Enter spooky season

August 25, 2022 / pianuts / Leave a comment

Hi everybody – how’s your summer? Still scorching … or sizzling out? It’s been a busy, up and down summer for me, so I figured it’s time to do another blog update.

Ok, first off – San Diego Comic-Con was a blast – and the Art Show was back too! It felt good to be back in person and I even sold an original painting, yay! Thank you to my supporters for showing up – you are my life blood. What made it even sweeter is the fact that I didn’t catch the Con-Crud or the Rona!

Two resident aliens (see what I did there?)

But then, just two days after Comic-Con ended, I found out about the sudden death of Micah Minor – a talented and promising filmmaker and friend. We worked and helped on each other’s projects several times over the years; and he was part of the crew for my short films The Appointment and Things We Dig. Unfortunately, his exit was not a big surprise to most of us who knew him, but it rattled and shocked us nonetheless. This one hit hard. I am so tired (and angry) of losing friends to mental illness.

RIP Micah – you are missed and I’ll never forget you and the good times we had on set!

The next day, I had to be on the set for the over the top comedy ‘Sinderella‘, directed by my good friend David Ruiz. I got to play the wicked stepmother and I managed to immerse myself into the role and bring out the bitch in me. I mean…how can that not be fun? And I was surrounded by a talented cast – it felt great being on the set again. I can’t wait to see the premiere later this year!

Just when you thought you’d never hear me talk about Things We Dig again, there’s still life left in it! I’m happy to announce that my short horror comedy is nominated for FOUR awards at the 8th Annual San Diego Film Awards! And the nominees are: Elsa Mickelsen for Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Ty Marie Frost for Best Makeup/Hair, and our youngest actor Morgan Marlow for Best Emerging Actor! Congratulations and crossing all my digits for you! You can attend the Awards Show on Friday (tomorrow starting at 6pm, sorry for the short notice) at the MOPA in Balboa Park OR watch it televised on KPBS at 10pm.

Coming up in September – not to be missed:

Secret Morgue 3.1: When Animals Attack!

If you’ve been to the previous editions (Secret Morgue: Aliens and Secret Morgue: Witches’ Night) by the Film Geeks SD, you know you’re in for a treat!

From their page: “Your ticket will get you 4 films, 1 meal (Lefty’s Pizza), introductions by scientists, art show, photo opps, popcorn (while supply lasts), Bonkers Ass Cinema author selling and signing books, and trivia prizes. Doors open at noon for check in and marathon will end at 10:00 PM.“

Not only am I looking forward to watching (surprise …TBA) horror flicks, but also yummy food, catching up with friends; and I’ll have a painting or two up for sale in the Art Show! So, go get a ticket and see ya there!

Where/when: Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park! SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2022 AT 12 PM – 10 PM

In closing – I’m still going strong with my newsletter Pia Shares Her Dark Half and even picked up a new subscriber or two! Go check it out and hit that share or even subscribe button – thankee! I also spruced up my Buy me a Coffee page and started adding moar BTS stuff and free stickers for my supporters. You rock! Thanks again for all your love!

That’s it for today – it’s time for my favorite time of the year: Halloween season!!! Till spooky time – stay frosty!

xoxo,

Pia

Double, double, toil and trouble…

April 21, 2022 / pianuts / Leave a comment

Double, double, toil and trouble has been my theme since the end of last year. I haven’t posted a blog since then because, you know…LIFE happens. And death. Unfortunately, in January, my hubby’s mom suddenly passed away and we’re just now coming to grips with it and re-emerging from our grief.

For months I was unable to do anything creative and whenever I did try, it was pathetic and made me feel even less motivated. Then Russia started the war in Ukraine and, of course that triggered my anxiety for my family overseas and only piled on. I barely made it out of the house to my part time job and just wanted to stay under my rock and hide. However, one good thing I learned from past bouts of depression is that nothing lasts forever, good or bad times! And, of course, it turned out to be true.

