Krampus Time

Been having some fun doing a bit of sketching over the last month.  Tis the season for Krampus.  What?   You don't know who he is.  He's St Nick's sidekick.  He does the dirty work.  He's like the Oscar Madison to Felix Unger...like Walter Sobchak to the Dude (Big Lebowski)...buddies I suppose ... But Krampus does the dirty work.  Coal in the stockings for the naughty tikes...that sort of thing.  So I've been doings some versions of this Northern European curmudgeon.  

Better not pout...better not cry.

Or your have to mess w Krampus.  

If your interested I've got a few of these and some other drawings on my Etsy store.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/demeng

Punk Fiction Commercial

Online Class 

Part One "Taking Cover"Starts Jan 3rd

Part Two "Cave of Pages" Starts February 21

$165 for both

And now for a very STRAAANGE commercial:

For more information head on over to:
http://www.michaeldemeng.typepad.com/punkfiction/

Interested?
$165 for Part One and Part Two

Look at the Creepy Dollies Made in My Online Workshop

Let's take a little peeky...or maybe you should be...bwa ha ha!

But first how about a musical montage...

by Angelica Stark

by Dave Hunter

by Elly Pirally

by Elly Pirally

by Hil

by Lois Inman

Judi  Stone Cold Design
http://www.artdolls.info

by Kat

by Kim

by Kim

by Lisa Henneke

by Lisa Henneke

by Liz

by Liz

by Lois Inman

by Rainer

by Shawn Woolley

by Sue

by Sue

by Tammy Whammy

by Vickie Trancho

Punk Fiction Online Workshop

PUNK FICTION: Part ONE and Part TWO
PART ONE: TAKING COVER   STARTS JAN 3
PART TWO: THE CAVE OF PAGES  STARTS FEBRUARY 21

Two Honkin' Workshops or One REALLY Honkin' Workshop (depending how you look at it)!  Each part can  be independently or as part of a larger whole!
Part 1:  Taking Cover $99.99 

Part 2: Cave of Pages $99.99            

The Whole PUNK FICTION CLASS $165    

 

PUNK FICTION - CLASS DESCRIPTON

Let's have a little fun dementing old books and journals.  This online class focuses on transforming traditional book forms and turning them into bizarre and unusual works of art.  We will do this in two parts.  Part One: Taking Cover  will focus on the exterior  Part Two: Cave of Pages will be the interior.   Each part can be taken independently or together to create one mighty nifty mixed media manuscript.

PART ONE: TAKING COVER
 














In this part of the class we will focus only on making interesting covers and backs for our book-ssemblages.  This will be done taking  book covers and modifying them or starting from scratch and creating a book using a variety of assemblage techniques and painting techniques.  Perhaps you'd like a book to look like an ancient artifact dug up in a mummies tomb…or...something steampunkish is your preference…or maybe you'd like a cover that's  a living breathing beasty…or something with a sci-fi twist that fell out of a visiting flying saucer.  Whatever you're preference we will explore well beyond the traditional.






















PART TWO: CAVE OF PAGES


I love working with old paper and ephemera. Of course I really love working with it when you can play with the 3rd dimension. I figure why just collage when you can add a little depth and assemblage, so it’s time to “read between the lines”, literally.

What we're going to do in this class is start off with a base (could be a box, or a hollowed out book, or an emptied out photo album), then using other ephemera, photographs and found objects, we will transform it into a cave of pages.  A visual tunnel leading you deeper into a gripping tale.  What lurks behind the pages is up to you. Get ready to start reading into things.

