptures elsewhere. I’ve been trying to find photos of an installation she did in the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale back in 1993 but haven’t found much. The exhibit consisted of a mirrored room filled with tiny pumpkin sculptures in which she sat in color coordinated magician’s attire. I love this quote that seems to surround discussions about her, “Pumpkin came to represent for her a kind of alter ego or self-portrait and remains one of her signature series of works.”
In my head, I’ve already begun planning a vacation to Japan in order to see the Benesse “Pumpkin” sculpture (I’ve also wanted to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum for years now) but for now I would settle for one of these Kusama tea towels:
Oh! So very pretty!!! I have spent too much time looking up Kusama’s pumpkins today but I’m glad I did. I still can’t believe that I hadn’t heard of her before today. I kind of thought of myself as a dilettante art nerd.. Anyhow, I leave you with this video from a Kusama documentary.
The photo at the top of this post is courtesy of RubyVrooom.
Name: Pure Simplicity’s Pumpkin Body Butter Purchased At: Bath & Body Works Price: $15ish but I buy them in bulk on Ebay Availability: Year Round
I was recently asked what I’ll do with the blog now that Pumpkin-Eatin’ Season is over. Actually, I’m a little overwhelmed by my ridiculous backlog of pumpkin products that need blog entries.
This is an example of an item I should have written about long ago. There are three pumpkin products that I use almost on a daily basis: Primal Elements’ Pumpkin Sugar Scrub; Pure Simplicity’s Pumpkin Face Scrub; and Pure Simplicity’s Pumpkin Body Butter. All three of these products are becoming more difficult to find and are all possibly being discontinued…great!
I don’t understand people who don’t use it. That vague burning session when your skin is dry irritates me more than most and then there’s the extra bonus of having dull looking tattoos..I need lotion! To combat this issue I begin my day with Pure Simplicity’s Body Butter. I like that it feels substantial–I know that it’s there doing its job–but it’s not overly greasy. The scent lingers but it’s subtle, considerably more subtle than most of the other products they sell at Bath & Body Works.
How is it as a pumpkin product? Describing the pumpkin scent is probably what has caused me to wait so long to write this blog. I love this stuff but I don’t think the scent is quite right. The Pure Simplicity Pumpkin Purifying Face Mask smells like a spicy pumpkin pie but the body butter smells kind of like candy corn. It’s a sweet scent. People have commented before that they like the scent but when they try to guess what it is they never get it right. Only one person has ever guessed right but I was also wearing a pumpkin scented oil and that combination could be what tipped them off.
So, the rating of a 4 is more about my love of the product and less about it really smelling like pumpkin.
Name: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” Purchased At: playing on the ABC network or at your local dvd store Price: free or $14.98 from Amazon Availability: Year Round on dvd/Seasonal on tv
Last night I watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” for the first time in quite a while and I found myself wondering how kids today view the classic cartoon. Is it boring? Is it too low tech? Is it as relevant to their lives as a Jane Austen novel? Hmm I’m not sure.
I sooo love it. Possibly my love is mostly because of those warm and fuzzy feelings that bring me back to my own childhood. Charlie Brown cartoons were a BIG deal. I didn’t have cable and there was a lack of cartoons shown on network television in good old Idaho. I took what I could get and Charlie Brown cartoons were some of the best. Also, I think my love comes from a strong identification with Linus and his search for the Great Pumpkin. He’s going to believe no matter how many people laugh at him or how many times the Great Pumpkin just never shows up. I respect his faith and tenacity. Oh yeah, the pumpkin surely contribute to my adoration.
When I read that the cartoon was originally released on October 27, 1966 I was surprised because Charles M. Schulz seems to have been a feminist before feminism was cool. The lines he gave Sally were brilliant:
Linus: He’ll come here because I have the most sincere pumpkin patch and he respects sincerity.
Sally Brown: Do you really think he will come? Linus: Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world. Sally Brown: That’s a good story. Linus: You don’t believe the story of the Great Pumpkin? I thought little girls always believed everything that was told to them. I thought little girls were innocent and trusting. Sally Brown: Welcome to the 20th century!
Sally Brown: If you try to hold my hand, I’ll slug you!
Sally Brown: Am I going to trick-or-treats with you, big brother? Charlie Brown: Of course, Sally. Sally Brown: Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! How do you do it? Lucy Van Pelt: You just go to a house, knock on the door and yell “Tricks or treats!” Sally Brown: Are you sure it’s legal? Lucy Van Pelt: Of course it’s legal. Sally Brown: I wouldn’t want to be accused of taking part in a rumble.
Linus: [to Charlie Brown after Sally just ripped him a new one] You’ve heard of the fury of a woman scorned, haven’t you? Charlie Brown: Yeah, I guess I have. Linus: Well, that’s nothing compared to the fury of a woman who has been cheated out of trick-or-treats.
If you’ve never watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” give it a try. You can get lengthy plot synopsis and some interesting trivia over at Wikipedia. There are also some Ecards, wallpaper, and a trivia game over at the Peanuts website.
Rating: 5 out of 5 for the pumpkin parts but the Flying Ace storyline puts me to sleep
Name: Pumpkin Patch Demi Light Candle Purchased At: Primal Elements Price: $8.50 Availability: Year Round
Candles are difficult to find with a nice pumpkin aroma. They’re just off . . . majorly off.
This one is not only nice to look at but it also has a really great aroma. The scent smells buttery, in a good way, with a hint of vanilla and nutmeg. Usually the cinnamon is a little too amped up and there’s no hint of vanilla but this one is just right. It’s also not an overwhelming scent that lasts for quite a while.
I liked it so much that I’m going to try the Pumpkin Patch 2-wick color bowl candle that’s $19.50.
Rating: 5 out of 5
BTW, Primal Elements finally has their 53 oz. tub of Pumpkin Spice Sugar Whip back in stock and it’s 50% off!
Name: 3-in-1 Pumpkin Pie Paradise Purchased At: Bath & Body Works Price: $12.00 Availability: Seasonal
I’ve been co-opted by our consumerist society into believing that I need a specific product for every area of my body. However, I did take the 4 oz. travel size with me to London last year because traveling is the only time when a 3-in-1 product sounds like a great idea.
The scent was fairly good but a little overly strong and sweet smelling. I wouldn’t have purchased it again but whatever.
Strangely enough, I got a super itchy red rash on my stomach the second day of the trip and it continued to get worse until we left. Back home the rash faded and eventually went away. For Christmas, a friend bought me the 16 oz. size pictured above. When I started using it again, the same rash came back! It took me a while to make the connection but the same looking rash appeared after using this stuff the first and the second times. YUCK!
on the shelves of several retailers. The first pumpkin display I saw this year was at JoAnn’s Craft & Fabric store back in July. Even for a pumpkin fanatic like me, this seems way too early and lots more displays have crept up since.
that finally got me excited about the upcoming 2009 pumpkin season. I’m really looking forward to seeing Disneyland all pumpkin’d out and now that we just got out pass I’ll be able to take lots of pictures. 
