In the Spirit of Things

I've been so busy making things for the many shows that I have planned that I haven't taken time to decorate for Fall or for Halloween. Today, I am setting aside some time to clean and put up a few fun things to spook the kids and kick off the spirit of Halloween.
My favorite Halloween decorations are the black lights that I hang in the window and the vintage jack-O-lantern that is missing the clip-on light, but I put it over a basic candle lamp. There's something about things that glow that make this time of year special. For me, it's kind of a transition as the evenings get darker and calls for candles at Thanksgiving and twinkle lights at Christmas.I also love these two handmade pieces from my brother, Chris. I'm always encouraging him to create more. His love of guitars has taken over the creative side of his brain lately though. He has always been a big fan of Halloween and has a huge monster collection. He painted this fun sign on a piece of slab wood. This skeleton is a sample of the many skulls and Frankenstein masks that he's created over the years. There are so many gorgeous pieces on his walls and I really think that he should open a museum! (Perhaps we should collaborate and create a book of monster art or something.)I am also mesmerized by the art of Jack & Cat Curio. Something about Frankenstein in art always grabs my attention, but when I saw the beeeswax dripping from this Halloween collage, I had to ask them about it.
I asked Jack & Cat Curio to tell me a bit about themselves...
"We are a couple that love to stay up late creating mixed media pieces. We specialize in encaustic/beeswax collage. We compile different imagery and ephemera and then put it all under several layers of beeswax. Sometimes we use colored wax to achieve a certain look, other times a heat dye. Sometimes we stamp, imprint, and graph the wax.
We also specialize in digital imagery,trinkets and do-dads. Lesley also creates confectionery goods when not crafting with beeswax. We also travel and teach several workshops and classes on these topics."
I did look up "encaustic" and read that it was a technique using hot wax with pigments and that it was first used in Greek ship building to seal cracks in the ships and evolved into an art form from there.
You can visit JackandCatCurio.Etsy.com to see more of their beeswax collages, altered art, mixed media, and prints. I encourage you to visit their blog as well at http://JackandCatCurio.Blogspot.com. I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to their "Art Makin' Blues" playlist while writing this. I may just keep it playing and dance around as I decorate this morning! And, if you're in the Phoenix area, check out the class schedule as posted on their blog.
(Special thanks to Mike and Lesley from JackandCatCurios.Etsy.com!)