Ghoulicious Ghoultide!...

We just returned from a whirlwind road trip to the Ghoultide Gathering and back! As usual, the weekend festivities flew by faster than I could keep up. The Friday night early buy was a frenzied blur of collectors eager to snatch something special for themselves or on the hunt for others. We barely had time to sneak in a quick snack and get changed in between setting up and opening time! Hence, I was unable to make the rounds to the other buildings and tents to document ALL the spooky delights (OH and how I wish had had time!!) You'll have to peruse the web and haunt the other Ghoul artist photo postings for more peeks at this unique event. Luckily, we snapped some images in the Cady Inn where we exhibited this year. So, I will share with you what we were able to capture in less than 24 hours! Many many thanks to ALL the determined collectors willing to brave the windy chill and intermittent rain drops in the air. The weather conditions were far from favorable, but so so many of you did not let that stand in your way, and we (speaking for all the artists) are humbled by your loyalty and love for what we, as folk artists do. :) And, another HUGE thanks goes out to Scott Smith and the Rawsons for putting on another fabulous event! Enjoy the photos....and I hope to see you next year under the warm rays of the sun ~ we are due!

Johanna-Parker-Ghoultide

Ahh, that's me all set up, stockings and boots on, hat affixed and ready for the Early Buy Friday night affair...

Johanna-halloween-Ghoultide

Halloween vignette of just an assortment of some of the one of a kind Halloween folk art characters I offered at this show....

Mouse-Ghoultide

A sweet mouse on a ball character rests atop an old Halloween tambourine that mom purchased from Mark Craven (for me!)... This mouse was one of the first to fly out of the house!

Ghost-Vase-Ghoultide

Remember the black & white vase JP candidly captured me painting a couple weeks ago? Well, here it is in it's ghostly entirety with a cat and spider companion.... All found homes and rather quickly at that....

Johanna-Ghoultide

Just a few moments for a couple more peek-a-boo photos..... I love the one I captured of JP below.....

JP-Ghoultide

There's my man looking quite smashing behind my pair of pumpkin girls, featured in Celebrate Halloween Magazine! It was bitter-sweet to say good bye to those cuties, but I still have my cute husband :)

Mouse-&-Bat-Cup-Ghoultide

EEk, another mouse made it to Ghoultide, but didn't make the ride back home with us!... Guess I'll have to make more of these little characters to go with their black cat "friends"...

Appleseed-Collective-Ghoultide

A quick jaunt outside in the chilling air beckoned the festive sounds from the folky Appleseed Collective!... What fun......

Vergie-&-Scott-Ghoultide

Vergie Lightfoot and Scott Smith, were caught arm and arm at the gazebo for the group photo! I feel like I have gone back in time....

Line-Ghoultide

Speaking of Scott, the line of anxious collectors continued to build at the stone house that he, Paul Gordon and Sheila Bentley were exhibiting in...

Cady-Inn-Ghoultide

Sweeping by is Michael Corelis, Lori Ann's husband with a crow on his top hat! And off in the distance is the Cady Inn which housed  the displays of both me and 7 other Halloween artists.

Cady-Line-Ghoultide

More folks line up at the Cady Inn situated on the charming grounds of Mill Race Village.

Allen-Cunningham-Ghoultide

Doll artist, Allen W. Cunningham patiently awaits the show to begin in his old-fashioned Halloween attire.....

Allen-Dolls-Ghoultide

A peek at some of Allen's Halloween delights....

Sayre-Ghoultide
Nicol Sayre and fun-loving husband Phil know how to dress for the occasion in their Victorian Halloween steam punk style......

Jerry-&-Arnold-Ghoultide

Just a glimpse at some of the sweet creations dangling nearby, created by Jerry & Darla Arnold...

Katherine-Webber-Ghoultide

I catch Katherine Webber adding the final touches to her spooky display before the clock struck 6pm!...

Kristen-Beason-Ghoultide

And, look! There's Kristen Beason's glowing face, peering through a tree of her haunted delights.....

First-collectors-Ghoultide

Determined collectors on a mission are first to arrive at my display for first dibs at what I had to offer Friday night! (Thank you all for your determination despite several hours of chilly air outdoors...)

Collectors-Ghoultide

More Halloween fans arrive to meet the characters that I have made for them!

Action-Ghoultide

A decision is made and I reach to collect a piece chosen for adoption. Below, a basket of Thank-You goodies for my patrons awaits their choosing.....

