Pimpin' Krishna's ride

G'Day Mate,

still hanging in Australia with Judy...having a great time. Trip is going fast...way too fast and back to the teaching circuit in no time. Judy and I are heading to the Blue Mountains this weekend for a little get away. While there we'll be checking out the Jenolan Caves...more on that later...hopefully with video.

For now.... I thought I show all ya'all my latest fixins. I've been busy raiding my girl's stash of goodies of doll heads, arms and what have you.

I ended creating a scene from the Hindu story Bhagavad Gita with Krisha and Arjuna.

My little Arjuna head is not visible in this set of photos (he's a little head beneath the hand

device...).

I ended up giving the Krishna chariot a snake tail. I'm teaching a class Poway, California at Stamping Details called Monster-mobiles that is kind of base on this concept.

After all he is an avatar of Vishnu who is often depicted beneath the hood of a multi-headed cobra the naga Sesha.

This chariot is very roll-able complete with spinning Krishna head.

Best yet, I rigged a little string on the back of his head that will open and close his eyes when tugged.

Hope you enjoyed the ride...

more soon

IMIX: Children of the Night...what sweet music they make.

Okay...

so most of you know I grew up loving vampires (below is one of my favorite photos that I have ever taken).

For me it all started at a matinee watching Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, Here's a little peek of that classic.

Interesting that Dracula is impervious to bullets yet not to guns being thrown at him.

Next was after preschool episodes of Dark Shadows,

Barnabus...he da man

From there it went on and on Bram Stokers novel, the Lost Boys, Anne Rice's books and most recently HBO's True Blood.

I just finished season one. I am so hooked.

So in honor of my blood-sucker obsession, I decided to create a little IMix in honor of the Creatures of the Night.

So here is my IMix..with some explanations of my choices.

Vampiro IMix

1. Back To The Life: Spoon

I love this song....especially because of the maniacal laugh at the beginning. Perfect way to start off the mix.

2. Back to Black: Amy Winehouse
Amy might not be a vampire... but she most definitely is not human.

3. King Volcano: Bauhaus
The likely choice from Bauhaus would have been Bela Lugosi's Dead. I decided to not go for something so obvious. There is something very Romani about this song. As for the lyrics....unusual and cryptic. If you can decipher 'em let me know...I'm lost.

4. Little One: Beck
Ghostly...thats is all I have to say.

5. O Death: Camper Van Beethoven
Here's a remake of an old folk tune, you may remember it from O' Brother Where Art Thou. Camper punks it up a bit.

6. Trouble: Bitter:Sweet
I really like this song. If vampires were hipsters this would be an appropriate theme song.

7. La Llorona: Blame Sally
I know that la Llorona is more of a troubled Latin spirit than a vamp...but she is creepy and plus, I haven't come across any songs about the more vampiric chubacabras.

8. Enjoy the Ride: Morcheeba
Wandering through a graveyard has never been so enjoyable.

9. Sidi Ifni: Cracker
Not really a vampire song but certainly very tomb-ish

10. Lunático: Gotan Project
A vampire carnival if I ever heard one.

11. Hunter's Kiss: Rasputina
Ah...Rasputina...the goth girls and there frilly dresses and red and white striped stockings. A sad tale about hunter an prey...it ends tragically...otherwise I guess it wouldn't be a sad.

12. Evil Night Together: Jill Tracy
I fell in love with Jill Tracy's music when I discovered that she composed a soundtrack to the orginal Nosferatu.

13. Black Wings: Tom Waits
If Johnny Cash was a vampire...this would be his theme song.

14. White Tooth Man: Iron & Wine
Okay, so the song is not about Dracula but I thought it seemed appropriate.

15. Twice: Little Dragon
Not sure why, but this song reminds me of the Nosferatus. I think it is all the mirror references. Look up this video on youtube...shadow puppets...nifty.

16. Hold On, Hold On: Neko Case
Haunting...with a country twang.

17. Vampire: Sinéad O'Connor
A reggae version by Sinead about vampire hunters...Ja Ja sent us here to catch vampire...

18. Is She Weird: Pixies
A Goth theme song if there ever was one...there seems to be some debate about whether this is literally about a vampire. I'm not really sure but "Is She Weird" is weird.

19. This House Is Haunted By the Echo of Your Last Goodbye: Holly Cole
And a nice jazzy number to close out the set.

Happy Listening...bwahahahaha

Day of the Dead itinerary

Back for a few days...just enough time the get my Lilith's Daughters shrine started...

here's the beginnings.

that's a dynamite mold that those little demon girls are resting in.

Off to Sydney on Monday and will be Down Under for a bit to hang with Judy. Next time I'll surface in the states will be my teaching gig at Idyllwild Arts early July in S. Cal. Hopefully I'll see a few of you there.

Oaxaca News:

Oaxaca and deMeng de los Muertos is just around the corner. I just got this years Day of the Dead itinerary from Colleen. Should be a blast.

deMeng de los Muertos

October 25 - November 3, 2009

Calaveras y Diablos, y Santos…Oh My! click here for class description

Itinerary:

October 25 (Sunday) Arrive in Oaxaca and get settled after a long journey. Enjoy a walk to the Zocalo (town square) for dinner and sight seeing in the evening.

October 26 (Monday) Breakfast 7:30 – 10:00 A.M. Class begins at 10:A.M. We will walk to the Zocalo to explore our supply options. The market, religious store, hardware, paper store and lots of treats along the way will help us all get oriented to the variety Oaxaca has to offer. Lunch at 1:30 Return to class. Evening is free.

October 27 (Tuesday) Breakfast. Class begins at 10:00 A.M. Break for lunch. Late afternoon and evening free.

October 28 (Wednesday) Breakfast. Class begins at 10:00 A.M. Break for lunch. Late afternoon and evening free.

October 29 (Thursday) Breakfast. Class begins at 10;00 A.M. Break for lunch. Finish up projects and get ready for the critique” the good, the bad, and the ugly” Celebrate a fabulous class with a group dinner.

October 30 (Friday) Breakfast. 9:00 A.M. Tour to Ocotlan market and the Aguilar sisters, known for whimsical ceramic figures. On to San Martin Tilcajete home to some of Mexico’s finest woodcarvers. Lunch and back to Oaxaca. Evening free.

October 31 (Saturday) Breakfast. 11:00 A.M. tour to the Ethno-Botanical Garden. An amazing place even if you aren’t into plants Lots of photo opportunities. The only way to visit is with a guide. Lunch at a garden restaurant. A visit to the new textile museum for anyone interested, or just spend the day visiting the sights of Oaxaca. Lots of ofrendas and sand paintings and some parades will be going on around the zocalo. This is the first night of the Dia de los Muertos celebration. It is an amazing experience and a time to be very respectful of the people. Please ask before taking photographs.

November 1 (Sunday) Breakfast. 9:00 A.M. Tour to Mitla and the cemetery. Here the celebration begins during the day. A visit to a weaver’s home and lunch in the countryside. In the evening a visit to the city cemetery

November 2 (Monday) Breakfast. Last day in Oaxaca to spend as you wish. Shopping, eating, drinking or just sitting in the Zocalo taking it all in. Group dinner and our last night together.

November 3 (Tuesday) Breakfast. Fly away home

If you're interested contact:

Colleen Darling

950 Ballard Canyon Rd.

Solvang CA 93463

805-688-1221

colleen950@gmail.com

El Diablo and St. Sebastian

I've been busy making figurines.  Diablos, Santos, and Calaveras...oh my.  I know...I know...when do I have time to make stuff when I'm busy teaching.  No I don't have little deMengian elves working away...I wouldn't trust em...elves know nothing about assemblage.

My latest creations are: St. Sebastian and Uni-Devil

St. Sebatian.  some of you may remember him from art school history classes.  He was the martyred saint who was pieced with arrows.  

 to legend is said that the Romans shot him with so many arrows that when they were through he was pieced so many times that he looked  like an urchin.  Pretty grim.

Here's my version

He's made from an acupuncture model.  Those little arrows are little things that Judy found.

.

I put a little clock inside him...android-like...perhaps that strays a bit from the story but what the heck.

 

 I also did an interesting technique that I teach in classes that creates an nice mummified look.  No...I won't divulge it here.  I have to save some goodies for my classes, but I do show how to do it in my next book...coming March...or so they tell me.

 

Uni-Devil

Another recent creation is a bit lighter in mood.  My Uni-Devil

I made him thinking of puppets and old automatic bank figures.  He's mixture of plastic doll parts and...well...this that and the other thing.  Oh...check out those bat wings.  I love a good set of bat wings.  Once again this is from Judy's stash of stuff that she sells on her Etsy site...shhhh don't mention that I swiped them.  

 Doesn't he look like he's having a good time?  He's so Devil-may-care.

 These are the types of goodies we'll be making in Oaxaca for the Day of the Dead workshop: Calaveras y Diablos y Santos, Oh My!  I am very excited about this trip...as I always am, but this time I get to bring my beloved Judy with me and show her my favorite place in the world (she's never been).  Of course I have a feeling that I won't be able to get her away from the street of vintage books in Mexico City (it is pretty overwhelming).   Should be fun...  Off to make a Mayan God of the Underworld.  

Ciao

M

My very first book...Moon Monster

Howdy... 

hangin' in Saluda NC teaching a workshop this weekend at Random Arts.

Great time as always.

In the mean time, here is a little interview I recently did for MMCA.  Learn all about my first book:  Moon Monster.

Check it out the interview here

Here is the scoop on MMCA:

OUR STORY

We have no headquarters, which is good for the heating/cooling bill. We have no boss, no timekeeper, and no employee handbook. Then again, we have no fixed income. What we do have is group purchasing power in a world market. We are diverse. You will find not only full-time professional artists among us, but an arts gallery owner, a stay-at-home-mom, several savvy business women and more. Most of them would not know any of the others if they met in passing because most have never met face-to-face. Yet, many of the members talk daily about issues affecting their business and given that the art world relies on disposable income; there is a lot to discuss these days. A passion for adventure, exploration and art unifies the artists involved in the MMCA Marketplace, a virtual store that went up as the Dow was crashing down. MMCA Marketplace is a retail fine arts and craft shop. Its member artists make art cards, mixed media collages, floor cloths, jewelry, sculpture, paintings on paper and canvas, photographs and much more.

SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE BEN!

As Al Pacino said in Scarface:  "Say hello to my little Ben!"...well, he said something like that.

So, I want to introduce you to my little Ben...Big Ben actually...Here he is....always prompt and timely,

 make no bones about it.  Doesn't he make you feel like the Abominable Snowman in Bugs Bunny cartoons..

.."I will name him George (Ben), and I will hug him and squeeze him and pet him and pat him..." 

I opted for a crustacean theme with ol' Ben

and to think he started from a roller skate, an alarm clock and a Goodwill dolly.  As my favorite Shakespeare quote goes:  

Full fathom five thy father lies, 

Of his bones are coral made, 

Those are pearls that were his eyes

Nothing of him that doth fade

But doth suffer a sea-change 

Into something rich and strange

Yep...that's my Ben..

Kali...Happy Dark Mother's Day

Last week I finished a piece based on one of the most complex Hindu deities, Kali Ma, the Dark Mother. 

 Of course she also has a benevolent side but usually when you see her she is in her dark mode of destruction.  Usually standing above the dead body of Shiva....don't worry he comes back.  He's a god after all.   She apparently also fought Sinbad...here she is now...

Thought I'd share some images of a piece I just finished.  This is my Kali, the Dark Mother.

She is life size and I am currently building a class proposal around this concept.  If you're in Missoula you can stop by the store Tsunami on Higgins Ave. and check her out in person.

 One missing feature that I deliberated long and hard on is the traditional Kali tougue. I tried it and it was too much for this particular piece.  Instead I sort of insinuate it.It is usually bright red and sort of like Gene Simmons.  In fact I really think that he used her as inspiration.  You compare and decide:

Kali:

 Gene: