Oaxaca Day of the Dead 2010...yep...it's going to happen!

Okay...it's official!  My organizer, Colleen and I heading back to Oaxaca and putting on another workshop!!!!!!
The dates will be Oct. 25-Nov. 3

I don't need to say it again...but I will...I love this place and I love sharing it, so I was glad to hear that Colleen was game for another go.  Every year we give ourselves a few months of reflection, decide what we should change, what worked,  and ultimately decide if we are going to head back.  We have done this and come this Fall, back we go....and hopefully so will you.

This will be our fourth year...amazing!    Hopefully you'll consider joining us.  I'll post more info as we get itineraries and class specifics together.  

This year the workshop is a bit different from anything I've taught anywhere else before.  It still involves found objects but it has a very different angle.I am very very excited.  I'm not going to spill the beans yet but just wanted to whet your appetites.  I think you'll find it pretty interesting.  Let's just say that it will be very Oaxacan.

Stay tuned...........

Online Classes coming up in February

Hey gang,

had a nice little get away last week with Judy and her daughter in Paris...fun, fun.  A week oui oui, baguettes and my sucky french...I kept jumping into Spanish...which isn't all that great either.

Now I'm home and it back to work I go.  Here's something new...Online Classes.

Some of you may remember an interview I did last year on CraftCast, well Alison invited me to teach some classes online for her and it's coming up soon.

Click here if you're interested or just click the above banner and it will get you to where you need to go.

Lonely Hearts

As you know Valentine's Day is just around the bend.  I have just finished a few little goodies for the occasion...I call them my Lonely Hearts.  I should mention that each one has a little limerick associated with it that I penned.  I have it attached on the back.  

If you're interested in any of these...

I just opened a shop on Etsy (took me long enough).  These little guys are listed there...or rather here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/demeng

Each one is a found object assemblage that has been mounted in a little box which is ready to hang on the wall.  The sizes are all 3"x3"x1.5"

There once was a dainty flower name Sally,

Who fancied a young Captain, stowing away in his galley.

Hiding in a sack of flour,

Sally was baked for an hour

And found herself having crusty finale.

There once was a poor bloke named Jed,

Who, one morning decided to be unwed.
He kicked out his wife,
Not noticing her knife;
Needless to say he is now dead.

There once was a woman named Sue
Who said: “With men, I am certain, I’m through”.
Tying her boyfriend up tight,
She hopped on a flight,
And threw him out of the plane over Peru.

There once was a man named Hieronymus.

Loneliness and sadness his name was synonymous.
He fancied a red dressed madam,
Who referred to him as Adam.
Which sounded better than calling him Anonymous.

There once was a inventor named Tom

Who worked for the King making bombs.
His wife poured him some wine
Or so she thought at the time,
But it turned out to be a rare vintage of Napalm.

There once was a girl name Aphrodite;

Named after the Greek goddess almighty.
For each day of the week,
A different man’s physique;
In fact I’m penciled in for next Friday.

There once was a starving artist named Thad

Who loitered in cafes with his sketchpad.
He penciled a frail Parisian miss,
Who he then tried to French kiss;
But the stiletto in her purse made him wish he never had.

Once again if you're interested you can find them at my Etsy store

http://www.etsy.com/shop/demeng

A Strange Case of Duality...Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde

When I was a kid I remember a seasonal show I absolutely love, love, loved.   Years have gone and I have seen not hide nor hair of this masterpiece.

It was called Mad Monster Party It was by the makers of Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer...thats right Rankin/Bass productions.  This little stop animation treat features the voices of Boris Karloff and as herself Phylis Diller.  The reason I was so fond of it was...of course...because it had Monsters!  You name it they were featured...Frankenstein, Invisible Man, Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc. etc.  I mention this because it is funny the types of things you never forget.  This show is permanently etched in my memory.  I recall lying on my grandparents floor in California, being engrossed for 90 minutes.  I have to admit it sends a twinge of nostalgia through me just thinking about it...oh how great it would be to relive that moment.


The question is...why monsters?  What is it about monsters that we love...well, I shouldn't speak for everyone...I love.  Frankestein, King Kong, the Blob....it seems to me that each one of these has a basic morality tale...each one is no different than myths from years gone by.   I would assume in 200 or 300 years people will look back on our Dracula and Godzilla as the folks of old might look back on Medusa, Lilith, or the Golem.  Time gives reverence.

So this brings us to my latest little creation...

bwahahahahaha.

I call it "A Strange Case of Duality"

We all know the basis for this creation.  It is the story of these guys...er...this guy.

There is a great quote by Jekyll in Stevenson book, "My devil had long been caged.  He came out roaring".    The movie versions are interesting variations of Hyde...not so much in personality but rather in appearance.

Okay here we go...1920 John Barrymore.  A skinny Hyde.

Kind of reminds me of  the creepy woman in "Drag Me to Hell"...don't laugh that movie is actually pretty darn fun.

Next is Frederick March...who, from my perspective is the closest to the appearance that is described in the novel.  In the novel he is described as "troglodytic"...i.e. a caveman...yep...that is pretty much what he is here.

Next, Spencer Tracy has a go at it...Crazy eyes!  

More recently....this is a stogie smoking Hyde from Van Helsing.

There are oodles of versions....here is one you might have missed:

Love the descriptions...."once again he will change sexes and kill, kill, kill!"

Wow...that's a lot of killing.


Now here is one of my favorite Gilligan's Island episodes.  
It is the one where in a dream sequence Gilligan is transformed into Mr. Hyde by the mere mention of food...and by the way...no... they did not find a way off the island in this episode.


Okay enough introduction...here's what I have been working on for the last week or two.  
"A Strange Case of Duality"
Some of you might recognize elements from the Mad Alchemist's Cabinet class sample...that's because I am a canibal and I dissected it.   So here is my new creation, first,  the exterior.



Open the door and what do we find?  Ah a nice grungy Victorian room.   With a nice portrait of Mary Reilly on the wall...(another film and novel based on this theme and characters)

...and who is that I see?  Dr. Jekyll!  

Yes he is a cyclops.  That is because he looked better this way.  It gave a nice steampunk/crazy invention sort of quality plus I decided I wanted him to have a secret society look...so I guess he must be a Mason..which he probably would have been.

But wait...that's Mr. Hyde!

where did he come from...

yes...that is right Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Play-set comes complete with spinning head...depending on which personality you want.  I call it Spin-o-Rama

One minute a mild mannered scientist

The next minute...the evil Mr. Hyde. 

Hoped you liked story time.  Sweet dreams.