"A Very Potter Post Holiday Affair"

Isn't it just TOO much fun when the holidays extend well into January?! 

Long having loved the concept of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and long having loved All Things Harry Potter, I can't tell you how excited I was when dear friend Hugh Luck (artist and owner at Pine Street Studios) extended the invitation to the twentieth edition of his nearly annual January gathering at Ravenbrook Cottage, "A Very Potter Post Holiday Affair". Now, Ravenbrook Cottage is a fair drive from here, east through Philadelphia, and over the bridge into New Jersey, but you'll see in a minute why not a thought in the world was given to the journey, hehe...

Overnight bags packed, Hotel reservation hotwired, another dear friend (and photographer extraordinaire as you can see from the images here) Jennifer MacNeill Traylor and I set out for the wilds of Wenonah, NJ, where we quickly checked in, made ourselves presentable, and headed to Ravenbrook, where an imposing (but I think kinda friendly) gargoyle greeted us....

...and Severus Snape himself opened the front door...

Stepping inside, signing the guest book, and descending the stairs to the living room, we were magically transported to Hogwarts! Stone walls surrounded us, and hundreds of candles hovered overhead, suspended in midair,

 

 the candlelight perfectly illuminating our host's collection of antiques and portraits...

Hugh, an accomplished flautist, opened the evening's entertainment with a Bach piece, accompanied by his instructor Ronna Ayscue...

And singer/entertainer Dwayne Dunlevy was an absolute hoot, rocking many of the classics...

 

Next came the band with whom our host regularly plays, *Swing That Cat* (you can just see his flute on the right here). I should point out the gentleman so obviously appreciating the talented lead singer, Michele Periano, is her husband Chris, lol...

Guests included professor McGonagall...

Albus Dumbledore and Mad Eye Moody...

Luna Lovegood in her lion mask, and Molly Weasley...

No less than two Ron Weasleys, chatting here with Bellatrix Lestrange, and on the right, The Golden Snitch, Dobby the House Elf, and a Nimbus Broom...

Hagrid...

 The Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius Black (how clever is this costume?!)...

 And of course, Harry Potter himself (with apologies for lifting this pic from his facebook page, hehe)...

 And if you click below, here's a little video I lifted from Hugh's facebook page, hehe...

Post by Hugh Alan Luck.

An altogether *MaGicAL* evening, and one I'll remember forever...

I should also add, in addition to winning at party throwing FOREVER, Hugh organized a raffle to benefit both the Support Center for Child Advocates, and the Food Bank of South Jersey. I painted a little canvas to donate, and was beyond honored when it was chosen by the first winner...

I'm afraid I didn't get a good scan, so "Hedwig" is an original only, no prints available. But it was such a joy to paint, and I'm so happy it was part of the festivities. :)

Back to the world of Muggles now, hehe, where work on commissions continues at a frantic pace.

I'll be back very soon with a peek at some ornaments I hope to have available soon, and in the meantime, thank you for visiting, and I hope you enjoyed a peek at last weekend's festivities...

Artful Blessings,
♥ Carolee