Freezing your patoot off yet???
We do love this sort of weather, provided we're prepared for it (and don't have to drive in it!).
Decorating a bit around the old homestead, dreaming dreams of next Halloween. Have plenty of good things in store that we'll be working on during the long cold months of winter.
What are you up to these days?
The Seer, Sybil ... was born with a caul over her face. She is blind and lives partly in this realm, partly beyond the veil, as evidenced by her dead skeletal hands.
You can meet Sybil at Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween, next Saturday, September 24th at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds!
http://www.bewitchingpeddlersofhalloween.com/
It's the first of September, and that means it's October Eve! That means all of September being October Eve. These past few days here in Tennessee have seen a slight change in the weather - cooler with zero humidity, which always makes me happy!
The Fall 2022 issue of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE Magazine has been sent to the printer, as has the Fall 2021 issue. I'm so thrilled to think of both issues being printed this year! As you know, I initially intended to keep it as a digital tome but soooo many people have begged me to create a printed version, that I bowed to the pressure and went ahead with printing 100 copies of each. Both will be available later this month as both a print and digital version on the Etsy shop and also at the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show this month, on Saturday the 24th, in beautiful Marshall, Michigan. Please stop by our booth to get a copy of your own, and to say hello! We're looking forward to meeting you at this wonderful, magical show.
In the meantime! - - - putting the magazine to rest means I'm not able to haul-ass on finishing up the many projects on my art table which had gone by the wayside whilst I was busy with the magazine. The first completed is this jaunty little offering, which I have dubbed "An Autumn Song & Dance" because my favorite season is in the air, and it makes me want to get up and do a happy jig. This rustic fella has a smiley Jack O'Lantern head of polymer clay, painted with acrylic paints. And his roughly-hewn, straight-from-the-cornfield clothing are all completely hand-stitched by me. With a tilt of his top hat and a kick of his heels, he welcomes you to the gates of Halloween!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AutumnBrilliance/
http://www.bewitchingpeddlersofhalloween.com/
Busy working on the Fall 2022 issue of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE!
And in a state of complete giddiness at the fact that I will be one of the participating artists at this year's Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween art show in Marshall, Michigan on September 24, 2022.... my head won't stop spinning over this, it's a dream come true.
No matter what type of mother you are, no matter your size, shape, style, species - today is your special day! Thank you for all your love and sacrifices.
We are about halfway to Halloween!
I'm working on a hag.
I prefer to view hags as those who have
lived long enough to gather much wisdom about life and the earth. Here,
my latest creation in progress, is my Highland Hag. Highland because I
am mostly Scottish/Nordic, and am drawn to that probably by sheer force
of genetic eellular memory. My hag in progress is a soothsayer. Haven't completed her story yet (as all my creations have little accompanying stories) but will update soon as I am able to.
Be nice to old women of the forests, glens and hills. Hug a hag today!
A throwback to 2018 (sorry, not for sale - he was sold via PFATT Marketplace)
FrankenbunNY
He missed Easter... but, among the broken egg shells and leftover candy, he's risen and is ready for Halloween!
I love to divide my time between projects, going from one to the other. I've found that this not only breaks up the overall monotony and prevents you from becoming too "bored" but also you will complete more this way than if you were just working on a single project.
Keepsake boxes hold a particular fondness for me. Each one can be completely different from the other, as simple or as complicated and intricate as you like. I've created a lot of them over the past ten years, using discarded candy boxes, cheese boxes, resin containers and whatnot. Currently, I've revisited the mini "coffin" keepsake because they are just so much fun to do, especially since they have metal hinges. What can you use them for? To store just about anything that comes to mind. Old jewelry, Grandma's beloved family recipes, baby teeth, you name it.
Because I love autumn and Halloween so much, mine typically reflect that design, as you see in the two styles I've posted here. All are wooden boxes with hand-sculpted polymer clay items, and painted with acrylics.
One
is titled, well, AUTUMN, complete with a trio of ripened corn,
mushrooms poking up from the forest floor, grasses, vines, and - of
course! - a big grinning Jack O'lantern at the top, all of which are set
against a fake wood grain motif that I made out of polymer clay. The
box itself is painted and lined with a very colorful Halloween-colored
leafy vine border piping that I found at a store last fall and fell in
love with.
The
other one I've dubbed ASHES. It's more Dia de Los Muertos-inspired,
with a decorated calavera (skull) surrounded by a wreath of colorful
satin roses, flowers and black bow tie, with an ornate framed glass
heart, all set against a hand-worked polymer clay background that I
impressed with a floral stamp for added depth and texture. The box is
lined with a very pretty red lace, which pops against the deep black
underneath.
More projects await me, which I feel pressed to complete because it feels like COVID put a damper on being creative, let alone the simple joy of being included in any sort of art festivals. Two years and counting now, and you know what? I NEED to have some Halloween fun this year. Two years of staying indoors, avoiding crowds, wearing masks, washing my hands and maniacally wiping down surfaces with bleach ... no regrets in doing so, as I truly believe it was all for the better and good so we can stay healthy and happy. But you know what? In spite of my natural hermit-like tendencies, I'm more than a little stir-crazy and ready to get out (safely and with great caution, of course). I aim to have plenty of Halloween goods at the ready, and hey, maybe even participate in an actual art show again! Wow, that would be just lovely.
What are you working on right now? And what are your plans for making Halloween 2022 the brightest and best ever?
Happy 213th Birthday to the Master of American Horror...
Handmade clay bat-winged heart keepsake box
(sorry - sold) with inside Poe quote - 2016.
The longest night of the year... and then the light slowly returns.
