Thursday, December 31, 2020

Love and Happiness and Good Health and Peace on Earth for 2021...

 

We all gain so much from just a little bit of kindness toward one another!

In spite of our differences, we're all ultimately sharing one thing in common - we are HUMAN, having a human experience on earth. You have freedom of choice: you can choose to make it bad, horrible, and hurtful to others, filling your life with venomous hatred, or you can choose to not be that way and live a life with kindness and peace. It's up to you.

I am forever and wholly grateful to all the experiences - good and bad - which are the total sum of me. Many good things occurred in 2020 that gave me much cheer and, I dare to think, to others, as well (among other things, I published two magazines! It felt incredible to share some beauty to others!).

Yet, sadly, 2020 was not in any way what most of us would consider having been a 'good year' by far. However, the dark cannot exist without the light; in each are lessons that we must pay attention to and grow from.

To quote Mary Oliver (one of my favorite poets) :

"Someone I loved once gave me a box of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too was a gift."

May your coming new year be filled with good things. Take care, and spread your positivity -it shines like a star.

With love and much gratitude,

Ellen Gee



 

 

Monday, December 21, 2020

We proudly present to you! - - -

Our Winter Special issue!

Please click the link below to access your own FREE copy of this full-color, 69 page flipbook with active links to take you directly to your favorite Halloween and Christmas artists

Including:  Mandy Palumbo, Audrey Swarz, Susie Krichbaum, Ethan Black, Karen Steinkraus, Nicole Johnson and more -

 Plus...

- Interesting Yuletide legends and lore from around the world (including - yes indeed! - Krampus)

- Kristen Stafford's amazing experience at the unique Icelandic Elf School

 - A History of Wassail by John Davis

 - Some strange (actually, truly bizarre) old Victorian Christmas cards, and so much more! 


 https://online.flipbuilder.com/pour/nwji/mobile/index.html

 


 

Saturday, December 5, 2020

Arriving to Publish: Winter Solstice, 2020 -


"We Wish You A Scary Christmas"
December 21, 2020 - Winter Solstice
 
 
I know... we're all missing Halloween right about now, aren't we?But there's no need to fret, help is on the way!

Our special Holiday issue will hit the Internet just in time for the longest, darkest day of the year - the Winter Solstice. In these pages you'll find plenty to illuminate those dark corners, with all the most exquisite, hand-crafted artistry from so many of your favorite holiday artists, including:
 
Ethan Black
Audrey Swarz
Nicole Johnson
Susie Krichbaum
Karen Steinkraus
Jacqueline Patrick
 
 and many more.

Check back here, or on our Facebook page, to access the link to your FREE copy of the magazine!

And while we're at it, we'd like to wish you all a very happy Krampus Night!
(aka Fröhliche Krampusnacht in the Germanic countries)
 

 
Cover of our magazine: KRAMPUS, as created by our featured artist, Ethan Black.

 


Sunday, November 1, 2020

We're featured on the Halloween Art & Travel Podcast!


Kristen J. Stafford's fabulous podcast is all about Halloween

If you collect art of this sort, if you like to travel and visit Halloween-inspired places and events, if you even remotely like this wondrous holiday, you will LOVE Kristen's thought-provoking and very fun podcast!


I was fortunate to have met this lovely lady at the 2019 Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show in Marshall, Michigan. I'd heard a few episodes of Kristen's fascinating show in the past and found it very insightful into the lives and livelihoods of the many Halloween artists across the country. I am completely floored, honored and thrilled, to have been featured in it on October 30, 2020. 

Grab a cup of hot cider or pumpkin spice latte, settle into your comfy chair, and click the link below to have a listen.  

https://halloweenartandtravel.libsyn.com/ellen-gee-producer-and-publisher-of-the-macabre


Tuesday, September 29, 2020

CALLING ALL ARTISTS: How about a Very Scary Christmas?

Halloween does not have to end on November 1!

Most folks don't realize it, but there once was a very defined tradition of telling ghost stories during Christmas, where people would gather 'round the table or by the warmth of the hearth fire during the dark Yule nights and share these tales with one another. 

One very well-known example would be Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carole,' where the tight-fisted, curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited on Christmas Eve by several ghosts (one from the past, one from the future, and one from the present) who show him the error of his miserly ways.

There are cultures across the globe whose Yuletide season is not all pure sweetness and jollity. Witness the Bavarian legend of Krampus, a rather devilish fellow who is the darker counterpart to kindly old Saint Nicholas. Whereas St. Nick gives good children their gifts, for those who have been naughty, a more heinous fate awaits as it's Krampus they must deal with (he first whips them with a switch and then puts them in a woven basket to cart them away to await further punishment).

Sadly, most of these off-color traditions seem to have largely faded away... but we want to bring it back!

Do you like to create Christmas in a spooky Halloween way? We are looking for your best sculptures, paintings, stitchings, jewelry that reflect the holiday. 

Ghosties, Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) grinning skulls, restless spirits of all kinds, leftover Jack O'lanterns decaying in the field, haunts and haints, snowmen that are not so jolly, even rabid reindeer! ... these are all but a few of the things that come to mind when we think of a scary Christmas.

If you would like to participate and be included in "A Very Scary Christmas," our upcoming Yuletide holiday issue of Autumn Brilliance, let us know by sending samples (good quality photos) of your creepy Christmas-styled artistic creations to our email address (AB_magazine@yahoo.com) no later than October 30th, 2020. 

If chosen, we will contact you and send you a mini-interview to complete to be included in your layout.

Looking forward to seeing what you can conjure up for the ghoulish Yuletide season! Ho-ho-HORROR!!!


Art by Ethan Black 




Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Happy Autumn Equinox to all!

 For us autumn and Halloween enthusiasts, the entire month of September is 'Halloween Eve!'






Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Thank you to all!

 Our digital launch was successful!

We waved our wands and cast a spell of continuous Halloween for all!

Hope you logged on to our Facebook page yesterday to access the link for the premiere issue.

If not, don't fret! - you can access it here. And it's free!


https://online.flipbuilder.com/pour/iijy/






Sunday, August 30, 2020

Counting down to our launch date!

 Greetings to all! 🎃🎃🎃

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, we have remained indoors, locked away in the studio, busily creating the premiere of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE magazine, which is scheduled to launch digitally on Tuesday, September 15th, 2020.

Stepping back to take a look, we're thrilled to realize that there are so very many amazing artists featured in this issue. Especially during such a crazy time in our history, it is clear that we need fun, we need art to enrich and entertain us, and, yes, we need Halloween.

To be able to bring some fall color and joy to all in what has been a very difficult year is a dream come true. A huge and absolutely heartfelt thank you, and all the love in the world, to everyone who was involved in the making of this creative venture. It's been a labor of love to be sure, and even though many 12+ hour days were spent in front of the computer in doing so, it was well worth the time. And yes, we plan on doing it again. And  AGAIN! 

This will indeed be a regular offering to all who love the autumn season, appreciate and/or collect original handmade artistry, long for crisp nights as Jack O'lanterns emit their soft candle-lit glow and everything that goes with the celebration of Halloween. 

This is for YOU.

And now, a quick sneak peek of only a few of the things in store for you within the pages of the very first-ever AUTUMN BRILLIANCE.


                                               LeeAnn Kress - CHARMED CONFECTIONS

                   
                                            LeeAnn Kress - CHARMED CONFECTIONS

California artist LeeAnn Kress is our first-ever Spotlight Artist, and we are thrilled beyond words to have her sweetly magical art in the magazine. From her Charmed Confections studio, LeeAnn works with a gorgeous Halloween color palette, delightful fabrics and settings, creating her sweet and sassy characters that will cast a spell on you. Like us, you'll fall in love with every one of them.  

LeeAnn will be one of the many participating artists at the All Hallow's Art Fest Virtual Online show in September 2020!


                                                     Jorge de Rojas - HOHOHALLOWEEN 

Florida-based artist Jorge de Rojas of HoHoHalloween has created the perfect, happy modern take on our favorite vintage-style Halloween scenes with fanciful papier-mache' skeletons, owls, witches, devils, and lots of Jack O'lanterns.  Every one of them is a winner, and highly-sought-after by collectors around the world.




                                                              Ryan Case - SOLIS LUMEN

Ryan Case's characters, creatures, and aliens inhabit a brilliantly-colored panorama that you feel like you could just jump into. This Kentucky-based artist also hosts the occasional art class, teaching kids to paint, as well as doing beautiful pet portraits, offers unique gifts, and more!   



