Heather Millott

My name is Heather Millott and I am the artist behind Witch Hollow Primitives. I live in the quaint little historic village of Coal City, Illinois raising 4 beautiful children that make it very difficult to work, but very worthwhile to be here.

My work often reflects my love of vintage Halloween folk art. I enjoy painting silhouettes of witches, pumpkins, cats, moons and fairies. Being an avid traveler, Salem, Massachusetts is an annual stopping ground for me every October. Salem is an inspiration to me with its wonderful people, architecture, folklore, history and magick. Being a folk artist is something I have always aspired to be.

I have been doing craft shows and fall festivals for over 15 years. Today I work on commissions, custom orders, sell on various auctions sites, ebay and my own website. In the past two years I have been featured in several magazine publications and have contracted with two shops carrying a custom made line of my Halloween and Christmas designs. Most people identify me with my vintage luminaries. I love to create in many formats, from painting, to altered art, assemblage, woodworking, scrapbooking, aceo's, sewing and much more.

When the wonderful opportunity of joining the Halloween artists group presented itself I planted my roots firmly here. They are a constant source of inspiration and encouragement to me and to each other. We are not just friends, we are like a family. I feel very blessed to know each and every one of them.
 

Q. How long have you been an artist or doing art?

A. Most of my life, although seriously for almost 20 years. I can't remember a time as a child I wasn't painting, creating gifts for family or gluing bits of strings and things together. I began doing craft shows & fall festivals back in the early 90's and haven't stopped since.

Q. What started you in your craft?

A. It wasn't high school art class that's for sure! I did not have a desire to draw a pop can or a bowl of fruit. Rather it was my best friend who sat across from me in that art class. He taught me not to give up and convinced me that one could not be "graded" on ones individual creativity. All artists have their own unique formats. I began to gain confidence and soon was sketching J R Tolkien's far away lands, dragons, witches and comic book characters. Those looked a lot better than my bowl of fruit.

Q. Are there certain things that inspire you to create?

A. There are tons of things that inspire me. I have always loved art since I was very little; I was always creating something with whatever I had. I would have to say my biggest influence for my love of art comes from my grandmother. She was from the old country (Italy). I think that's where my love of primitives comes from. My love of Halloween has always been a strong influence as well, that time of year is magical to me. Vintage Halloween postcard images inspire me, especially Schumacher & Clapsaddle's. I love many of today's Halloween artists. They always seem to inspire me as well as nature, and the beauty in the things around it. Music is also inspiring. To feel some of the most powerful words put to music causes the soul to stir and that helps me to create.

Q. Do you have any tips for other artists who are just starting out?

A. Turn back now! Seriously, you must never stop creating. Artists, no matter what medium, have a need, an inner desire to express themselves. You should never give up your dreams. It is not an easy path for most of us but if we give up we will never succeed. A wise person once said, "believe in your dreams for out of such small things come miracles".

Q. What is your favorite medium or tool used in your art?

A. My favorite medium has got to be acrylics. They are so versatile and can be used in all formats that I create. I like acrylics because they just blend well for me, they are easy to clean up and dry very quickly. I also love scrapbook papers and altered art. I am finding a true love these past few years for stitchery of sorts. Somehow acrylics creep onto them as well. I hope to be able to start some new mediums this year. If I can find something old and unwanted and breath new life into it, that is worthwhile.

Q. How did you come to be interested in Halloween art?

A. I have always loved Halloween and so it came naturally to me to incorporate that into my art. So many of today's Halloween artists have inspired me in previous years like Jan Pierce & Heather Gleason. I fell in love with Ron & Sherry Byrum's art and they have constantly inspired me to do better, to keep creating and find my own individual style. Becoming a member of HA31 took me for a loop, it no longer was my own little world but opened up a whole new world to me full of Halloween artists just like me with a serious addiction to the holiday we hold on to so dearly.

Email Heather and visit her pages here on HalloweenArtists.com.