Shivers of Delight

As promised, I'm featuring a miniature artist each Friday to inspire you to create a spooky miniature room by October 1st for the Shivers of Delight Miniature Haunted Room Challenge. (By the way, this weekend I'm going to make a page just for the challenge to explain it all.) What I find fascinating about artists doing miniature/dollhouse pieces is that they often specialize in one particular thing. Today's artist just makes tiny ceramic dishes! There are hundreds of them to see. I'll just be featuring the Halloween ones, but WOW! Can you imagine making tiny plates every day? Sophia Salcedo's shop is called Twelve Times More Teeny and you're not going to believe how real these look. Keep in mind that they are 1 inch in diameter. Miniature Happy Halloween Plate Miniature Wicked Witch Coffee Mug and Pitcher Miniature White Skull Plate Miniature Skull Tea Cup and Saucer Miniature Happy Halloween Cake Stand Miniature Hobgoblin Pitcher ...

I see lots of examples of collage/mixed media art that isn't done very well. Some of it looks like the collages I made as a high school student for my locker from Seventeen magazine images. -just sayin' Micki Rongve knows what she's doing. The images she creates in her collage pieces flow and are interesting to look at. The pastel colors of her Halloween pieces make them look happy, but there is a subtle uneasiness about them. I like that. The shop is Original Art by Micki . Strange Happenings on Halloween Night Halloween Girls in Witch Hats Boy with Creepy Jack O'lantern Trick or Treat Halloween Ghost Town Painting Spooky Night Witches Rongve has many non-Halloween collages and paintings that you should check out too. I love her work. I might need a custom one.

Carmen is creating some darling little Halloween characters from paper clay. (Note to self: start playing with paper clay. It looks fun.) These whimspookal spooks are brightly colored and just creepy enough to to give you a shiver. I wouldn't want to imagine one of them "waking up" in the middle of the night and running around the house. Or would I? The shop is Spooky Hollow . Spooky Witch Dolls Trick R Treat Sam Horror Doll Voodoo Doll Halloween Scarecrow Grimmy Reaper Doll Halloween Black Cat Almost the entire shop is filled with fun Halloween sculptures. Make sure you visit, and as always, buy it before someone else does.

Samantha Marie Keck works with clay  and fabric to create spooky sculptures. I particularly like the skull flowers she is offering in Madame Marie's Wicked Whimsy . They're so perfect for Spring! Mossy Green Dead Daisy Skull Daisies in Vases Fuchsia Dead Daisy Cactus Dead Daisies Along with the flowers you need a few bugs. Praying Mantis Caterpillar I think a dead daisy would brighten my life this year. The weather is so cold and chilly.

My husband and I had a birthday vacation this past weekend and had the opportunity to go to the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, New York one very rainy morning. I wasn't looking to get a blog post out of the trip, but there was so much dark, gothic art there that I just had to show you some of the amazing pieces made from glass. We spend three hours at the museum and didn't see everything. Go, if you get the chance to visit. Tantric Objects by Bernard Schobinger This piece caught my eye immediately. It's a necklace made from the bottoms of glass bottles. The artist is Bernard Schobinger and if you look closely at the top square the word GIFT is engraved there. The description explains that in English the word gift means "present" but in German the word means "poison." The artist said that the skulls are symbols of emptiness and the illusion of reality." While you Were Sleeping by Christina Bothwell Un Parfait, From the Darkside ...

I think I've decided on my theme for the Miniature Haunted Room Challenge I've given everyone. (Photos of your miniature room are due by October 1.) I'm going to tell you, but know that I've already changed my mind twice. My miniature haunted room is going to have an Edward Gorey theme. I've been pulling out all my Gorey books and even taken a few out of the public library. The dour gentleman who checked out my books said nothing about them until I was about to walk away. "Watch out for those tea cosies." he said as he gave me a sidelong look. If you're working on a miniature haunted room for the Shivers of Delight Halloween challenge, I think you'll like the tiny little Halloween pumpkins from Realistic Miniature . They're made by the husband and wife team Georg and Sweta. Miniature Carved Pumpkin Miniature Halloween Pumpkin Miniature Halloween Pumpkin with Treats Miniature Carved White Pumpkins Miniature Jack O'Lante...

I'm reading some short stories about witches from the New England Horror Writers, so excuse me if I have witches on the brain right now. That's probably why the art dolls made from leather by Idis caught my eye. They're everything you'd imagine a witch from the old country (where ever that is) or New England would look like.  The shop is called Medusa Wood and the leather witches send shivers up my back. Crazy Cat Lady Witch Wicked Witch with Cauldron Leather Witch Sculpture Witch with Crow Leather Sculpture Witch with Broom Mountain Witch Did I mention these sculptures are leather! Amazing.