The Grinch/Happy Holidays (Scream #12)

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If you were paying attention to all the things going on in the world last week, you may have missed a little story about the Fox Christmas tree being set on fire. Obviously, Fox News is Fox News so it spent 36 hours covering the fire (arson, actually), including comparing it to the bombing of Pearl Harbor (seriously) and lamenting about the "War on Christmas" and how the fire was a direct attack on America and Christianity and, you know what? I don't even know what else. My brain stopped registering any of their "outrage" after the Pearl Harbor commentary. Fox News is going to Fox News until it literally burns everything down. 

My dislike for Fox News aside, it was the perfect set up for today's piece, the twelfth and final Scream. I've been planning this Scream since October, but didn't ever in my life imagine the Fox News tree would be set on fire right before I made it. It was a little gift from the universe for me. 

For those who may have only recently joined me on this 365 project journey, the Scream series was something I started in 2020 after reading about the reopening of a Japanese theme park where visitors were encouraged to "scream inside their hearts" inside of actually screaming to prevent the spread of COVID. I made five Screams in 2020 (named after friends), and seven more as part of this project. You can read about the original Screams here. Here are the links to the other six if you want to check them out too:
I never set out to make more than the first five Screams, but 2021 just kept on giving and I couldn't help but make more. I thought ten would the full series, but no. Twelve is the perfect number. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas movies, and the Grinch is my favorite Christmas character and my favorite Dr. Seuss character. I love all movie versions, but the original animated one is my favorite. The combination of the animation, Boris Karloff's narration (1966 was a whole mood) and Thurl Ravenscroft's singing make it perfect. I feel a lot of the Grinch's sentiments about Christmas while his heart is still two sizes too small. Christmas is overwhelming. I enjoyed Christmas as a kid because I had no real responsibility for anything, but Christmas as an adult is another scam of adulthood. I don't magically know what people want, decorating is a chore, and the frenzy is a lot for my introverted soul. So the Grinch and I would be friends. 

Like the Grinch after his heart grows, I've also gotten more into Christmas the past few years. Last year, I put up a tree for the first time in 13 years. I love Christmas baking, and I've purchased more than one holiday bow tie for Keely. It's not my favorite holiday, but I've embraced the parts of it I enjoy and let go of the things I don't like. 

Which brings me back to the final Scream. One of the things about this season that has always annoyed me is the so-called "War on Christmas." There is no war on Christmas. It's entirely made up to make people feel outrage for people trying to be more inclusive and welcoming during the holidays. It appeals to fake Christians and people who forget that there are other holidays celebrated this time of the year that have nothing to do with Christmas. This has to be one of the stupidest things conservative media and politicians have come up with in my life. Saying "Happy Holidays" to someone does not ruin Christmas for you. Between October 1 and December 31, there are over 60 holidays, memorial days, and other observed festivals or events (religious and secular). If you count all the days devoted to saints or other religious figures across world religions, there are hundreds of possible things you can celebrate over those three months. If you count all the non-major secular observances and the random "National Insert Random Thing"days, you're talking about thousands of things to celebrate in a three month period. That's a lot of holidays.

I have no way to know what a person celebrates or observes. I can't necessarily tell by looking at a person if they're religious or what religion they practice. Obviously, there are some exceptions to this if a person's religion requires specific clothing, but for the most part, I can't tell what you believe just by looking at you. I can make assumptions, but that's about it. That's why I usually say "Happy Holidays" during this time of the year because it's inclusive and festive and nice. If someone says "Merry Christmas" to me, I'll say it back. Hell, I've been wished Happy Mother's Day many times in my life and I don't get offended because I don't have kids. The person who says it doesn't know I don't have kids. I say thank you and move on. That's how adults should behave. 

As I was planning out December, I decided the final Scream would be made on the 12th day of the 12th month since it's the 12th Scream. I also knew I wanted to include the Grinch. And then I noticed something I've never noticed in 30+ years of watching The Grinch: his face is heart shaped. It's not a perfect heart, but it's heart shaped. 


It all came together after that. I feel like the Grinch would love the idea of people screaming inside their hearts because one of the things he hated about Christmas was all the "NOISE, NOISE, NOISE" (one of my favorite parts of Karloff's narration). If you watch the Jim Carrey version of the movie, he also would have called people out on the "War on Christmas" narrative just like he calls them out for making Christmas about gifts and decorations. With all of these things in mind, The Grinch/Happy Holidays (Scream #12) was created. 

Kindness is what makes the Grinch's heart grow and for him to understand what matters about Christmas, and we can be kind whether someone says "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." 


I couldn't decide which stitch would be best for the Grinch's face, so I decided to use fabric paint and accent it with green thread. I used what I refer to as "Keely's stitch" for the hat. It's a mix of straight and back stitches that mimic the idea of the long and short stitch, but isn't actually the long and short stitch. I always thought it was weird the Grinch had red fabric laying around Mt. Crumpet, so the hat is meant to look a little less than perfect. I will be returning to the Scream series in 2022; I'm planning to do a panel piece including all twelve in one work. I'll share progress on the blog throughout next year.  

Happy Holidays, friends!

Check out my fun new Santa T-Rex shirt! It was a thank you gift from Donnie, who was part of my other Dr. Seuss themed piece this month! Thank you Donnie and Soozi!!



Details:
Stitches: back, satin, straight, stem stitches, French knots
Thread palette: DMC 911 (2,3), 817 (3), B5200 (6), 310 (2), 743 (2)
Other materials: Sour apple (ha!) fabric paint

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