Carnivale des Chats

"Amazing Acrobatic Feats and Death Defying Balancing Acts!"....Otherwise known as the daily antics of pretty much every cat, hehe (including our own Merlin the Magnificent).



This one just listed on eBay with a "buy it now" option, and is otherwise a 5 day auction....

Stay tuned for the follow up piece; a "Cirque du Chats" sign. :)

~ Carolee

Moving Right Along.....

Well, it looks as though the "Haunted Treasures" game/ornament chest will be going to the show with me.

Coming soon: "Carnivale des Chats". :)

~ Carolee

Haunted Treasures

Just a little preview.....


This is probably one of the most labor intensive pieces I've ever done (and one of the most difficult to part with) but it was sooooooooooo much fun to create!



An ornament chest and Halloween board game all rolled into one - complete with Halloween dice and four hand sculpted game pieces which will be shown with the eBay listing, probably sometime tomorrow evening.



I had great fun writing the verse and all the little spaces:

"A black cat crosses your path, move ahead two spaces"....

"Waylaid by goblins, move back one space"....

"Shortcut - follow the raven".....

and so on.....

I SO love this job, hehe. ;)

The listing should begin tomorrow evening with a fairly high reserve, and if it doesn't reach the reserve, will go with me to the Ghoultide Gathering show in October. In the meantime, if anyone is interested, fire me off an email. :)

~ Carolee

Coming Soon....

"As black cats prowl and banshees wail
Roll the dice and lift the veil
A wicked journey will unwind
And haunted treasures you will find."

Stay tuned....

~ Carolee

Etsy!

I'm THRILLED to announce that in addition to eBay, some of my work will now be available for direct sale on Etsy.com!!

I opened the shop just this morning with three new items, including the "Welcome Dearies" sign shown here. My thinking is that Etsy will be an alternative for people who'd rather purchase something outright than go through the bidding process on eBay. I've been browsing there myself the past couple of months, have made a couple of yarn purchases (some gorgeous hand spun yarns there!) and must say I like what I see. I love that Etsy promotes hand made artisan items over commercial items, and I'm finding the Etsy community to be incredibly supportive and encouraging.

I'll still be listing on eBay, but hope to explore and expand Etsy as well.

Please do have a look, and let me know what you think. :)

~ Carolee

And Now for Something Completely Different....

As soon as I read about Gertrude of Nivelles, patron saint of cats and gardeners, I knew I had to paint her. This one is a bit of a departure for me (not exactly Halloween, hehe) but she was such a great subject, I just couldn't resist. Born in 626 she was a mystic and visionary, known for her hospitality, and often invoked against rodents, which accounts for the cat patronage (yes, there truly is a patron saint for everything!)

I've painted her in a whimsical folk art style, on a solid oak cabinet door so there's no need for framing. She's surrounded by cats, but it looks as though some of them are falling down on the job; there's a little mouse at the top of the frame!

I'm still debating whether to eBay this one or give Etsy a go. Either way, she'll be up for sale somewhere tomorrow evening around 9. I may set a reserve, or open it up to a "buy it now", not sure yet.

In the meantime, it's back to Halloween painting, with a witch's hat and a very special, wooden ornament chest next on the "to do" list.

Back again soon......

~ Carolee

Twilight Dance

I'm having soooooooo much fun painting these chairs! They're made here in Pennsylvania by an Amish woodworker, whose shop I've been visiting regularly these past few weeks. They make a wonderful painting surface, and every time I paint one, it sparks an idea for another....

This one - with a trio of ghostly witches, is listed now. I'm not certain when I'll find time to paint another though, as I need to devote more time to Ghoultide Gathering inventory. :)

Up next: a Witch's hat, and Wicked Witch sign. ;)

In the meantime, there's commission work and general life maintenance to be done; cooking, cleaning, shopping, and such....(I soooooooo need a house elf, hehe!)

Wishing everyone a restful and relaxing weekend.....

~ Carolee