Witch in the Woods Folk Art Theater

Witch in the Woods Theater

Using recycled items, I created a small witch theater that includes a spun cotton witch. She is made using techniques as in Victorian times and has a reproduced scrap face. She holds a tiny pumpkin and broom. A raven sits at the top keeping watch over all. A tiny skull adorns the top of the theater, too. There are all sorts of tiny embellishments that make this a truly unique Halloween treasure!

This piece is being featured on the EHAG Emporium, which has other fabulous Halloween art up for grabs. (It has sold however.) I am a proud member of the first Halloween artist guild online, Eclectic Halloween Artist Guild (EHAG).  Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins Soon Will Abound!

The recent full moon in all its splendor makes me think of the months to come. Pumpkins, black cats, spooky houses and then the big day...Halloween! Still working into the wee hours in my studio on paintings, sculptures and all manner of holiday fun. Hope to see you at one of my upcoming folk art shows! Yay...fall is almost here!

A Haunted Night!

"A Haunted Night!"

I am dreaming of Halloween and just listed an original Halloween watercolor postcard on eBay. You see, I'm preparing for three folk art shows this fall, two of which are Halloween shows!

First, I'll kick off the show season with Tinsel and Treasures Folk Art Show, Sept. 15 in Danville, CA. I can't wait to see all my friends and collectors at the show! I'll be in California for a week visiting friends and shopping, of course! Then off to see my parents in Reno. The trip will culminate with the wonderful Halloween art show Halloween and Vine, Sept. 29, in Petaluma, CA. It's always an awesome event with some of the best Halloween artists around! I love that I am returning again this year to this show!

And finally, I'll be participating in a Halloween folk art show closer to my home in Florida. Spirits in Sanford, Oct. 13, is in Sanford, FL, a quaint, historic town a little more than an hour from me. I will be celebrating Halloween so many times before the 31st!

With dreams of Halloween, I hope you enjoy the later half of your summer!

Scaring the Boys and Girls on Halloween

Original ACEO watercolor, now available on eBay here.

"We're the farmer's scarecrows

We scare away the birds

We keep the farmer's corn safe
Without any words.

But when Halloween comes

We jump out of the ground

And we scare the boys and girls

When they come walking 'round."

- anonymous

Howling with Delight

I hope you enjoyed that large glowing orb on Saturday night! We were out and howled with delight as it rose to its closest point to earth this year. I was so inspired by the perigee moon, I created my first Halloween ACEO of 2012. "Harvest Moon" is up for bid on eBay, just click here to head to my auction. Happy Haunting!

Halloween Art Giveaway!!

Up for grabs are some amazing pieces of Halloween art from the talented artisans of the Eclectic Halloween Artists Guild (EHAG). Just post a verse and your contact info on their blog by April 29, 9 pm EST, and you get a chance to win one of three original pieces of Halloween art! Hurry! You don't have much more time before the witching hour strikes!

EHAGemporium.blogspot.com

Full Moon Magic

In case you didn't notice, the moon was amazingly full and glowing the last few days. Since we have several 100-year-old oak trees on our property, I wanted to share the view from our front porch. I'm still getting used to a new camera and am not sure how to adjust the aperture and shutter speed manually. So the clouds are a bit blurry, because they were moving while the camera's slow shutter speed was capturing the moon in all it's glory at night.

And here is a picture from across the street looking at our front porch that night. It's the old southern style wrap around porch on a craftsman style home. And the oaks are full of Spanish moss that hangs and arches over the walk toward our front door. The possibilities for Halloween decorating are endless!!

I hope you were able to glimpse the moon's magic and bask in all it's mystery!

How I've Missed You During Our Move to Haunted St. Augustine

My word it's been several months since I was last here!! So sorry! You see, we've packed up and sold many of our belongings and moved across the country from sunny northern California to sunny northern Florida! So as you can imagine, there was lots of "stuff" to shed, boxes to pack and a few holidays in between to celebrate with family and friends before the big move.

But now we are here and have almost unpacked all the boxes. I've refurbished a thrift store find into my new art work table and have a beautiful studio loft above our detached garage. And I am itching to get back to my paint brushes and paper mache creations.

We are now in St. Augustine, which is the oldest continuously occupied city in the nation. It was first settled by the Spanish in 1513, and then other European countries tried to establish a stronghold on this beautiful piece of Florida coastline. The city's history is full of battles and bledshed, which makes the area ripe for ghosts. Tales abound of the haunted fort, cemeteries, drug store (picture above) and jail/general store (pictured below). I can't wait to incorporate these, along with the areas large oaks dripping with spanish moss into some of my watercolors!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and have started the new year on a bright, but spooky note! I want to share one more photo with you. This one was taken on our move/ road-trip across the country. It's a huge mansion that will make its way into one of my future paintings, which will commence soon! Happy Hauntings!

