Halloween in January!

At last, the EHAG Emporium is now open! I hope you've enjoyed the various offerings of one of a kind Halloween delights from our fellow EHAG artists! Please hop on over to our Emporium blog to take a gander if you have not done so just yet.... Tonight, I have two original goodies available, so take a peek below!
To purchase: SEND an email to me at:
johanna@johannaparkerdesign.com
( and please include the NAME of the PIECE you wish to adopt )

Thank you for stopping by!
~ Johanna



"31 Cat Candy Cup" ~ SOLD
4.5" tall x 3.75" wide
A hand painted one of a kind papier mache cat serves as the lid for his festive egg cup below, offering a place to stash tiny trinkets! Signed & dated, 1/1.
$325.00 plus shipping



... and... . . . . . . . . . . .



"Spooky Cornowleus" ~ SOLD
6.75" tall x 3.25" wide
A hand painted one of a kind papier mache owl with style! Black glass glittered sphere hat topper & hand-sewn vintage crepe paper collar. Signed & dated, 1/1.
$245.00 plus shipping





* © 2010 Johanna Parker Design *Halloween designs & photos are the property of Johanna Parker and may not be used without permission.

EHAG Emporium Sneak Peek Week!

So, many of you have noticed that there is a new one of a kind Halloween Marketplace online! The creative artists of EHAG have been conjuring up this wish for quite some time, and we are happy to announce that our new EHAG Emporium opens on January 31st at 9pm EST! Of course, we always like to tease, so this is sneak peek week. You can visit our selling Blog for 10 sneak peeks so far with more to come as over 20 spooktacular artists will be selling their handmade Halloween collectibles! Make sure to scroll down for a list of our participating artists. My sneak peek is pictured below, and I promise to tryyyyy to make one more Halloween original that I will offer here on my blog that evening. Stay tuned!


* Hmmmm, can you guess who this character may be?

Spring Fever!....

I don't know about you, but I have spring fever! The days have finally started to warm a bit after an arctic cold snap that seemed to linger for too long. Thinking ahead to warmer days and spring time pleasures, I thought it would be fun to share with you a peek at some of my new spring & summer themed reproductions! I just received my Primitives by Kathy catalog, and I was happy to see my new Garden Goodies included. Our color palette for this collection was a cheery red, cream and soft vintage green. I decorate with these colors throughout the year, so it was a fun project for me, and I look forward to adding a few of these items to my every day decor. Take a peek with me....


* Look! A fun set of Garden Boxes complement this festive nature collection. A sculpted red bird and a watering can spout serve as the whimsical handles for these round containers...
{ Item # 15913 }


* And a happy pair of Garden Serving Trays that double as wall art will certainly add a sweetness to your garden party or wall decor!
{ Item # 15912 }


* And for all of those photographic moments captured in time, frame them in one of my New Boxed Frames! I included my own sentiments to complement the sweet imagery. { Item #s 15705, 15911, 15704, 15700 from left to right }

Looks like all of these garden delights will be available this March. You can pre-order these goods through Primitives by Kathy or one of the various online vendors that offers my products. And, there is a slight chance that I may be offering a few of these signed collectibles this spring, so please join my e-mailing list for notification.
Think Spring!

~ Johanna

* © 2009 Johanna Parker Design *Garden-themed designs & photos are the property of Johanna Parker and may not be used without permission.

Have you Heard the News?!...

The talented members of EHAG ~ Eclectic Halloween Artists Group ~ are opening our online Marketplace this month! Please give a warm welcome to the EHAG Emporium! Our first group showing of Halloween art debuts on January 31st at 9pm EST. Over 20 spooktacular artists will be offering one of kind delights for the collectors of all things October 31st. For a list of artist participants this time around, please visit our new blog site where the sales will occur. Each artist will have one image for viewing along with contact info and a link to their blogs for more views of the piece in consideration. We hope you mark you calendars and join us on the 31st, and all months that end in 31 (except for New Year's eve :)


* EHAG Emporium logo design, created by ME!.....

PS: Be sure to bookmark our Emporium's Website address:
http://ehagemporium.blogspot.com/
And become a FOLLOWER of our blog to get the EHAG scoop! :)

Walking Down Memory Lane....

We all have to start somewhere, right? As it's a new year, I have been sifting through old files and transferring masses of CD images to an external drive for safe keeping. Who knows how long these thin little plasma discs will last anyway. Of course, my curiosity has slowed my progress a bit as it's always interesting to peek at the past and relive events that had an impact on life. I came across a disc titled "PA 2004." Immediately, I popped it in, and memories began to flood back of my first professional exhibition, if you could call it that! It was 6 years ago and the dawning of a new year and a new career path for myself. I had left my Art Directing job in TV News graphics for something sweeter and more creative. When 2004 rolled around, I had just learned that I was accepted into the Gallery of American Craftsmen, and the 3 day exhibit would be in Pennsylvania!.........



This was my BIG break I thought to myself! The show promoters were excited about my unique "look" and wanted to feature a couple of my folk art pieces in their Preview Guide! I had no clue what this guide was nor had I seen one, but my wild visions of this market publication made me out to be a super star! Haha! So, I spent many long days and nights building a collection of originals that I would offer to the Gallery buyers at wholesale prices. I went as far as illustrating each item and creating a special price sheet for buyers to keep. We xeroxed stacks upon stacks of these papers and printed a mass of order forms. I had BIG expectations.... JP and I built a portable screen to display my hanging pieces, and I attached codes next to each item for folks to place their orders at ease.



