Autumn's glory before the boo!

Wow, isn't Mother Nature awesome!? This is an aerial photo (that was front page on Tuesday's paper) of where I live in southwestern Ontario... simply gorgeous. Of course, things look quite different now as it's rainy and the wind is blowing hard, a lot of the pretty leaves are down. It's very October today... to help get in the mood for a creepy, branch-scratching scary Hallowe'en! I love it!

On the down side, I've managed to get a sinus infection and am laying low this weekend... bugger. Hopefully slowing down and taking care will hurry this infection along, I have to much Hallowe'ening to do!

Doll Master magazine

I'm so honoured to share this news with you! Back in February, I was approached by Alexandra Varenikova of "Doll Master" magazine, a Russian publication. She was looking for Canadian Teddy bear artists and had seen my work online: would I be interested in being included? YES! And so finally I received my copy and I'm entirely blown away by the quality of art in this magazine! Not only is the magazine a high-gloss publication, the doll art is breath-taking! Wow! And three of my girls are in there: Seian, Sarah Bratbie and Melusine!
(Click on the thumbnails to see full-sized images.)









Sadly, I don't know any Russian at all, do you? If you do, are you willing to translate these 3 pages? I'd very much appreciate it!! Please email me!

On top of the world!

So the Hallowe'en studio tour is up and running! The opening of the creaking gate went smoothly on Friday night, right around midnight and that marked the end of a long and hard climb... I didn't get to finish everything I'd planned on, but I'm very happy with the result. Furthermore, the artists all seem to be happy with the tour, as well as all the trick or treaters who have emailed... Here's to the bats!
I didn't finish my demon, he's still just an unfinished head... But there's still lots of time to create some of the Hallowe'en decorations I planned on making LAST year!!!

Maple Leaf Doll Show

We had a really great time! In fact, I think it was one of our best shows, because there was no pressure or anxiety and the atmosphere was really relaxed. Applause to Wade and Edythe and Judy!! Amazingly well organized and comfortable, thank you!

Here's my table, right by the entrance. It was an excellent spot.

It was a great place to meet with fellow artists and friends (thanks April for stopping by!) and meet new, incredibly talented folks! Deborah Downey of Altered Ego Artwerx became rather fond of Ceres the Rat and invited him over to her table. Before you could blink, he was cozying up to the Grandma'am Gnome and trying to get her peanut! She's a tough cookie, though, and even though she wasn't going to hand it over, they still became buddies and posed for a photo.

Meet the new litter!

The mini hedgies are born! Mist, Flint, Sunny, Dune and Sky are ready for the September 11th Maple Leaf Doll Club show in Cambridge!

As you can see, Mist and Flint are a happy couple. These two would make an excellent wedding or anniversary gift if presented in a basket or so. They're only about 2 inches long in "Mecki" mohair and synthetic.

And these sweeties? Made in a shorter "Mecki" mohair and various mohairs for their faces and tummies, it's amazing how different they all are!

Warm and gooey

It is not even close to being cool enough to enjoy this dish, but I wanted to share and tease you with a wonderful potential Hallowe'en treat. If served at a ghoulish gathering, what would you call it? Puree of spider guts? Lizard brains? Snail ooze? Ghoul poop?

Vacationing with the faeries

What a magical sunset! We spent a week in a rented apartment right on the beach in Port Elgin, Ontario, and this view was maybe 30 paces from our deck. It was truly a lucky find, as this was Willow's vacation and it's really hard to find a dog-friendly rental! (No AC, though!)

The main reason why we picked the long weekend was to be able to take part in the 9th annual Lantern Festival on July 31st at dusk around Fairy Lake. It was a very warm and sticky night and we were completely exhausted by our wanderings that day in the heat... believe it or not, we sat in the air conditioned car to refresh ourselves! How desperate is that!

Luckily by the time we reached Southampton (a 8-10 minute drive) we were revived enough to take part in the magical event.






Look at all the people who came out! In this photo children of all ages prepared their lanterns for the parade.

This "Wishing Wall" let you write a wish on an origami crane for the faeries to read, and perhaps grant!

Here's the path, lit with strings of lights, to guide the lantern bearers along...



It was truly wonderful, we were all very happy to take part, although poor Willow was dragging her feet as we paraded around the lake.

Here's a cool tidbit: Fairy Lake is a natural lake and one that has always been a source of danger. Parents keep their children away for although the water is only 1.5 m deep, the muck is 3.5 m deep! A natural location, obviously, for faeries and other water folk, like kelpies who'd love to drag you under...

While enjoying our deck and hiding from the sun, I worked on 5 mini hedgehogs, who will all find themselves beachy names, I think.

The only down-side, besides the heat, was that both Port Elgin and Southampton are very dog un-friendly: no dogs on the beach, or even on the boardwalk in Southampton! The trail to Gobles Grove at least let us discover a beach that we used discreetly in the early mornings so Willow could enjoy playing fetch in the water and rolling in the wet sand.

And on our last evening, this incredible sunset featuring a flying horse or dragon filled the sky!