Celebrate Halloween!

Time to celebrate Halloween!!

A sneak peek at my offering to be unveiled on the EHAG Emporium, October 31, 9 pm eastern. So when you're done ghosting and ghouling, grab a cup of brew and sit a spell as you see the online show! 

Happy Halloween all!!

Celebrate 365: My Kind of Magazine!

I am so pleased to be in the Fall 2011 double issue of Celebrate 365 magazine. It's a wonderful publication coming out four times a year, and it offers collectors a bevy of holiday art created by talented artisans. To order the magazine or subscribe, click here. My work appears on three pages:

My curious eye ornament was featured. I've had so many fans say that these ornaments are delectably creepy, because the eye follows you around the room. It's perfect for your Halloween tree and I have one left in my etsy shop here.  

In addition, one of my Halloween recycled collages made the pages of the magazine. "The Witching Hour" is made from recycled construction lumber and a page from an old National Geographic - yes, the page makes up the background. The wood makes the perfect substrate for these two gothic looking witchlings and adds weight to the piece. The witches collage has sold, but I do have one similar for all you Edgar Allen Poe fans! It too is in my etsy shop here. 

The third page of my art appears in the Late Summer portion of the double issue. Turn the magazine over and you'll find summer art, including a captain's shell box I created. You can read more about that on my mixed media blog: My Birdsong.

I hope your days leading up to a favored holiday are pleasant and colorful. Only a couple more weeks until Halloween!

Iva's Creations


PS - Head on over to my Facebook Page and hit "Like." I post works in progress, events and more there. Thank you for supporting independent artists!

Wicked Witch Greetings

The month of Halloween is almost here and I've created a doosie of a paper mache witch to greet all your Halloween trick or treaters, family and friends! The whimsical witch Pannah the Deplorable is a little more than three feet tall and holds a leaf-strewn banner with the letters, "Halloween" hung from it. You can replace the banner with one of your own, for her fingers are shaped to hold something. She's currently on eBay, so take a peek. If you live locally near Danville, CA, I'd be glad to waive the shipping fee and you can pick her up!

I've listed several of my latest Halloween prints on eBay, and they include some mysterious black cats and a jack-o-lantern or two. Later this week, I'll be listing several new Christmas pieces in my etsy shop. It's been a busy past two weeks with two wonderful shows I participated in.

The Fourth Annual Tinsel and Treasures Art Show on Sept. 10 was again a fantastic event with so many wonderful artists and collectors coming out to shop! A big thanks to everyone who made the annual art event a great success! This includes my mother who helped me greatly! Of course, I couldn't organize the event without my  talented friend and doll artist Colleen Moody, who hosted a sumptuous dinner for all the artists the night before the show. Head to her blog for great photos of some of the items that were snapped up that day by eager collectors. Thank you both Mom and Colleen!

Then two weeks later, I was off to Halloween and Vine, a spectacular all Halloween art show held in the bucolic town of Petaluma, CA each year. So many gifted artists celebrating October 31! It was great visiting with many artist friends and meeting so many fans! I have a few Halloween pieces left, like these  whimsical black cat shakers. They will be listed on Etsy too.

October will be here this weekend! Yay...Halloween is almost here!

Come See Me at Halloween and Vine this Weekend!

This Saturday will be filled with spooky tricks and treats as I participate in the art show Halloween and Vine in Petaluma, CA. I'm so excited to be a part of this show that only features art celebrating October 31! I've been working on new paper mache witches and black cats, in addition to watercolors and mixed media works. Come by and say hello, and then enjoy the celebration of Halloween! 

Halloween Art Cards Make Originals Affordable

I have not painted many Halloween artist trading cards in a while and thought it was time. Artist trading cards (ATC), or as eBay calls them art cards, editions and originals (ACEO), are tiny works of art created on a standard size of 2-1/2" by 3-1/2" sheet. They were originally intended for artists to trade works of art with each other, and they were never to be sold. But they caught on with the masses, because they make original works of art affordable for everyone. I have painted many of these in past years and began moving toward larger paintings. But in this economy, I figured it was time to offer an original work for the same cost as one of my prints.

I've listed this original Halloween watercolor on eBay and you will find my auction here. Look for other Halloween ACEOs on eBay by some of my fellow Eclectic Halloween Artists Guild members by using the search term, "EHAG." Now, I'm off to continue preparing for upcoming art shows Tinsel and Treasures, September 10, in Alamo, CA, and then Halloween and Vine, September 24, in Petaluma, CA. Happy Halloween...soon! 

Cat-ching Up

I seem to be spending  my days more and more on Facebook, releasing images of new paintings and the latest works in progress. Thus, so much time as elapsed since my last post, and my need to cat-ch up!  ;)  I do apologize. But, if you'd like to stay in touch more often, please head to my Facebook Iva's Creations art page and hit the "like" button. I do still plan on maintaining my blog, so never fear if you're not a Facebook devotee! Now on to my art! 