Some of my made-to-order pieces were flat papier mache shapes with my illustrations baked into them ~ a unique look indeed that seemed to interest some while puzzling others. Alongside those, I offered a few dimensional items that I had "attempted" to sculpt, each wearing a hat adorned with my illustrations. Go figure that my "conical cat" pictured above received the most attention! I look at him now however, and think, how crude! He was lumpy and bumpy and sharp to the touch, but I was on the right track at least.......



When opening preview night commenced, JP and I were ready for the rush! With clipboards and calculators in hand, we were prepared to write as many orders as we possibly could. Suddenly the doors opened, and the isles filled with a frenzy of buyers. Oddly enough, most passed us by. Surely, this couldn't be as "I" was featured in the market guide! But sure enough, they weren't looking for me.... I tried to smile and keep my chin up, but my dreams were certainly not living up to the visions I had expected. The evening dragged on and on not to mention the two full days to follow...



As inexperienced as I was, I didn't realize that the buyers would possibly want to buy my pieces right then and there. Sure, "cash & carry" was an option, but there was certainly no way I could have created trunk loads of pieces in time for this event (Plus, I'm not convinced they would have bought them anyway!!) Settling on an order-writing only booth seemed satisfactory at the time, but in reality, didn't work. I honestly felt a bit defeated by the end of the weekend as I recall writing about 6 orders in total! So much for those stacks and stacks of order forms! Makes me chuckle now, but then, it was enough to make my stomach turn.....

Like I said at the beginning of this post, we all have to start somewhere. If I had allowed this defeat to stop me, I wouldn't be here today laughing about it with you, my cherished collector friends, artist comrades, and supporters...Life is certainly a journey, and I quickly realized that my aspirations would take time and work. Six years later, I feel blessed and am so glad that I didn't throw in the towel in 2004! :) Don't give up.... try try again...... And then have a little fun walking down memory lane when the grass does become greener!

Cheers,
~ Johanna
PS: I tell this story and many others in my Artist Interview with Sally Evans.... It's a fun and hopefully inspirational listen for you to enjoy.....

A New Day, A New Year!...

Happy New Year, one and all!... We rolled out of bed this morning a bit later than usual as we were up late with family and friends savoring delicious delights and enjoying their company. Once awake, we were blessed with the warm rays of the sun on this first day of the year. Here in Colorado, it has been bitter cold and unusually gray, so it was a treat to have the warmth of the sun greeting us. We decided that it would be a perfect day for a walk to our neighborhood lake. It's been so long it seems since I have treated myself to a brisk nature walk! But, first a cup of JP's ritual morning cappuccino was first on the list.... This is something I doubt I will ever give up :)



He makes the yummiest cappuccinos and sprinkles natural cane sugar and cinnamon on top! Delish! That along with a couple of slices of homemade chocolate chip banana bread, and we were set for our outdoor excursion.



As we approached, the lake was almost completely frozen, but the sky was a rich happy blue. We brought the camera along to document our first day of 2010....



"Stop and smile!" I said to JP. Off in the distance, folks were riding their horses and also savoring the sun. I must admit, we had to walk at a quick pace at first just to warm ourselves as the temps were in the 30s.... BRRRRR.....



Luckily, I wore black to attract more of those warming rays, and soon I was feeling great!....Hmmm, maybe I should do this more often.....



The contrast of snow, sky and earth were pleasing to the senses, and it was a joy to soak it all in and experience the fresh air, especially after a couple of trying weeks. But we'll get to that later....



I stopped to rest on a park bench, and JP snapped a quick pic of my new year's smile :)



"Quick, Look up!"... Geese were flying overhead making that haunting swoosh-like sound with their large wings. I pondered how far they had yet to travel to reach their destination...



A gnarled tree caught my eye, framing an icy lake landscape in the distance... You can see the front range mountains out west....



We stopped at a balcony overview and caught a glimpse of our shadows on the snow- covered icy lake below. "Wave your hand," I said to JP.....



Intrigued by the various animal prints that traipsed across the lake's surface, I had to snap another photo....



Before we headed home, I asked JP to stand near an old Cottonwood tree, but he had his own agenda! Silly guy!

What a wonderful way to start a new year! We were glad to breathe deep and enjoy the day. As I said earlier, the days leading up to this new year have been a bit trying to say the least. If you noticed in an earlier post, I mentioned that my dear cat Jack was recovering nicely from having 4 teeth pulled. Well, so I thought at least... On the evening of Christmas day he became ill, and all my Facebook friends who have been following along will know the story. So, I won't go into detail, but luckily, he is now officially on the mend! I am so very grateful he is back to his cheerful self, and he is eating again! Yay!! The poor guy lost close to 5 pounds in a couple of months which is substantial for such a critter. I was worried sick about him as he is such a dear. In fact, his doc proclaimed that he was the kindest, sweetest cat he had ever encountered in his 30 years of practice!.... I believe it! You've all seen how agreeable he is to my fanciful "kitty dress-up" days, right?! Anyway, I wanted to say thanks again to all who sent him positive thoughts of healing and recovery! It worked :) And now, we can enjoy a happy cheers to this new year!



We played "feather" with him after our walk, and he played along! Spirits are high, and we are happy!....(He doesn't look too skinny here, but well, he was over 19 pounds in the recent past - maybe it's a blessing in disguise as he needed to go on a kitty diet!)



.. And a big New Year's kiss for my Jack! .... Like it's the only kiss he got all day?!! Right!?! Haha!... So, we're overjoyed to have him back to his chipper self! It is amazing the impact our 4-legged friends have on our lives.....

Again, Happy New Year to all! Count your blessings and be grateful for ALL of your loved ones and the joys that bring smiles to your every day life.

~ Johanna