Collectors-Decide-Ghoultide

Collectors continue to eye the selections of one of kind delights at hand...

Johanna-frolics-Ghoultide

Saturday morning rolled in, and it was time to open again for round two. The crowds were amazing! The flow of attendees was certainly non-stop for many hours despite the windy cool weather. Like I said, it was a whirlwind weekend of Halloween galore, and I feel certain we will be back. Thank you again for joining us either in person or in spirit :)

~ Johanna

Faces of the Ghoultide Gathering....

What a fun surprise! I have the pleasure of being featured as one of the many faces of the Ghoultide Gathering in two different national magazines this fall. The art of each and every artist that exhibits at this fabulous show is truly wonderful, so I am honored that my folk art characters have been chosen to help represent a gathering of talent beyond imagination!

Owl-Midwest-Living


At last year's Ghoultide Gathering, photographer Brad Ziegler from Midwest Living Magazine made the rounds to each artist's table, just hours before the doors opened to the public. He snapped an assortment of images from each artist as we anticipated the show to commence. As quickly as he appeared, he vanished as the frenzy of collectors took center stage. So, almost a year later it is such a delight to see that a sampling of his photos did indeed make the pages of this October's Midwest Living! Turn to page 69 and look for the page titled "Discoveries ~ A few of our Favorite Midwest Finds." An original standing owl sculpture of mine perches at the top right corner of the page, and as I recall, he was one of the first pieces to fly off the shelf! For those of you in the midwest, you should be able to spot this magazine on the stands, and for all others, you can order a copy from Midwest Living.

A-Primitive-Place-Witch

And have you heard of A Primitive Place Magazine? It's a treasure for those of you looking for your primitive fix! This past spring, this year's artists of a Ghoultide Gathering were asked to submit images of their Halloween folk art, nestled in primitive-style settings, all for a possible feature. This was an easy task for me as a I have amassed a small library of images that I have snapped in the surroundings of my mother's colonial style home. She has an ever-growing collection of my Halloween folk art, so luckily I was able to resort to the photos that I have taken in her primitive home over the years. Fortunately, the candy container witch I made for mom several years ago is included in their Fall 2011 issue! Alongside this sweet piece in the magazine is a fun assortment of my black cats and owls that I photographed at mom's Halloween Collectors Event. To see it all and the wonderful work of several other of my Halloween artist friends, please order you copy HERE!

The 5th Annual Ghoultide Gathering promises to delight your senses and transport you to a place of whimsy and imagination. If you love the happy spirit of Halloween, you must join us!


5thGhoultide

See you there, or beware..... :)
~ Johanna

See you at the Ghoultide Gathering!

So, the news has been out for a month, but I realized that I had not made it official here... I am truly honored to be a part of this year's 4th Annual Halloween Artist Spectacular Ghoultide Gathering! What a treat it will be to exhibit my original Halloween creations at this acclaimed event. You can visit Ghoultides's Website for a peek at the participating artists!

Ghoultide-Gathering-Logo

This very special event takes place in Northville, Michigan on October 2nd. Ghoultide Gathering is a juried show that strives to offer collectors the highest quality Halloween art in an unexpected variety of styles and mediums. I hear it's magical, the setting is charming and historic, the artists are amazing and the collectors are passionate.

I suggest you take a peek for yourself! Scott Smith, co-founder of the Ghoultide Gathering composed this short clip which offers a glimpse into last year's event. So, enjoy, mark you calendars and please join us this fall! I look forward to meeting you there :) Expect to be enchanted...........



And with this news, some of you may be wondering about my event schedule. Well, we decided to go east this year instead of west, meaning that I will not be participating in the Halloween & Vine for the first time in 6 years! It was a difficult decision to make as I love seeing Petaluma and reconnecting with my west coast collector and artist friends, but sometimes it's good to mix things up a bit, see new sites, meet new people and try something different. Perhaps some of my cherished collectors will get the itch to check out Ghoultide too! I hope so, as I would love to see your smiling faces once again.....

~ Johanna

A Peek at the Halloween & Vine!...

Gathering from the emails I have received, I know that many of you are anxious to see photos from the fabulous Halloween & Vine! Well, get ready :) I must admit, I have spent several hours just preparing these images, so I hope you enjoy them. This annual show is so unique, that it's my pleasure to share with you a glimpse into this year's festivities. As always, it flies by so fast that I never see everything I want to see nor do I have a chance to photograph everything that I want to capture. Or in some cases, the photos turn out like a big silly blur, so I'm featuring the best images I have to offer. Let's hope other artists do the same. Of course, I recommend attending the show if you really want to experience the sights and sounds for yourself! See you there next year, I hope!..... ENJOY!

~ Johanna ( PS: You can click on the majority of the photos to enlarge them! )

* One of two of my original standing owls that quickly flew out the door...


* That's me in my silly striped leggings standing in front of my table right before the doors opened!...


* A fun photo of JP and myself taken from the inside of our booth looking out! Thank You to the kind mystery man who took this happy pic!...

* There's my sweetie JP posing before the show started...


* A couple of my latest original vase designs. I call them "base chamber vases" as they have a secret compartment on the underside along with another place to stash goodies up top!... I hope their new owners enjoyed my little notes inside :)


* A festive pic of the grand hall with William Bezek's fine table of delights in the foreground!...


* Love this expressive gourd-like character created by Scott Smith of Rucus
Studio!...


* A wide view of Scott Smith's harvest-themed spread...


* Wonderfully fun Halloween characters by Laurie Harden! What a treat it was to finally meet her and see her highly detailed creations in person...


* A colorful snap of Allen Cunningham's whimsical goods, gone in a flash!...


* Another angle within the Hermann Son's Hall with Suzie Scott Studio's delightful table in the foreground...


* A peek at Ginny Betourne's comical Halloween creations that always make me chuckle!...


* A burst of color on Jorge de Rojas' fabulous table... My eyes were drawn to this spinning display holder filled with yummy looking shakers...


* A peek at Christy Silacci's fun-filled characters perching high and low...


* An adorable black cat by Lori Ann Corelis proudly stands atop an old top hat...


* A fun collection of Halloween delights created by master metal-worker, Nancy Aldabe of Nancy's Metal Art...


* One of Nicol Sayre's dear vintage inspired dolls holding the most wonderful parasol...


* A grouping of Nicol's wonderful art dolls takes you back in time....


* Bright whimsical faces on Sharon Bloom's table just make you smile!...


* Spooky fun characters cluster together on Katherine Webber's table...


* Another angle of the Hall with Vergie Lightfoot's fantastical display in the foreground!...

* A close up on one of Vergie's amazing black cats!...


* A quirky fun pair of jack-o'-lantern folks by whimsical artist Kerry Howard-Schimdt...


* And me once again, taking a deep breath, happy to be ready! (after months and months and months of work!)...
SaveSave

Visions from the Halloween & Vine...

Well, as promised, I will share some of the photos I took before the doors opened last Saturday at the Halloween & Vine! We were all in a frenzy before the clock struck 9, catching up with artist friends, arranging our displays and marveling at all the eye candy. So, I didn't have a chance to make all the rounds and snap pics of everyone's display, but this is only a tease and will perhaps entice some of you folks who have never been to come on out and join us! There's nothing quite like it :) If I haven't said it enough, I want to THANK all of my dedicated collector pals for coming out early to adopt a special piece! I hope you are enjoying your Halloween art originals! Now, for the photos.........And don't forget to click on them to see more!... {enjoy!}
~ Johanna


* A view from my table of the grand room of Halloween delights...


* Me in my orange & black, standing beside my table before the doors opened...


* I love this pic of my hubby JP peeking thru a grouping of my art...


* A quick snap of some of my Halloween characters waiting to be snatched up!...


* Another view from my table...There's the tip of David Bruce's display, then Scott Smith's, Nicol Sayre's and so on....


* Me again next to our last-minute logo configuration that seemed to get lots of attention! I'm glad it worked out considering that we put it together the day before we left for the journey....


* A pic of Vergie Lightfoot (who was next to me ) and her spooktacular table of goods... Ca-Ca-Ca....(inside joke :) he he!


* A close-up of Vergie's handmade treasures....Love those cats!


* Look at these creepy confections with attitude from Scott Smith! What fun!...


* Adorable bunnies and bears in vintage-style Halloween attire, made by the talented hands of Lori Ann Corelis...


* Sharon Bloom's colorful spread of hand-painted pottery delights...


* A sweet grouping of one-of-a-kind collectible dolls, made by the hands of Nicol Sayre...


* Festive Halloween clowns and jack-o'-lanterns made by artist William Bezek...


* Another view of the Halloween tables in Hermann Sons Hall with Allen Cunningham's creations in front center...


* A shiny tray of whimsical Halloween pendants & pins created by Ulla Milbrath...


* And a pic of myself and JP, who's such a GREAT help to me!...