Sunday, April 21, 2013

Vampire Cinema - Episode #1

Welcome to the first edition of Vampire Cinema - Undead Movie Club of the Month.  

Each month I will put together a little video introducing a vampire film of note (some classic...some downright horrible yet fun). I'll give you a bit of vampire lore and film history and a few clips. Your job will be to track the movie down and watch it.  

I've also set up a FaceBook Group that members can compare notes and comparisons of the various films.   





All this is being done to promote my upcoming Vampire Hunting Workshop in New Orleans 2014.  More info coming soon on the workshop and itinerary.  Here's the date: May 12- 18, 2014


Today's Double Feature: Nosferatu and Shadow of the Vampire

Here's this month's Videos

Part One:
Nosferatu

Part Two:
Intermission!
Cocktail Recipe of the Undead

Part Three:
Shadow of the Vampire



Next Month's episode airs May 22nd
and will feature
Black Sunday (aka Mask of Satan)
and
Interview with the Vampire

Start tracking the down.
See you then!




Monday, April 15, 2013

Man in the Moon Monster - the remake


Once upon a time...
a preschool version of me wrote a story called the Man in the Moon Monster.  It started out with an astronaut heading to the moon.  When he lands he is greeted by a giant cyclopian moon monster, who proceeds to crush the visitor's rocket ship.  In response the spaceman whips out his ray gun and blasts the monster into outer space.  Stranded, our hero radios earth for help, and moments later a compadre arrives to save the day.  En route they fly past the monster floating lifelessly in space.  Back on earth, the two astronauts land and are greeted with flower leis ( I was living in Hawaii at the time). The End
The climatic scene looked something like this:
I had to draw this from memory.  My mother has the original stashed away somewhere.

Flash ahead forty some years later...I decided to do an reinterpretation of this story.  Here's what I came up with:

 Man in the Moon Monster - Redux

 and here is our little spaceman

 and his spaceship...prior to smooshing.  

The End


Saturday, April 13, 2013

Past ON-Line Workshops Now Available To Watch On-Demand



On-Demand On-Line Classes
These are on-line classes that were previously run as "live"workshops but are now available to watch and download at your leisure. Here you'll find a variety of courses designed to to inspire you creatively.                 


$39.95    
Shades of Alchemy 
with Michael deMeng

If you've ever wanted to play with paint in non-traditional ways using a variety of mixed media techniques. This is the class for you. Learn Michael's special color mixing recipes along and tricks of the trade.




Alchemists Tool Box 
with Michael deMeng
One thing you learn when you're an assemblage artist...tool are your friend.  Learn a variety ways to uses tools when mixing and matching found objects.






Crusted Crumbled Cracked 
with Michael deMeng
Here's a class for you if you've wanted to learn how to distress, antique or to transform something so it looks downright bizarre and weird. Learn everything from rusting to lizard skin effects.



Pez Dispensing Totems 
with Michael deMeng
Oh sure it's a candy dispenser...but it can be so much more! Learn how Michael modifies everyday Pez dispensers into something rich and strange using a variety of assemblage and painting techniques.  











Thursday, April 04, 2013

A Fistful of Journals - deMeng de los Muerto 2013 Mexico City



deMeng de los Muertos
La Capital Mexico City
“A Fistful of Journals”
October 28 – November 3, 2013

Remember last year when the Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world?   Well it didn’t…but then again…maybe it did…that is, if you look at ending as a time for change and transition.  So assuming you believe this paradigm, 2013 is a time for new beginnings and that is exactly what is happening with my annual Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) workshop in Mexico.   My organizer, Colleen and I decided it was time to shake things up in both location and format.

This workshop will be very different than other workshops I've done.  Students will not need to bring a suitcase full of rusty things to take the class.... believe it or not, all you will need is some basic art supplies..."The Five P's"(pencil, pastel, paint, paste and photos) from there we will visit a variety of wondrously strange places in the Mexican capital where we can sit, work and be inspired.  I will be giving instruction on journaling techniques, sketching, painting, etc.  I will also be showing students some nifty effects using mobile phone/ ipad or small cameras.    Every night we will end with a show-and-tell of our art-ventures...perhaps while enjoying a margarita, cerveza, or Aztec hot chocolate.  

A few things to expect:

  • Sketching:  I’ll be sharing a variety of sketching tips for those so inclined to take to pencil and paper
  • Painting:  I’ll be sharing a variety of painting techniques that are specifically appropriate for journaling.
  • Collage:  Specifically I’ll be showing folks how to use this medium in conjunction with paint, pencil and pen.
  • Bookbinding:  My wife Andrea will show folks some basic bookbinding techniques for those who want to work on sheets of paper that could later be bound into a book.
  • Smartphone Photography:  I’ll be sharing a few techniques using various apps to create some nifty photos using your smartphone.   We are looking into the possibility of bringing a portable printer, so that photos taken on the trip could be printed out and used as collage elements.
  • Ephemera Collecting:  One of the great things about journaling is the incorporation of paper memorabilia.  Mexico City has plenty of this.
  • Hanging out and taking it all in:  The best part about this workshop is that we won’t be rushing.  We will be able to spend some time enjoying a variety of locations with journal at hand.

