Halloween Art and Travel
Episodes
Maren Owens: Liberated by Halloween
30 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Maren Owens of Mimi’s ole Nickel creates whimsical Halloween and Christmas characters overflowing with personality. Each sculpture speaks to her du...
Season 7 Trailer
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Season 7 of the Halloween Art and Travel Podcast! I’m your host, Kristen Stafford, and I’m thrilled to kick off another season of cele...
A Witch for Every Kitchen
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Grab your broom and journey to the enchanting world of Kitchen Witches to uncover their cultural significance. Join the movement to revive their popu...
Marion Held: A Passionate Collector Opens Her Home
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Marion Held, the creator and curator of the Devil-ish Little Things Museum in Vancouver, WA. Marion shares her passion for collecting whimsical...
Anna Allen: Keeping Appalachian Traditions Alive
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Anna Allen, an artist who blends traditional cornhusk craft with her Appalachian heritage. Anna creates cornhusk dolls under the name Aw Shucks ...
Kymmburleigh Clark: Uncovering Furniture Secrets
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Kymmburleigh Clark, upholstery teacher, designer, and restorer of furniture. When her dogs destroyed two of her chairs, she taught herself how to...
Iva Wilcox: Building Up Nostalgic Creations
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Iva Wilcox of Iva’s Creations, a talented artist who creates vintage style folk art. Iva is well known for her spun cotton. When the muse stri...
Kaf Grimm: Dolls Stitched with Heart
13 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet doll maker Kaf Grimm of Grimitives. Every doll born in her studio has a stitched heart. That’s Kaf’s way of putting a piece of herself into...
Deven Blackwell: Old Techniques – Modern Context
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Deven Blackwell, the creative force behind House of Blackwell, a gathering of her limitless artistic endeavors. Some of her current offerings ...
Stephanie Tiongco: Art Imitating Life
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet artist Stephanie Tiongco of Stevi T Fiber Art. Stevi’s needle felted animals look so real, you’ll swear they are breathing. In this episode,...
Jorge de Rojas: A Wonderful Life of Halloween
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet paper mâché artist, Jorge de Rojas of HohoHalloween. Halloween has captivated Jorge since childhood and was a key influence in helping him ada...
Jana Seven: Stories Drive the Dolls
30 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jana Seven's journey into doll-making is a captivating tale of passion and creative drive. From her early childhood days spent doodling on office pap...
Stacey Bear: Spinning History into Keepsakes
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Stacey Bear, a talented artist and antiques dealer, traces her creative roots back to making dollhouse miniatures as a child. She still has a fondne...
Introducing Season 6 of Halloween Art and Travel
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is Kristen Stafford, your host of the Halloween Art and Travel Podcast. This is your source for the stories behind the Halloween artists and col...
Austin Phillips: Voice, Motion, Magic
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Austin Phillips, a skilled figure maker and expert in ventriloquist dummies, has turned his lifelong passion into a full-time career. His fascination...
Tracy Mahaffey: Carving Stories in Stone
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Tracy Mahaffey, a talented stone carver and memorial artist who creates lasting stories in stone using only her hands and simple tools. Out of h...
Sarah Band: Spooky Scientific Delights
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
North Carolina glass artist, Sarah Band, is inspired by science, anatomy, and creepy stuff. As a sculpture major at San Francisco State, her ambition...
LeeAnn Kress: Eye Candy Art
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
LeeAnn Kress, is the color loving artist behind Charmed Confections. Her candy shop of sculpted art invokes Willy Wonka, childhood memories, and Hallo...
Stephanie Hodges: Proprietor of Pizzazz
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Stephanie Hodge’s journey into running an online shopping experience, Holiday Pizzazz, began with the simple desire to help collectors find their d...
Joanna Barnum: Hauntingly Beautiful Watercolors
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joanna Barnum’s world is one where her brush creates the macabre, bringing to life Halloween iconography, emotions, and fantasy using hauntingly be...
Michael Robbins: Spooky Mini Magic
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shrink down and enter into the fantasy world of Michael Robbin’s Halloween themed miniatures. From humble beginnings collecting Polly Pockets, hear...
David Everett: Spooky Characters for All Seasons
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Step into the magical world of David Everett, where spooky meets mischievousness. In a strange twist, a man who was scared of skeletons as a boy, now...
Paul Haigh: Fantasy Born of Clay and Fire
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Enter the fantasy world of Paul Haigh, a chemist turned potter, who creates weird stuff for weird people. His work is a blend of his fascination with...
Introducing Season 5 of Halloween Art and Travel
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is Kristen Stafford, your host of the Halloween Art and Travel Podcast. This is where you get the stories behind some of the best Halloween art ...
