As busy as this month has been, I focused my energy making Halloween fun for others rather than decorating my home... (hopefully next year, I will have more time :) However, my mom has been decorating her colonial-style home up in Washington state with her growing collection of orange and black delights!...On display this month at the Parker's house is a fun variety of folk art pieces that we both have made over the years. She sent me these photos recently, and I thought I would share them with you! ENJOY.....

~ Johanna


* The russet red-colored walls of their dining room is the perfect backdrop for a Halloween harvest theme...


* A fun collection of my Halloween ornaments dangle from a spooky grouping of twigs...


* A smiling jack-o'-lantern reproduction design of mine peers out of a cupboard nook...


* The jack-o'-lantern candle holder and black cat candy bowl are ready to greet friends and trick-or-treaters... These designs of mine are offered thru Primitives by Kathy...


* A work in progress hooked piece that mom designed and is currently working on... cute!....


* A pair of papier mache characters I sculpted a few years back join in with mom's yellow ware collection and her hand-painted Halloween lids...


* A cozy Halloween hearth welcomes all who enter... at second glance I ponder what is growing in the baby cradle??!!! he he...


* A pilgrim-style witch bust I sculpted a couple of years ago fits right in with mom's colonial home character...


* Another hooked piece mom made decorates a primitive tabletop in the foreground...


* Here stand two candy containers of mine that now live with mom... The one at left was my first owl piece ever and has inspired many more since!...


* Speaking of owls, this one is a reproduction design of mine, offered thru Primitives by Kathy...


* A grouping of Halloween pillows, designed and created by mom.. What fun!


* This piece has a history indeed!... Mom and I sat down to sculpt about 6 years ago, and I created this cat in a jack... In the process, I realized how much I missed the tactile arts for at the time, I was a corporate designer, working in TV news graphics... After adding the paint, my cat came to life and what a thrill! (today he seems pretty crude, but at the time, I was inspired) Of course, he needed a necklace to finish his look. Mom only had tin snips, so off I went to play with wire and.... Oouch! I sliced open my hand with those snips! So, needless to say, I was rushed to the hospital and stitched up like Frankenstein. Obviously, it didn't stop me though!... :)~