What you’ll need to bring: 
  1. A sketchbook or journal or paper - whatever size you’re most comfortable with. 
  2. Pencils, erasures, pens –
  3. Acrylic Paint – not too much…small tubes or bottles that can get thrown into a travel bag.  Definitely bring a small tube of white (or titan buff) and black.  Maybe a few other colors.  I’ll be bringing Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, Anthroquinone Blue, and Quincridone Red (these would give most of the color spectrum).  It’s up to you.
  4. Optional
    1. Smartphone, camera, or ipad, if you have one, for photos- I’ll recommend some good apps to download before we go.
    2. A few bookbinding supplies if you want to learn and use some of these techniques.  Nothing major and I’ll give you more specifics, as we get closer to the event.


Bonus Dealio –
Free Online Workshop Mixed-Up Media Journal Cover Workshop
Just prior to the Mexico City trip I’ll be running an online workshop on how to modify a sketchbook cover using assemblage.  This is optional for those who want to show up with a modified journal justwaiting to be filled up.
The online component will be open to the public but those signed up for Mexico City will get it for free…woo hoo!





Itinerary

Monday Oct. 28:  Arrival day - Time to get settled in the hotel and get ready for an adventure in one of the most populous cities in the world.

Tuesday Oct. 29:  Introduction to Mexico City - We will start in the Zocolo (main square) visiting the Templo Mayor (Aztec archaeological site), the murals of the “big three” Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueros, the Bellas Artes opera house and art museum, the Municipal palace murals, the Department of Education murals, El Colegio San Ildefonso murals and so much more. There will be time for sketching and photographing as we go.  Welcome dinner to end an art packed day.


Wednesday Oct. 30: We will travel by van to the Xochimilco floating gardens and visit one of Michael’s favorite spots “the muy creepy” Island of the Dolls. We will also visit the Museum home of Dolores Olmedo Patino.  She was a patron of Diego Rivera and has a large collection of paintings by Diego and Frida Kahlo.

Thursday Oct. 31: We will start at the Merced market, home to supplies for religious festivals and curanderos (healers), followed by an excursion to Coyoacan (once a suburb of Mexico City and now a small neighborhood) to visit the home of Frida Kahlo and La Casa Azul.  It has a beautiful town square and many sketching spots and photo ops.

Friday November 1: Van excursion to Teotihuacan, the pyramid of the Sun and Moon.  It is an enormous archaeological site with lots of opportunities for sketching and photography.  We will see the shrine of Guadalupe and in the evening we will visit the Luchador (masked wrestling).

Saturday November 2:
Free day – Possibilities include Chapultepec park which is home to the Museum of Anthropology, the Rufino Tamayo Museum, the Modern Art Museum, the Castle of Maximilian and more.  One could spend the whole day here.  There is also shopping and more sketching.  In the evening we will gather together for a farewell dinner.

Sunday November 3:  Time to fly home


This workshop includes:

Hotel stay for 6 nights
 and lunch daily
Welcome Dinner
Farewell Dinner
Excursions and tours


Workshop price: 
$1595 for double occupancy
$1795 for single occupancy

Deposit to confirm reservation:  $250 Balance due September 15, 2013

Cancellation Policy:

Full refund minus $50 administration fee, prior to August 15, 2013
$250 deposit will be forfeited for cancellation after August 15, 2013
No refunds (unless we are able to fill your space) after October 1, 2013

Ready to sign up?
Contact Colleen Darling
805-448-1509

Monday, April 01, 2013

Vampire Cinema Coming Soon


 As many of you know next year I'm teaching a workshop entitled "A Vampire Hunting We Will Go".  The workshop will be taking place May 2014 in New Orleans, and attendees will be making vampire hunting kits as well as hitting a variety of vampy locations.  More info on this coming soon...

So if you're anything like me, you miss the days of Saturday evening Fright Night/Creature Feature shows with bad movies and campy hosts.   It dawned on me that it would be mighty fun to put together some videos for everyone...sort of like the good ol' Creature Feature days.  Originally it was an idea that came about so attendees could plot and plan their kits while getting inspired...sort of a movie of the month club.

Here's how it will work. Each month I will put together a little video introducing a vampire film of note (some classic...some downright horrible yet fun). I'll give you a bit of vampire lore and film history and a few clips. Your job will be to track the movie down and watch it.  

I've also set up a FaceBook Group that members can compare notes and comparisons of the various films.   

This will all start midnight April 22...you vampire buffs will know this date. St George's Eve... the night when vamps and evil things are supposed to be most active. This was the night Jonathan Harker arrived at Castle Dracula.

April 22, 2013
Episode One: 
Bald Vampires With Pointy Teeth
 featuring Nosferatu (1922) and Shadow of the Vampire


Start tracking down these titles and I'll get my cape ready!