Danielle James: Neon – The Brightest Art
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Danielle James (DJ for short), is conjuring up neon lights in her Durham, NC shop. Under the name Hex Neon, she creates custom work, restoratio...
Alycia Matthews: Painting it Orange
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alycia Matthews creates joyful papier mache Halloween sculptures. Her process starts with a terra cotta base which gives her characters a distinctive ...
Jeff Osgood: Painting it Black
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jeff Osgood’s bold line of pottery features historic gravestone art that thrills collectors of Halloween, cemetery, and macabre art. His distinctive...
Alyssa Thorne: Still Life Storyteller
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Interweaving her skills in photography, sculpture, writing, design, and history, Alyssa Thorne is creating still life compositions that will transport...
Stephanie Sherratt: Producing Halloween Magic
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For over a quarter century, Halloween art fans have flocked to Petaluma, CA to collect exquisite pieces from their favorite artists. The original show...
Sheila Bentley: Hags and All Things Halloween
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sheila Bentley is creating one-of-a-kind hags, witches, zombies...everything creepy and Halloween. While Sheila will create young hags, her heart real...
Jeanette Leary: Art Treats for Grownups
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jeannette Leary thinks of her art dolls as “little art treats for grownups who don’t ever want to grow up.” When she started Sugar Bright Studio...
Dorann Nelson: Always Gravitating to Halloween
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dorann Nelson is a lifelong creative who found her artistic groove fashioning Halloween figures in the Appalachian Mountains. Her art took a backbu...
Joey Marsocci: Curioporium Creative Director
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Joey Marsocci is a story teller who uses the mediums of theme park and haunt design, creature fabrication, illustration, writing, acting, cospl...
Mushroom Muse
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Amanita Muscaria is the most famous mushroom in the world. Even if you don’t pay much attention to fungus, you’ve seen them in fairy paintings...
Introducing Season 4 of Halloween Art and Travel
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is Kristen Stafford, your host of the Halloween Art and Travel Podcast. This is where you get the stories behind the best Halloween art being cre...
Isaias Hiram Urrabazo: Celebrating Life
31 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Isaias Urrabazo uses his diverse skill set to create stunning visual art that celebrates life. Isaias is an accomplished artist, singer, actor, speak...
Jorene Lomenzo: Whim-spook-ical
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You can be sure Jorene Lomenzo’s heart is racing in excitement whenever she’s clicking refresh in anticipation of a shop update or standing in l...
Paskalini Savopoulos: Broomsquire
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Picture a broom in your mind. Did it have glitter and dried flowers on it? Have you ever even dreamed those were possibilities? Creative Paskalini S...
Jennie Hepler-Takens: Sculptor of Stories
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever realized that an art collection can have the same function as a library? All of the creations by doll artist Jennie Hepler-Takens are s...
Lurena Williamson: Passion for Textiles and Textures
13 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lurena Williamson of Tattered Moon, is obsessed with resurrecting antiques by transforming them into one-of-a-kind Halloween dolls. She’s an outsid...
Dennis Haynes: Halloween Renaissance Creative
30 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A “Renaissance person” has many skills and areas of knowledge. This is an accurate description of Dennis Hayes – he collects vintage Halloween,...
JR Pepper: Professional Eccentric
14 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Professional eccentric, JR Pepper, combines her love of art and bizarre history into her entertaining lectures and spooky photography. She majored in...
Gravestone Girls: Cemetery Art and History Devotees
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Keeping our dead alive” is the passion of the devoted Gravestone Girls (GG). In this episode, we meet Brenda Sullivan, the founder of this New ...
Becky Kilimnik: Spooky by Design
13 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Becky Kilimnik fell in love with spooky storytelling during her childhood in the mountains of Tennesse. Today, she expresses this passion in her art,...
Sarah Boyce: Seasonal Folklore and Celebration
30 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Boyce’s love of the autumn and winter holidays will expand your understanding of the passage of time and seasons. Sarah created Garlands and ...
Victorian Cemetery Symbolism
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What do you think of when you hear the word cemetery? Spooky? Do you think history and art museum? If you haven’t, you should! This episode explore...
Sharon Bloom: The Joy is in the Connection
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon Bloom is a visual artist and teacher who LOVES Halloween. While her education is in painting and print making, today she is best known in the ...
Joey Marsocci: Creating Immersive Spooky Experiences
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Joey Marsocci is a story teller who uses the mediums of theme park and haunt design, creature fabrication, illustration, writing, acting, cosp...
Ellen Gee: Producer and Publisher of the Macabre
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ellen Gee has dedicated her life to Halloween. It manifests in her music and fashion choices, home decorating, and career. Ellen is an artist, publis...
Kristen Beason: Bright and Colorful Halloween
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Kristen Beason is creating cheeky folk art for Halloween merrymaking. She desires to make the holiday memorable for collectors, friends, and family. ...
Susie Krichbaum: Creator of the Peculiar
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Susie Krichbaum loves to create peculiar creatures with a twist. Not satisfied to create a standard mermaid, Susie sculpted one and gave it an...
Nancy Malay: Spooky Sweet Creator
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Minnesotan artist Nancy Malay has earned her nicknames of “The Christmas Lady” and “The Halloween Lady.” Early American Life magazine named h...
Melissa Belanger: Art Quite Contrary
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Melissa Belanger's desire to be contrary is rooted in her childhood. Her mother was supportive but didn't like candy, Halloween, and dolls, wh...
Sian Ellis: Ghosts Everywhere
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, you’ll meet British artist Sian Ellis. Sian is excited to be a full-time artist after years working concurrently in charity events...
Karen Steinkraus: Heirloom Victorian Witch Hats
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Karen Steinkraus, of The Victorian Witch Hat, uses her experience in theater costume design to create one-of-a kind, jaw-dropping witch hats. ...
Tom Taggart: Making Monsters and Mischief
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A man of many talents and skills, artist Tom Taggart is creating monsters and myths. Tom has a long list of artistic experience, including comic book...
Isaac Bidwell: Thrills, Chills, Monsters, and Fun
13 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Isaac Bidwell is a designer and illustrator. The inspiration behind Isaac’s business name, Pickled Punks, comes from side-show specimens that were ...
George Coghill: Life of a Monsterologist
30 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
George is a monsterologist who studies creatures, creeps, and cryptids. His web site is https://monsterologist.com. Ever since childhood, his r...
Kevin Buntin: It All Started With Clay on a Stick
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today you’ll meet artist Kevin Buntin from Ohio. Kevin creates fantasy, seasonal, and Halloween based sculpture. Kevin’s childhood Friday nights w...
Amber Leilani: A Doorway to Her World
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Meet artist Amber Leilani, a creator of folk surrealist paintings and mixed media. When I met Amber, she was sculpting. Repetitive wrist injuries mad...
Nicole Johnson: Have Monsters Will Travel
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Meet artist Nicole Johnson, monster specialist. Since childhood she has been drawn to creepy stories and things – she doesn’t know why. She jokes ...
Gina Iacovelli: The Modern Legacy of Victorian Hairwork
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Hairwork is the art of making jewelry and other sentimental objects out of hair. If you like Halloween or history, you’ll start noticing it at oddit...
Zan Asha: Fairy Tales, Nature, and Halloween
31 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Zan Asha, an artist who is blending fairytales, nature, folklore, and Halloween into her art. Zan is friendly, fun, and has one of the most inter...
Cara Bevan: Gourd Life
17 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Listen to this episode to peek behind the vines of gourd life with award-winning gourd artist, Cara Bevan. I saw Cara’s work for the first time at t...
Stacey Walsh: Lover of Old Cemeteries, Handmade, and History
12 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Stacey Walsh is a lover of old cemeteries, handmade goods, imperfection, and history – just some of the things that have led her down the pat...
Amy Schneider: Obsessed Curator and Photographer
30 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Curious about the destinations of Halloween art pieces? The story doesn’t end with the artists finishing the pieces of art…their stories continue ...
Avery Applegate: Mourning Glory Jewelry
12 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Avery Applegate is a jewelry artist who loves hunting for forgotten treasures with a dark twist. She mixes these findings into assemblage art jewelry....
Tanya Casteel: Painter of Cosmic Animals
27 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
My guest for episode 4 was artist Tanya Casteel, painter of Cosmic Animals. Tanya helped us explore what we can learn from animals that are associat...
Joyce Stahl: 20 Years of Enchantment
29 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 3 is a special 20th anniversary celebration. My guest is artist Joyce Stahl, of Enchanted Productions. Joyce’s whimsical dolls are the stitc...
Laurie Hardin: Smiling Halloween Art
27 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s meet artist Laurie Hardin of Monkey-Cats Studio. For over 14 years, Laurie has been creating playful Halloween papier mache figures and painti...
Jennie Hepler-Takens: Affection for Oddity
30 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
My guest is artist Jennie Hepler-Takens of Prim Pumpkin. Jennie creates dolls using vintage fabrics and found objects. Jennie's work is beloved by col...