Trick or Treat - it's Halloween!  And this the Halloween Issue of the Lampwork Carnival, hosted by yours truly.    Lampwork Carnival is dedicated to a monthly exploration of things the lampworking community is up to.  I've got some serious eye-candy treats for you guys tonight, as well as some links to this year's holiday shows, so you can find your own treats to savor. Let's get started!

Halloween/Autumn Themed Lampwork

My absolute favorite shape during this time of year is the pumpkin - and glass pumpkins are at the very top of my eye-candy list!

Teban's pumpkin sculpture just kills me very time I see it. And this pumpkin lamp is just fantastic!  Also, Donna Mehnert of Blackberry Beads makes some gorgeous pumpkins. Ebay has some wonderful listings featuring pumpkin lampwork - here are a few.

Of course, in the world of lampwork it's easy to find a lot of Halloween themed beads!

Lezlie Belanger of Canturbury Keepsakes has such a way with gourds - they're so lifelike!

Gretchen Oldham does cute Halloween sculptures, and so does Debi - the Palmtree Queen.

There are scary witches, and pretty witches and cute witches!

Mavis Smith makes teeny tiny lampwork in Halloween shapes. She also has gorgeous autumn fairies.

You can't have Halloween without the kitties - and Amy Caswell's cats are second to none!

Halloween also celebrates the Day of the Dead - a time to honor loved ones who have passed and death in general. Here are some wonderful day of the dead beads. And some scary ones.

More Halloween themed beads:

Jujee Beads - adorable candy corn
Jenagirlbeads - autumn colors and pumpkin beads
Lori Peterson - Cute bats, candy and more....
Cherokee Flame - a fun assortment of Halloween shapes.
Monique da Silva - sweet, sweet pumpkins!
Jeff Welsh - funky Halloween sculptures

Of course, this time of year always yields some of the most gorgeous leaf beads imaginable.  Take a look at Kalera Stratton's amazing leaves. And Karen Leonardo's leaves just sing!

Fall/Holiday Bead Shows

This time of year is also when all the holiday shows start.  Here's a small list of shows where you can see some of these wonderful lampwork artists in person!

The Whole Bead Show - New York, October
Intergalactic Bead Show - Eastern, US, October
BABE 2006 - Oakland, CA, November
Lapidary Journal Shows - USA, October/November
Portland Bead Bazaar - Portland, OR, November
Bead Renaissance - San Antonio, TX, October
Down The Street Bead Show - USA, October/November
Bead Fiesta - Springfield, MA, November
The Bead Society of Victoria, Australia, October

Lampwork Blog Posts for October

Lots of lampwork artists are blogging this month - check out Firefly's archives, which list some fun Halloween stuff. Bower Bird Bead is blogging about a new self-representing artist society in Australia and New Zealand. And their blog actually has a spooky Halloween look.    House of the Moon is up to a lot of stuff these days.

The Lampwork Art blog has some fantastic pics of their Halloween beads. Lampwork Diva chats about all kinds of things in her blog. Dawn talks about the new presses her brother-in-law is making. The Bead Circle blog has a really great article on how to get the most out of your business card.

Did you know ebay has blogs?  Here's a list of posts that feature members talking about lampwork beads.

Strangely enough, not many lampworkers are talking about Halloween in their blogs this year.  Or did I just miss them all?  Do you have a Halloween entry in your blog?  Feel free to post a link to it on the tagboard!

Glass/Bead Podcasts?

How cool is it that the lampwork community is not only blogging, but we're now getting into podcasting?  So cool! 

The adorable website Craft Sanity has interviewed Nacy Puffer in their newest podcast. Glasscaster is a whole podcast show devoted to hot glass! Their latest podcast features Micah Evans.

Glass Talk Radio is also devoted to our favorite medium. You can download their shows here.

That's it for October's Lampwork Carnival.  I've had a blast being your hostess this month! have a fun and safe Halloween!

~Kandice