Slowly, I emerged from my self-imposed abyss, but man, it was ROUGH! I saw the first glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel at my birthday bonfire and was touched by so many friends coming to celebrate with me. You have no idea how much that meant to me! Then, first weekend in April I went to WonderCon in Anaheim and felt myself thriving and really coming out of my shell, finally! I met and re-connected with lots of creative people and found my motivation again! As a matter of fact, on my second day there, I decided to start my ‘daily doodles’ again! I had to force myself a few days in between, but it didn’t take long until that creative urge settled in again and made itself at home in my daily life. I can’t recommend it enough: Do something creative every day – paint, draw, write – even just for ten minutes! Make it a habit and watch what happens! I first did this about 8 years ago; and besides painting it also inspired me to write my first scripts and then it just snowballed into so much more! My mistake was letting it go when I thought I didn’t need it anymore because I was always involved in at least one type of project. Learned that lesson!

So, let’s get to the fun stuff – I have lots of updates!

• First off, I’ll return to the San Diego Comic-Con Art Show and this year it will be in person again, yayyy! SDCC runs from July 21st – 24th. Stay tuned for more details down the road!

• You can now watch all three of my short films: The Appointment, Things We Dig and The Test on YouTube! Go ‘like’ them and feel free to share on social media! It never hurts to get a few more eyes on them.

• Speaking of short films….Things We Dig won the Silver Award in the Horror Short Film section at the Munich Independent Star Film Fest late last year; and it finally arrived in the mail – thank you to my sis in Germany for safeguarding it!

Congratulations again to my rockstar cast and crew! Prost!

• You can now get licensed images from my Picfair store at piathrasherfotografie.picfair.com. Buy my photos as printed products or digital downloads for marketing including editorial purposes. Check them out and bookmark the page!

• I decided to start a fun newsletter giving my two cents on finding your own creative ‘dark side’ and whatever updates on current projects I’m working on – in part to hold myself accountable and keep a schedule. My plan is to publish one every two weeks. Can I keep it up? We shall see! Depends how much interest there is, too – maybe you wanna subscribe? If yes, please do it here. Otherwise, keep checking this blog (which you can also subscribe to, but fair warning: it’s not updated regularly). Come on…what’s a little more email spam? But seriously, if you DO subscribe…might wanna check your spam folder cause Gmail isn’t messing around and might relegate my stuff to the dustbin of history before it even gets a chance to shine!

• Oh, and one more thing – most urgent and time sensitive! I will display/sell art at Secret Morgue: Witches’ Night Edition on Saturday, April 30th – also known as Walpurgisnacht! Secret Morgue is such a cool annual event here in San Diego! It hasn’t been held since 2019, thanks to the pandemic, and the theme was aliens, as in sci-fi creatures. I had such a blast and can’t wait to see what the Film Geeks and Beth Accomando are conjuring up this time! This year it’s all about witches… and of course, when Beth asked me if I had any art relating to this theme I just couldn’t resist! There will be six films (which you won’t find out about the titles until you get there, but they’re all witch-related…hence “secret morgue”, get it?), two meals (Bombay Coast returns!), a talk about witches in history from SDSU professor Dr. Elizabeth Pollard, art show, and raffle prizes. You will also have a chance to purchase a ticket to the Comic-Con Museum for 50% off and there will be a raffle for witchy prizes too! Get your tickets here before they sell out …(they have every year so far)!

That’s it for now – phew, it felt good to get all that out! Till next time – or subscribe to my newsletter mentioned above! Have a great weekend!

Ppppia

Things we tease!

September 18, 2020 / pianuts / Leave a comment

Hiiiii guys!!! Hope you’re still with us in these crazy times! Ready for some fun news for a change?

First official film festival selections have been made, yayyy! I will be making festival announcements – yes, ‘s’ as in plural (!!!), for ‘Things We Dig‘ here soon, once I get the screening info and pertinent details. It’s finally time! I’m starting Halloween season off early, I don’t care if it’s still over 100 degrees outside. Damn this summer to hell!

While we wait for the film festival details, I thought I’d share some of the fun ‘Clips from the Crypt’ teasers we have made for you, edited by Peter Stoll of San Diego Digital Imagery.

Way back in March, before the plaque, we had a little private screening for the cast and crew, and we made them talk about ‘Things We Dig’ a little. Yes, there was a little booze. ;)

Without further ado, check out the first round: