Greetings!

It is my deep, dark pleasure to announce the annual Online Hallowe'en Artists' Studio Tour! This is my "treat" to you all, a special way to celebrate my favorite season, share some exceptional art by artists I personally admire and raise money for animal charities. With this blog, I hope to keep you up-to-date with proceedings and progress as we approach the yearly "launch" on October 1st!



Thursday, August 27, 2009

Meow!

I've always thought of cats as mysterious, a bit faery, definitely tricksters. They seem too independent, able to perceive what we can't... other-worldly. I connect them to Hallowe'en and magic... and now Karen Lyons who is the absolute best at bringing felines to life in soft-sculpture is going to represent them for our tour! Wow! You're going to be thrilled by her work!
Can't wait? This is her den: http://www.kjlyons.com/ !

Also otherworldly and definitely faery, Morgan Hersey will grace our tour with her spectacular leather masks! Want to share your secret identity with the world? Want to free your inner spirit? Morgan's work will set your imagination racing! http://www.masksbymorgan.com/

We're International!

Long time friend Angelika Schäfer-Siegmund has come on board! This took a bit of effort, for Angelika sadly informed me that in her part of southern Germany, Hallowe'en isn't really celebrated. There are a few parties, but that's it... what a shame! So I mailed to her an emergency Hallowe'en survival packet, and she's now able to join us! Yippy! You can get a glimpse of some of her amazing creations here: http://hungrymoon.tripod.com/angelika.htm , baby Polar Bears are her speciality!
And Ruth Fraser is off to London, England, for a Teddy show and will take our poster and bookmarks with her! Yippy! Thank you Ruth, from all of us!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Hallowe'en is for Grown-Ups!

If you talk about the history of Canadian artist Teddy bears, you're going to talk about Ruth Fraser. Since the 1930's Ruth has had a special Teddy and today not only does she make exacting, expressive bears but she's also a restorationist of damaged and tattered Teds. I met her in May 2005 at Ruth's very own "Hug-In" event, adopted from her in 2007 and this year I'm thrilled to say that she's decided to grace our little tour and I'm very excited to be able to share her work with you.
No web or email... yet!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Hallowe'en Ladies


Years ago, on my first visit to Guelph, I saw the cutest little print of a pup in a witch's hat. I wrote down the name of the artist... and have been following Paulina Cassidy's work ever since! Needless to say, I'm thrilled to be able to tell you that Paulina will be joining us, with her whimsical, quirky, magical prints and perhaps a few naughty faeries! Paulina has so many wonderful witches and pumpkin people and bats and... truly an artist who enjoys Hallowe'en! If you can't wait, see her "Restless Moon Gallery" at http://www.paulina.ws .


In the Teddy world, Sue Burgan and her
"Victorian Fantasy" dressed bears have done a lot to put Canadian bears on the map. With undeniable style and elegance, Sue's bears are dressed to perfection and... she's on the tour! While she was at first a bit hesitant (for she already has a very full plate this fall), I am honoured that she'll be presenting some of her work for all of you, what a treat! No website to tease you with yet, but she can be reached at suzsor@hotmail.com .

Friday, August 14, 2009

A REAL TREAT for me to share with you!

This morning's email delivered a real Hallowe'en treat for all of us, but me in particular (and a huge sigh of relief!)! Celebrated Canadian illustrator Bill Slavin has given me permission to use one of his amazing cover art works for our tour poster!!!! I am so delighted, I can't express it! This book literally bit me at the Library yesterday (as I was looking for something entirely different) and when I saw the cover again (for I had read some of the stories before)... I thought "WOW! What a spooky, eye-catching poster that would make!" Bill has informed me that the book is, sadly, out of print but check your library for a copy, it's Chills and Thrills edited by Priscilla Hawthorne and illustrated by Bill Slavin and Vesna Krstanovich.
To read about Bill and see his extensive lists of work and awards, please visit: http://www.canscaip.org/bios/slavinb.html

Arrrrroooowwww!

The wolves are howling! With delight, that is! The only shop stop on our tour will be The Barkery, as Cheryl, Paul, and the Westies Sammie and Daisy Mae have been Hallowe'en enthusiasts in Stratford, Ontario for years! Their doggie Hallowe'en party and parade are always a lot of fun and I'm going to be able to share some great photos. The Barkery creates very artful, gorgeous, healthy treats for our canine friends, and they use completely natural ingredients to achieve the lovely colors on their decorated treats, including something special for Hallowe'en... Intrigued? Take a peak at http://www.thebarkery.ca/

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Dragons and Bears go "BOO!"

