From a sketch to a mug, t-shirts and miniature sculptures, Ghostie has grown his own brand at Jordain Molloy Gillen and now has a full scale exhibition showcasing at Midtown Makers, Ballymena. But where did it all begin? Here I will explain the origins of Ghostie, what inspired me and where Ghostie is at now !
One autumn evening, I was siting with a cup of tea and a chocolate chip cookie. Siting with a piece of paper and a pen I began thinking about what I would sketch for Inktober 2020. The prompt for the day was 'Fish' and I had absolutely no idea what to sketch. As I am so intrigued with spooky season, instinctively I began to sketch what would soon be Ghostie. The sketch progressed with a moon, a few little stars and Ghostie sitting with a little fishing rod capturing the stars. The sketch was so well received and so it was here Ghostie was born ! As the month of October progressed I sketched Ghostie in many different forms accordingly to the prompts given and soon it evolved into a collection of sketches.
Curious, I then began to think about how Ghostie would look in three dimensional form, away from paper. So I started to sculpt little miniature Ghostie's from clay. This then progressed with some of the sketches being printed onto T-shirts and mugs which sold really well throughout the autumn months. Ghostie even made it onto Christmas cards and was starting to become a little more popular.
As a child, until the present day I have always been a fan of anything spooky related. Halloween and the autumn season has always been my favourite time of the year. The colours, the autumn breeze, the falling leaves, dark nights, I love it all ! Growing up I was always fascinated with shows such as Scooby Doo and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. My favourite movies were all Tim Burton creations, including The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. I was just so fascinated with his style and how his creations were so quirky and uniquely spooky. With these fabulous influences of inspiration, it was inevitable that the work I would create as an artist would have a spooky or melancholic twist.
With such a growing interest in Ghostie, I knew I wanted to host an exhibit to showcase his journey over the past year. And so in conversations it just made sense that it would have to be held where it all began, in my hometown of Ballymena, and what better place to host it than Midtown Makers. So I started putting pen to paper and the designs for the installation began.
When putting together the Ghostie exhibition at Midtown Makers I wanted to pay homage to the brilliant creators and shows which inspired me as an artist growing up. I didn't want this exhibit to just be drawings hung on a wall, I wanted it to be a full scale installation, to intrigue, with live elements added in the mix. When creating the newer pieces such as the costume works and new illustrations I started to add bats as it brought me right back to the opening scenes of Scooby Doo. I thought about how I would make it as immersive as possible, bringing drawings and ideas to life. I added three dimensional bats to the windows of the space. I made three dimensional costume pieces and even made a full scale Ghostie one to be worn as part of some performative works. I took the real life Ghostie to Tardree Forest and Castle Gardens to collaborate with Tawnee Anderson and Jacqui Burns to create some photographic, Ghostie performative works. Which are now on display in the exhibit as well as some being showcased online throughout the month as well.
Throughout the month of October, I have scheduled some live performance displays as performance work is something I have become more and more interested in as an artist and something which I want to explore a little more in depth. It's something I want to play about with at the moment, collaborating with my partner, friends and family. (So make sure to check out the dates to come and meet Ghostie in person !)
Moving forward I have a few plans for Ghostie. I've had a few people mention to me now about making Ghostie into children's books and this is something I do intend to look into further. I also want to take Ghostie to new places, both locally and across the water. So I'm looking into ways in which I can showcase Ghostie in other places, but we'll see what happens. For now my main intentions is to try and create more new and exciting Ghostie merch for all his wonderful fans and to develop him even further through my work.
What would you like to see next from Ghostie? Or where would you like to see him pop up next? Let me know in the comments ! The 'Ghostie' exhibition is now showcasing at Midtown Makers, on Church Street, Ballymena, for the whole month of October. With live performances taking place throughout the month as well (See Dates attached).
You can check out all the original Ghostie sketches here
All Ghostie merch will be live on the website soon but can be still be ordered with me through direct messaging me on my social pages or via email. Merch available at the moment is the Ghostie t-shirts, prints, mugs and mini Ghostie's (All can be viewed via my insta page)
THE GHOSTIE EXHIBITION
Now showcasing at Midtown Makers, Ballymena
from the 1st of October to the 1st of November
With live performances throughout the month, all the original Ghostie sketches from Inktober 2020 and new exciting works including costumes, sculpture and collaborative photography works with Tawnee Anderson and Jacqui Burns
Go Check it Out !!!
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