                                          Jennie Hepler-Takens - MY DEAREST WITCH

Jennie's astonishing works are quite simply breathtaking, like something from a dreamy fairytale. We wish we could just step into her ethereal settings and live there forever. Jennie is also the curator/producer of Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween, a fantastic Halloween art show held every September in Marshal, Michigan. It has to be seen to be believed! We attended the 2019 show and were, well, just blown away. 

Look for a layout featuring many participating BPoH artists from recent shows in the premiere issue of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE, too.


                                                        Sheila Bentley - PRIM DOLLIES

What is not to love about a horde of zombies with sweetly comical faces like these (and curlers in their hair, that just kills me! How hysterical is that!)? Sheila Bentley is well-known for her good-natured hags of every variety, dancing skeletons, bats, cats, pumpkins, and everything else in between, all with unique little personalities conveyed by their beautifully sculpted faces. We have long loved Sheila's work and are proud to have her in this issue (and one of her original creations in our personal collection, too).


Victorian Bat necklace by Mourning Glory Jewelry

Avery Applegate of Mourning Glory Jewelry takes bits and pieces of antique and vintage items including tintypes and creates pure magic that is a throwback to another era. We could wear all of her beautiful baubles all day and night and never take them off! 



                                                            Retro-A-Go-Go - GIANT MASK

Who doesn't love the happy feeling of those fantastic pop culture collectibles from our childhoods? Retro-A-Go-Go has all the best stuff from that simpler bygone era, from TV shows like The Munsters, movies including Mars Attacks, Halloween masks, classic General Mills cereal characters like Count Chocula and Frankenberry, cool tee shirts and apparel of all kinds, buttons, stickers and, oy vey, so so much more. Literally, everything they have is guaranteed to draw hoots of nostalgic laughter from you! 



All Hallows Art Fest (Petaluma, CA-based) presents some of the nation's most amazing Halloween artists under one roof (including LeeAnn Kress of Charmed Confections and Jorge de Rojas of HoHoHalloween)
 Look for information about their exciting Virtual Online show (just around the corner, happening Sept. 2020) in the premiere issue of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE.



                         Irma Gerd Arts 
Well, how best can we put this... we saw Irma Gerd's super creative and colorful handmade art and felt like we were 'home' with family... we just fell in love with everything in her vibrant, kooky world. You will, too!  



                                                 Zan Asha - THE MAGICAL VAGABOND

Zan Asha has tapped into a softly magical world of yore, complete with witches, cats, owls all denizens of old-world European folk tales. Each piece unique, masterfully hand-created out of clay, then fired in a kiln. Zan's works are exquisite and highly addictive. You can't have just one.


 

                                                  The Creeping Cruds - EVIL PUMPKINS

You know you like monsters mixed that good old fashioned rock -n- roll energy, and Evil Pumpkins will supply it! Handmade designs run the gamut from high-quality tees to original art pendant necklaces with Dracula, Frankenstein and all your favorite classic movie monsters, evil pumpkin sculptures, licensed pendants containing a pinch of the real dirt from the Evil Dead cabin, music CDs, and lots more, way too much cool stuff to mention here!



The festive, giant skeleton banner (created by the amazing Scott Smith of RUCUS STUDIOS) to the 2019 Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show (Marshal, Michigan-based) that beckoned one and all to enter. 


Fezziwig's Holiday Shoppe - be on the lookout for this fabulous Nashville-based pop-up shop's delightful presence. It delivers the best Halloween goods, from vintage items to the stunning world of Katherine's Collection and an entire array of Bethany Lowe reproductions, too.   



 

That's not all, not by a longshot, folks. You will also find many other cool things, like the always-fun and highly informative Halloween Art & Travel Podcast, with the lovely Kristen Stafford as your guide, where you'll learn all about the Halloween artists who create these wondrous things we have all fallen forever in love with.


Oh but there is much more to be experienced within the coming pages, but you'll just have to wait and see for yourself on Tuesday, September 15th when we announce both here and on our soon-to-launch Facebook page how you can get a full-sized, brightly-colored digital flip-book copy of AUTUMN BRILLIANCE of your very own, for free (yes, for free!).

'Till then, stay healthy and creative... and as always,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!