Tonight's been a great night: I have two artists that I very much wanted to share with you turning on their lights on our Hallowe'en map!

First, Martha DeRaimo Burch has come onboard! Martha is very well known in the Teddy Bear world and has a true flair for Hallowe'en! She's also creating "altered art": 3D books that are very eye-catching and very Hallowe'en! You can take a peak at her work on her website,
http://www.marthasbears.com/ (and don't forget to check out the "rat's ass", a personal favorite!)

Secondly, Tammi Beaulieu will be joining us! I met Tammi at Guelph's FaeryFest in 2008 and still remember her elegant, beautiful dragon sculptures! They remind me of seahorses, very tranquil and graceful. Tammi also makes wearable paper masks, dragons of course! I am very excited about seeing her work, I think you will be too! Some examples are on this site: http://lilacgrove.deviantart.com/

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Up from the Ashes



After having a few disappointing exchanges with artists, I was a bit down and worried that this little idea of mine was in jeopardy due to a lack of participation. Wow! Hallowe'en itself seemed in trouble as one artist admitted to putting up her CHRISTMAS tree on Hallowe'en night! YICKS!!! That's just so... scary!

But then a (literally) winged artist sent her happy note about wanting to take part and it made all the difference. I am absolutely delighted to be able to share Rebecca Dixon's incredible wearable art: airy, magical wings and stunning leather masks.
For a sneak peak, take a look at her website, http://www.upfromtheashespa.com/ and be amazed!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Another Artist!

What a way to end the day! I'm twitching with excitement to announce another "house" has been added to our Trick or Treat route! April Norton, of London, Ontario, will present her exquisite, expressive hand crafted porcelain dolls! I met April last year in September and still think of her beautiful work, I'm sure you'll all take great pleasure in seeing it too!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Helping the Bats!

Okay, why am I doing this? Yes, I want to share all this incredible art with as many people as possible but also I would very much like to raise awareness concerning our bats. Bats? Yes, those adorable little critters that eat unbelievably huge amounts of insects and pollinate plants. As our natural world continues to be pinched (by us humans), getting smaller and smaller, bats are loosing ground.

Right now, in fact North American bat populations are suffering from a very scary disease called "White Nose Syndrome" that is literally wiping out entire colonies of bats while they hibernate. No one has yet determined the cause of the syndrome, but its affects are devestating. No bats means LOTS of insects which means crop loses, vegetation damage and, yup, lots of mosquitoes, black flies, deer flies, etc... feasting on you and me! Yicks!

To read more about bats, please visit Bat Conservation International at http://www.batcon.org/ . Each artist participating in this online tour has been asked to donate to BCI in lieu of a fee. So let's save our bats!

First Artists!

I am so very happy that artists are replying to my invitations and that a number have signed on! Thank you all for your interest and support!
First up is the extremely talented Sheri Fleischauer, miniature artist extraordinaire as well as jewelry artist, basket weaver... in fact, anything this lady puts her hands on becomes art! I don't know what she'll be sharing with us for the tour, but I'm sure it will be spooktacular, one-of-kind pieces rich in imagination!
Secondly, Peggy and Gordon Hayes have signed on with their incredibly beautiful "interactive" soft sculpture! This pair is best known for their unicorns and dragons and if you'd like to see their work, please visit http://www.unicornsndragons.com/
We're on our way!

Dying to Know More?

If you'd like to join my mailing list, please email me at woosel[at]total.net. I'll answer any of your questions and send you a spooktacular reminder to take the tour on October 1st!

It's Alive!

It's alive! I've registered the domain name
http://www.halloweenstudiotour.com and it's active! This is the launch point for the tour, which will "open" October 1st, 2009!

Greetings!


It is my deep, dark pleasure to announce the birth of the Online Hallowe'en Artist Studio Tour! This is my "treat" to you all, a special way to celebrate my favorite season and share some exceptional art by artists I personally admire.


On this blog, I hope to keep you all up-to-date with proceedings and progress
as we approach the "launch" date of October 1st, 2009!