Raven

 

Say hello to Raven.  She is one of my very, very favorite witches of the year.  I adore her!

 

She's rather a classic looking witch, dressed all in black.  I love her pale skin against the stark black of her clothes and her wild curly roving hair.

 

She has hand-painted grey eyes and subtle dark shadows and a quirky little smile.  A little raven has perched on her wrist.

 

 

I love when I find the perfect embellishment!  This black feather fringe makes the perfect cape for a witch named Raven, don't you think?

 

Raven was just listed in my etsy shop.  I have lots of fun Halloween spooks haunting my shop.  I hope you will go have a look around.

 

 

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I will be loading up and leaving for my first show of the season just three weeks from tomorrow!  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  I've never done the Holly Berry Folk Art Festival so I don't know exactly what to expect.  I hope they love my little people!  I've been working hard all summer to have a really nice selection of one of a kind pieces to show.  I can't wait to see them all displayed in a big group! 

 

Well, I still have lots of things to make for the upcoming shows, so I probably better get back to the studio.  Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Lisa

 

 

 



Art Doll Quarterly

Once again I am thrilled to announce that two of my witches are gracing the pages of Art Doll Quarterly Magazine!  YAY!!  The fall issue will be available on newsstands on Friday, August 1st. 

 

 

This is the fourth time my work has appeared in this magazine, but it still excites me so much to see my dolls on these pages with so many other talented artists.  As an artist, I am always second guessing myself.  I think all artists do that to some degree.  But when your hard work is acknowledged by a publication like Art Doll Quarterly, it makes you feel like perhaps you are doing things right!

 

Here are some pictures of the dolls in the magazine.  I know, the scans are blurry here.  Sorry about that.  

 

 

Here are pictures of the actual dolls, Clara and Hagatha Crow:

 

When ADQ contacted me about my acceptance into the magazine, the asked me to send in Violet as well.  She appeared in the online preview of the magazine, but for some reason she was taken out in the final edit.  I don't know why.  I thought I would show her here, too, so she doesn't feel badly about getting edited.  



 

Three of my artist friends have awesome feature articles in this issue:   LeeAnn Kress of Charmed Confections, Marguerite Noschese of My Witchy Women, and Carly Smith of Boggy Bottom Bayou.  (You should remember them from our awesome Witches of Giggleswick Blog Hop last fall.)Well done, Witches!

 

Thanks for dropping in.  I hope you have a great day!

Lisa

 



HEDWIG, the wicked witch

OK.  Where has the time gone?  I have been working like crazy to get ready for FIVE BIG SHOWS I have this fall, so I have barely had time for anything else!  I thought, perhaps, it might be wise to check in here so you all don't think I have fallen off the planet.

Today I am giving you a little peak at one of my new favorite witches, Hedwig.  She is a little bit evil, carrying around those skulls.  Where did she get them?  I'm afraid to ask!  She looks like the sort of witch you don't want to cross!

 

 

I just love a green-faced witch.  Hedwig has grey eyes with dark shadows beneath them, a bit of rosiness to her cheeks, and of course, a couple of warts!

 

This picture gives a great view of her impressive profile.  Now THAT is a nose to be proud of!

 

I love discovering new embellishments to add to my art dolls.  This lovely fringe is made of threads and narrow satin ribbons, in shades of ivory, beige and grey.  It makes a perfect cape! 

 

Hedwig has been listed in my etsy shop, and also over on the Witches of Giggleswick facebook page.

 

About the Witches of Giggleswick....if you remember last year, we had that wonderful blog hop.  Two of our coven have worked very hard to give us an additional online presence.  We have this facebook page set up so we can share our love of Halloween and our Halloween art.  Be sure to click on the 'photos' button beneath the banner, and then click on the 'albums' button.  Each artist has two albums, one is a gallery of past work, and the other is a collection of art available to purchase.  LeeAnn and Carly have assembled a very nice group of artists.  I encourage you to go 'like' our page, and check out all the photo albums.  See that button on my sidebar for the Witches of Giggleswick?  Click it, and it will take you there.

 

I have added a new tab along the top of this page, Show Schedule.  Click it if you are interested in finding out where I will be showing this fall.  I hope to see some of you at one or more of my shows! 

 

OK...I have a to do list that seems to never get any shorter, so I must get back to work.  I am going to TRY to get here a bit more often now.  I finally have taken some pictures of some of my newest pieces, and I'm dying to show them to you!

 

Have a wonderfully wicked day!

Lisa

 



Ezmerelda, A Wicked Witch

The thing I love about creating Halloween characters is that anything goes!  Sometimes, the uglier, the better.  As is the case with Ezmerelda.....

Ezmerelda

 

Now, that is one ugly witch!  Green face, great big nose, wonky eyes, dark shadows, and even a few warts!  She is quite wicked, so you better watch out.  She's keeping an eye on you!

 

 

I spent a lot of time on her, getting the details just right.  First she was sculpted from polymer clay...purple and orange striped stockings, black boots and the top of her dress (saggy boobs and all), and of course her wicked green face and hands. 

 

I added a skirt, cloak and hat made from black micro-suede fabric.  The skirt is trimmed with black velvet ribbon and a ribbon flower.  The cloak is lined with deep purple satin.  Two silver brads, orange Swarovski crystals and a bit of chain attach the cloak.  The hat was made from paper and covered with the fabric, then trimmed with flowing purple silk ribbons and a Swarovski crystal.  She has a crepe paper collar, and chenille trim and crystals on her boots.  I used grey wool roving to create her long wild hair.

 

Ezmerelda is ready to fly off at any moment on her broom.  A glittered foam bat soars from her wrist with wire.  She stands on a golden clay base that is covered with glass glitter.

