Thursday, February 29, 2024

Long overdue greetings to all! -

I see that I've been woefully tardy in updating this here ol' art blog!

   I will offer as my excuse that a whole lotta stuff has been going on which prevented me from regular updates - which it has, not kidding -  and I apologize to those who actually take a few minutes out from their busy days to venture over here for a little Halloween spookery entertainment.

   Most definitely a lot going on. Currently working on the Fall 2024 issue of Autumn Brilliance magazine, as well as organizing a bunch of other things that I'm not able to reveal just yet... but will do so in the very near future. All I'm saying is, I need a staff to help me! You know that old saying, 'biting off more than you can chew?' Well I'm a master at doing that, har har. No worries, good things in store. 

   In the meantime, sharing a creation of mine from the 2023 Halloween season. 

   You know how much I love skulls! This one is made from papier mache, and adorned with all manner of fungus and mold (all hand-made mushrooms from paper clay and painted with acrylics), as well as some locally sourced dried plants, pods, grasses and flowers. All figure into my reverence and borderline revulsion of the process of rot. I find mushrooms especially captivating in all their many shapes and functions. Truly alien, not fitting completely into the animal/vegetable spectrum, but instead straddling both in their unique ways.

   My adoration for all things Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) strongly represents here in this piece, which I've named "FOREVER." It even has tiny battery operated lights that are in the shape of everyone's favorite shroom, the magical Amanita Muscaria.

   We all return to dust, and some of us first are consumed back into the earth by these processes of decay, which I have a lifelong fascination with. Everything is temporary, and the circle of life continues... you can't escape it if you are a living biological being. We eat things, then things eat us. Might sound morbid, but it's really not, it's a vital part of life on earth. Nature does not waste anything; everything serves its pur

   Ok, I promise to be back a bit more regularly....

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Fall 2023 Autumn Brilliance is available!


Digital version is available now!

Printed version available Friday, September 8th

To order, click the link below:

https://www.autumnbrilliancemagazine.com/

 

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Something ROTTEN is afoot! -

 

We're not talking about feet. Well, some feet indeed smell rotten, but I'm not talking about those - I've been busy sculpting away, making a flurry of skulls of all kinds. 

From the looks of it, most are going the way of mildew, all greenish decay and somewhat fetid in appearance. It feels so good getting my hands in clay and paint again, after spending the past six months creating the magazine (Autumn Brilliance). Don't get me wrong, I love putting my magazine together, but being an artist, I tend to miss painting and sculpting, and getting away from the computer is welcome. 

These skulls and many other spooky Halloween goodies will be brought to the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show next month in Marshall, Michigan. These skulls will be incorporated into a weird array of designs; I'll be sure to post a few photos of the finished results when I can.

 

 

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Let the countdown continue! -


 "Seemore" - a fun kooky creepy sculpture I created back in 2018 for my (now-defunct) "Monsters & Merriment" Halloween art show. 

Not for sale - Seemore quite happily resides in a private collection in Nashville.

 


Monday, July 3, 2023

More fabulousness! -

 

 

 

Sometimes you meet certain people and just fall in love with them for their fun personalities, their infectious joy for life - and their incredible art. We feel this way for the madly talented Cyn Tennant, and welcome her to our Fall 2023 issue!

We've come to absolutely adore this lady - and her art is to die for, too! Cyn conjures up an astonishing assemblage of curious bits and pieces, with sculptural elements and wondrous colors that all grab you by the lapels and make you grin wide. 

 
This very special gal's unique works can be seen this September, 2023, in the pages of
AUTUMN BRILLIANCE magazine.

 
Available in September online (
link on the right for ordering info) and also at the magical Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show, September 30, in Marshall, Michigan. 

Both Cyn and I hope to see you then! 😍🎃🦇🍄🍂🌻🍁


http://www.bewitchingpeddlersofhalloween.com/

 

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

With great honor we present - - -

With much love and sadness, we present our Fall 2023 Spotlight Profile artist, the late, great Dustin Poche'... 

