A Bewitching Good Time!!

It was as if someone waved a *magic* wand, and a blanket of Halloween enchantment descended on Mill Race Village. The atmosphere before the show was electric - you could actually feel it, warming the chilly, Michigan air, as throngs of Halloween lovers lined up to capture work from their favorite artists...

Orange "Ghoultide Gathering" totes in hand, they waited in the rain for hours, and when the doors finally opened, it was one big Halloween party!


Cider and hot cocoa abounded, and to the delight of children and children at heart, the artists offered treats at their tables, both artistic and edible! (My own table included a platter of Lancaster County pumpkin fudge - yum!)

Sooooooo many Halloween goodies in one place, I imagine it was difficult to choose! Here's a bit of the Halloween goodness which greeted collectors (snapped just before the doors opened)...

Laurie Hardin of Monkey Cats Studio brought these wonderful characters and more...


Pam Gracia of Soft in the Head shared her imaginative soft sculptured goodies...


Will Bezek's amazing cast of characters included this beauty, teehee...


The absolutely stunning work of Scott Smith (check out the witch with the little pumpkin guy in a cage!) Soooooo cool...

Vergie Lightfoot's amazing treasures...

The fabulous folk art of Johanna Parker...

Deb Schoch's fantastic (and very full!) display...

Aron Lowe's gorgeous needlefelting...

Paul Gordon's magical work (truly stunning)...

Nicol Sayre's enchanting dolls...

The spooky cool work of Katherine Webber...

Sheila Bentley's wicked and wonderful witches...

The Whimsical Whittler (sooooooo fun, and so beautifully carved)...

"Trick" and "Treat", Joyce Stahl's *Little Enchanted Ones*, happy to join the party...

Judi Vaillancourt's vibrant chalkware (love her canvases too!)...

Kristen Beason's wonderfully whimsical characters...

The gorgeous work of Lori Ann Corelis...

And my own display...


There were quite a few other artists too, but unfortunately some of my pics came out with far too much glare to show any detail (a photographer I'm not, haha)...But you can easily check them out (and all the artists shown above) on the Ghoultide Gathering website! :)

There was music too, from the talented Appleseed Collective...

LOVED them, and we were lucky enough to listen as they played in the church's choir loft during the show!

SUCH an amazing experience, and I'd be remiss without a note of profound thanks to Scott Smith and Stephanie Rawson for all they do throughout the year to make the Ghoultide Gathering the finest Halloween art show in the world, bar none. We heard comments throughout the day from collectors and artists alike, expressing their absolute delight with every single detail. I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it is to participate in an event like this - Five years into it, I'm still pinching myself, hehe!

Finally, it was SUCH a pleasure to meet so many of you in person (always my favorite part of the show!) Collectors, blog readers, facebook friends - thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming out and introducing yourselves, and supporting your favorite artists!

I'm off now to play catch up now, after a week away from home (a bit of a snag on the way home with John's health found us in the Pittsburgh area for a few days)...Details on all this later, and details on an upcoming blog sale too! We very nearly sold out at the show, but there are a few pieces left, and a few more coming, so stay tuned. ;)

Until then, Happy Halloween season!!
♥ Carolee