I seem to be drawn to black cats these days, as I prepare for Halloween. Yes, the summer solstice is not even a week old and I'm dreaming of fall. But as you know, I'm in the mood for Halloween all year long!

I am starting my Halloween, watercolor auctions on eBay again. The above original painting, "October Eyes," will be listed on eBay tonight, so watch my eBay auctions.

I recently sold this ACEO, "Night Flight." I am using graphite more in my work and love the dreamy affect it casts. I will be listing more of these tiny works of art, so I hope you pop in to my eBay auctions weekly, or simply add me to your favorite sellers list. Halloween is not too far off! 

Wheeeee!

Getting "Familiar"

My fellow members of the Eclectic Halloween Artists Group and I participate in art challenges every month or so. The theme for this month is Familiar Friends. So what better familiar than a black cat! I painted this one as a 5"x7" watercolor, now on eBay. But check out the other offerings from EHAG members, on eBay and on etsy. You'll find links to all of them on the EHAG blog, EHAGart.blogspot.com.

Here's a little history about familiars. In European folklore familiar spirits, sometimes referred to simply as familiars, were supernatural entities that were believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to the records of the time, they would appear in numerous guises, often as an animal, but also at times as a human or humanoid figure, and were described as "clearly defined, three-dimensional… forms, vivid with colour and animated with movement and sound" by those alleging to have come into contact with them, unlike later descriptions of ghosts with their "smoky, undefined form[s]".

When they served witches, they were often thought to be malevolent, while when working for cunning-folk they were often thought of as benevolent, although there was some ambiguity in both cases. The former were often categorised as being demons, while the latter were more commonly thought of and described as being fairies. The main purpose of familiars is to serve the witch/young witch. The service the familiar would provide would be to protect the new witch coming into his/her new powers.
Hope you're better familiar with familiars! ;)

A Visit from The Ghost Bride

As I continue to learn about different mediums, I try to incorporate them into my work. Graphite is a wonderful mark making tool, and I don't mean just a graphite pencil. The powder variety is excellent for making images and illustrations. The Ghost Bride is an original illustration primarily created with such powder and pencils. I added a touch of pastel and colored pencil here and there and like the effect. This is now available on eBay, if you'd like to read more about it. Try something new and you never know what kind of magic may happen!

Flying in the Moonlight

Two friends are taking a moonlight ride while several friendly bats flutter about. What could be better than to be surrounded by friends, a full moon and Halloween night? This is an original ACEO watercolor now available on eBay. Happy Haunting!

Vintage-Style Witching Hour Doll Appearing on EHAG Emporium

 

 "Witching Hour"

It's the end of the month which means it's time for Halloween mischief on the EHAG Emporium blog! On the last day of the month, the Emporium unveils new Halloween art offered for sale by EHAG members. (In case you didn't know, EHAG is an acronym for the Eclectic Halloween Artists Group comprised of some of the most talented Halloween artists around!)

My submission for the February EHAG Emporium is the "Witching Hour," a vintage-style witch tucked neatly inside a paper mache witch's shoe. She has a China doll head and is wearing a shimmery dark bronze dress with millinery netting over her skirt. She is firmly secured inside a paper mache shoe, which I hand pressed from my vintage chocolate mold. The whimsical piece is embellished with Dresden, black glass glitter, gold bullion, vintage crepe paper and the image of an old clock face. Measures about 8" tall.

One of a kind!

 SOLD

 

A Glowing Halloween

I'm working on adding texture to my watercolors, or at least the image of texture. "A Glowing Halloween," was born from this experimentation. The 5"x7" watercolor will be listed on eBay tonight. The image was one of many photographs I took last Halloween and I can't wait to paint my way through them! I'm always in the mood for a glowing jack-o-lantern! How about you?

A New Year Means Time for Reflection

 

"Halloween Haunts"

The start of a new year means time to reflect on my art. You may notice that I often paint a pre-teen girl and a younger boy. You see, unconsciously I am painting our two children, during a time long ago. It is a time I cherish most of all, when the world was still innocent and our family was still complete.

The new year also brings the birthday of our departed 17-year-old daughter Brianna. January 12 ushers in wonderful memories and much sadness. The fact that she is now gone is as fresh today as it was three and a half years ago when she died.

So I keep painting scenes in which innocence abounds, and the world on Halloween is full of wonder and not too scary. My idealized world helps me cope with our loss. Some of you have told me my paintings help you escape to a gentler time and place too.

So as I think about my art moving into 2011, I've realized it has been a source of joy for me during the darkest time in my life. And it continues to elevate me to a better state of mind each time I put pencil and paint brush to paper.

The above painting is available on SpookyTimeJingles.com.