Most of you know that Dustin passed away earlier this year from cancer. I'd been in contact with him just a week prior to his death... he was very excited to be our Spotlight artist. Everyone in the art doll community is grief-stricken about his untimely passing. Not a bad word has been said about him - everybody loved him! Inside the magazine, you'll find an extensive layout dedicated to his brilliance as an artist and human being. 

Bittersweet only scratches the surface...

 

And our featured artist, Stacey Walsh of         

The Goode Wife of Washington Country


Truly a treat to present this lady's fabulous artwork in this issue of
AUTUMN BRILLIANCE. Her quietly spooky style is mesmerizing, and I know you'll fall deeply in love with it like we all did. She will be at this year's Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show!

You can find this issue in September 2023, available online (link on the right will take you to the AB page for ordering) and in person at the Bewitching Peddlers show, Saturday, September 30th, in Marshall, Michigan. I do hope you will take a moment to stop by the AUTUMN BRILLIANCE booth to say hello, and get your very own copy of the magazine! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, June 12, 2023

Thrilled to announce! - - -

 

The first of many announcements about what you can expect in the exciting upcoming Fall 2023 issue of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE magazine ...

We're very happy to welcome acclaimed author and illustrator, Barbara Cantini!

Barbara has had a lifelong love affair with Halloween, incorporating it into her everyday existence in her native Tuscany, Italy. But what she's famous for are her series of colorfully illustrated lines of books, most notably, GHOULIA! Known as Mortina in Europe. this sweet and spooky little character is a zombie girl who takes us on many an adventure over the course of many titles of books.

You'll read all about Ghoulia, and also how Barbara celebrates Halloween in Tuscany, in the upcoming issue of the magazine.

Available September 2023 online:

 https://www.autumnbrilliancemagazine.com/

Also available on September 30th, at  the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show in Marshall, Michigan  - come to our booth for your own copy, and say hi!

 

 

Monday, May 15, 2023

Counting down the days! -

Greetings to all! Yes, we've taken a bit of a break from posting here, which is mainly due to our keeping busily working on the Fall 2023 edition of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE magazine (due September 2023).

The art studio holds many creative art ideas ready to be put into use, and the fruition of those shall be available at this year's Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween art show in Marshall, Michigan on Saturday, September 30 (and issues of the magazine will also be readily available).

But like you, we are staying very busy, and counting down those days of the hot summer until our reprieve is here in the manner of beautiful autumn. So until the leaves turn color and there's a refreshing chill in the air .... 

169 days until Halloween!

"Batty for Betsy" by Ellie Gee. Acrylic and ink. 
MacabreWebs Studios


Monday, December 19, 2022

Ho-Ho-Holiday Cheer!

 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?



Monday, September 19, 2022

Old Witch Debby ...

 

Old witch Debby
Stout and dour
Casting spells 'round the hour
A perfect witch she is not
She fell into the cauldron pot!
(poem by Ellen Gee)
 
Oops... looks like the old girl messed up a spell again in her inimitably clumsy way, and by the expression on her face, she's none too happy about it either
!
Like all my sculptures, Old Witch Debby is made from both polymer and paper clay on a wood/styrofoam armature, and painted in vivid acrylics (Halloween palette of course). Her hair was hilariously fun to do! Composed of multi-colored pulled and wrapped long sections of yarn, and then fastened to her head securely with glue. Her skirt and belt are cotton material and she has a tiny black bow-tie at the seam of her skirt in back.

Come meet ol' Debby next weekend at the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show in Marshall, Michigan. She promises to not attempt any spellcasting while you're there!




 

 

Friday, September 16, 2022

The Seer, Sybil -

 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.

Nobody can recall where she came from, or when she got here ... they fear her for what her prophecy may foretell to them, as she turns her face and ghostly blank eyes toward them.

 
You can meet Sybil at Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween, next Saturday, September 24th at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds!

 http://www.bewitchingpeddlersofhalloween.com/

 

 

 


Thursday, September 1, 2022

So much accomplished, so much to still do! -

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!

He will be available at the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show. See you there!

 

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/AutumnBrilliance/

 

http://www.bewitchingpeddlersofhalloween.com/