 

I just listed this wicked old girl in my etsy shop.  You can find the listing here.  Lots of new spooks will be trickling into the shop in the coming days and weeks, so keep checking back! 

 

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We survived a very ugly storm last evening.  Tornadoes were nearby but thankfully they didn't hit our area.  But there is storm damage from wind and lightening and rain all through the city, and many people are without power.  We were blessed.  Others were not quite so lucky.  It was a doozy!  It's just the beginning of severe storm season here in Eastern Nebraska.  While I love a good thunderstorm, I could do without heading to the basement for tornadoes! 

 

I hope you all have a safe and happy day! 

Lisa





Update and The Witches of Giggleswick

Since I was here last, a lot has been going on in the studio.  Not the production of new whimsical, one of a kind art dolls, but a complete remodel!  I have emptied everything out of the room, painted walls and ceiling, built new shelving in the newly-opened closet, tore up old carpet and laid new vinyl plank flooring, added some new storage pieces, sorted EVERY SINGLE THING in the studio, purged what I will never use, organized what I will.  It's all gone fairly well, with one big hiccup.  I ordered a really cool desk online at Wayfair.  I was deeply disappointed when it arrived with a damaged top.  I contacted the manufacturer, per the instructions in the box, and basically never heard from them!  NOT HAPPY!  So I then contacted Wayfair to let them know I had a damaged part, and boy oh boy did they get RIGHT on it!  I had an immediate response and within hours I had a notice saying a new part had been ordered and would be shipped on January 30.  YAY!!  I do hope it arrives unscathed!  I'm so excited to reveal my new studio to you all, but I don't want to share anything until it's complete.  And since the new desktop won't arrive until next week, and I will be on a little trip to visit my friend when it arrives, it will be a couple more weeks before I can unveil! 

In the meantime, there is other news I need to share with you.  Remember the fun blog hop I participated in last fall?  The Witches of Giggleswick?  Well, LeeAnn and Carly with the help of another person, have set up a fun new website that stems from our blog hop.  It is a place where holiday artists and holiday art enthusiasts can meet and mingle and share.  There are forums to discuss all things related to art and to just chat.  There is a marketplace where you can purchase wonderful one of kind works of art.  There will be giveaways and lots of fun.  There are different levels of membership depending on how involved you want to be, but the basic level is free, of course!  It will allow you to get in on the forums and shop the marketplace.  If you love Halloween art, this is the place for you to go! 

Here is the link:  http://www.witchesofgiggleswick.com/

 

Currently in the marketplace I am offering my adorable little witch, Katrina.  There will be more to come.....once I get that studio up and running!

 

 

Have a great day, and try to stay warm!  (That's a real trick in my part of the world today!)

Lisa





HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Hagatha Crow

It's Halloween already!  This month FLEW by more quickly than a witch on a broomstick! 

Of course, in some ways, it's seemed like Halloween for months at my house, because I have been working on my Halloween art dolls since the 4th of July.

I've saved my very favorite witch for last.  I know I mentioned that Clara was my favorite and that I might have to keep her.  Well, a few days later I made Hagatha Crow and SHE became my new favorite.  In the end, I did offer Clara for sale at my shows, but I kept 'forgetting' to put Hagatha out on display.  Now she is proudly sitting on the end table in my living room. 

 

I went all out creating Hagatha Crow.  The top of her dress is sculpted from black clay and she has grey speckled stockings and black boots.  I had lots of fun dressing her up!  I sewed a skirt from black satin fabric, raveling the edge a little bit.  I used a gathered velvet and organza stretchy ribbon for her belt.  I added a crepe paper collar, but I wanted something really special for her cape.  I'll get to that in a minute.

 

I love this view!  It shows how hunch-backed she is and also gives a great look at her long, pointy nose.

 

Here you see her cape.  It's made from real feathers!  Now that I use all sorts of 'stuff' on my art dolls, part of the fun is shopping in EVERY department at the craft stores!  I found this wonderful black feathered trim in the upholstery department at Hobby Lobby.  The feathers were already set into a black satin ribbon binding, and they happen to be the perfect length for a cape!  I love it when the details fall into place nicely like that!

 

Get a good look at her green hand-sculpted face!  She has lightly blushed cheeks and lips, hand-painted grey eyes lined with black.  I even added dark shadows on her face.  And yes, that is a wart on her chin!  She wears a skull and crossbones necklace, Swarovski crystal earrings, and carries a little black bird.  (This bird was actually white. I painted it black and added an extra feather for a longer tail.  At the time I couldn't find a CROW or a real BLACKBIRD anywhere in the stores and everything I found online was way too big.  Since then I've found some at Michaels.  They are much bigger than this one, but will work great in the future.  I stocked up for next year!)

 

Hagatha has grey wool roving hair twisted up in a bun beneath her tall witch's hat.  It's covered in the same satin as her skirt, edged with chenille, and adorned with a big black feather and another Swarovski crystal.  (There are also crystals on her shoes.)

 

Hagatha Crow is a very fancy old witch.  She looks pretty wicked, but I think, actually, old age has tamed her a little bit.  Good or Evil, I love her no matter which!!

 

Well, I think I've shown you nearly all of the Halloween spooks I created this year.  There are a few that didn't get featured.  Some of them are listed in my etsy shop, if you want to go browse around there. 

 

A Piece of Lisa is also beginning to look a lot like Christmas!  Ornaments, Santas and Snowmen are trickling into my etsy shop almost daily.  You won't want to miss out!  I'll begin to feature those on the blog next week.  Until then.....

 

HAPPY HAUNTING!

Lisa