PUNK FICTION PART 1 AND 2:  $165 

PART ONE: TAKING COVER:   $99.99

PART TWO: CAVE OF PAGES:  $99.99

• How much does it cost?   $99.99 for each part or $165 for both Taking Cover and Cave of Pages.
• When does it begin? Part One: Taking Cover Begins January 3rd.  Part Two: Cave of Pages begins February 21st
• How does it differ from live class?  Online classes allow for a bit more in depth explanations of techniques etc.
• Will there be video?  A: Yes.  I have about 180 of minutes of protected video that only students will be able to access.
• Will it be live?  No.  I will not be doing live video, but I will be setting up a Yahoo Group where I will be available to discuss your questions.  However I each week I will record a video responding to all the questions posed in the Yahoo group.
• Can you tell me more about the Yahoo Group?   Students can access this anytime and discuss issues with other students.  A gallery is also available for students to share current and past works. 
• Is the class segmented or do I get everything at once?  I have designed the class so you will have access to all the information at once and can play with it as you like, at your own speed.  New weekly videos will pop up with additional tidbits and tips.
• What kind of site is being used to host this class?  I'm using a protected TypePad account.
• How will I access the TypePad account?  When class begins I will send out passwords and usernames to all the students.  
• What else will be on the blog?  Along with the Videos I will be posting the major questions as they come up, and the solutions.  I will also do weekly video addressing these questions.
• Is this for Beginners or Advanced students?  It's for everyone.  I've made it so it is information that can be used by all levels.
• Will it be entertaining?  Geez, I hope so.  I will try and make it very un-dry and fun.
• How will  you accept payment?  PayPal.  
• If you don't use PAYPAL...don't worry...we can work something out.  Just send me and email.  
• What will happen after I sign up?  I'll send you a confirmation to say "howdy" and then just sit back until I start the Yahoo group.  At that point  you'll get an email inviting you to join prior to class and meet some of the other students.  Then on August 10th ,2013,  I will send out the TypePad site, codes, etc.
• How do I sign up?  A: Click the little button and you're off and running. WooHoo!

Press Release for my Exhibit in Boise

Michael de Meng

October 12 - December 7

The Brumfields first discovered Michael de Meng’s work several years ago while visiting the city of New Orleans. Having been fans of de Meng’s work ever since, they are pleased to announce a show by the artist at Brumfield’s Gallery beginning in October. Primarily a sculpture artist, de Meng’s pieces elevate discarded and commonplace items into darkly beautiful and sacred relics, invested with both humanity and conflict.

A long time assemblage artist, de Meng utilizes discarded items for his shrine-like works and creatures, such as scrap metal, old appliances, or miscellaneous objects that would typically be considered ‘junk’. The idea behinds these works is transformation. He seeks to alter pieces that would normally be rejected into works of art and reverence. By borrowing imagery from shrines and relics around the world, de Meng’s work transforms this ‘junk’ into pieces of beauty and meaning.

 De Meng describes his works as,

“a form of rebirth from the ashes into new life and new meaning. These assemblages are metaphors for the evolutions and revolutions of existence...the forms are examinations of the world in perpetual flux, where meaning and function are ever- changing.”

While de Meng’s initial purpose is to simply find order in a world of chaos, the results are pieces that have taken on a new life, developed from their former selves.

While most artists tend towards privacy and secrecy when discussing their techniques, de Meng couldn’t be more open about his artistic process. The artist is not only unguarded about discussing how and with what he makes his assemblages, he teaches workshops showing the very same processes that he utilizes to create their own works of art from scraps and junk- yard finds.

Indeed, de Meng utilizes teaching to his advantage. Though he admits balancing the two careers can be difficult at times, the demands of each career keep one another in check. De Meng’s career has also taken him along the path of writing. Now the author of two books, ‘Secrets of Rusty Things: Transforming Found Objects into Art’ and ‘Dusty Dia- blos: Folklore, Iconography, Assemblage, Ole!’’. He sees writing, like teaching, as another outlet for his thoughts and creativity.

Michael de Meng’s opening reception will be on Saturday, October 12 at Brumfield’s Gallery in Hyde Park. The event will be open to the public and will run from 7 – 9 p.m. with a no-host bar provided by 13th Street Pub and Grill. The exhibition continues through Sunday, December 7. Brumfield’s Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

Petaluma: Last Baba Yaga Birdhouse Workshop of 2013

Baba Yaga BirdHouse

Well this class has been a hoot (get it...like an owl..).  Now is your last chance to take it before I retire it for the year.    Sept. 25-26th is the date at Art is You Petaluma.   It should be fun fun.  So here's the Baba Yaga Birdhouse 

Student Work
To give you an idea of what other students have done in the class...take a peeky:

In Case You Don't Know Who Baba Yaga is...
This is from a blog post I did a while back...it will give you the whole skinny.

Baba Yaga is a witch in slavic folktales.  Sometimes a wise sage, but mostly an evil witch.  She rides in a flying mortar while using her pestle as the rudder.  Her broom is used to brush away her trail.   Here's a comic book version:

art by: Francesco Francavilla

For the most part she is not a nice lady...house surrounded by a fence made of bones, capped by skulls.  Cool idea...unless you one of the skulls....

art by Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin

The pretty girl in the above art is not Baba, but the Vasilisa who is sent out to retrieve light fromt the crone...and is taken hostage.  Ultimately, the beautiful girl is set free by Baba Yaga's pets...not very loyal pets, apparently.

Baba Yaga is a hag.  

 I always think of her as the woman in Drag Me to Hell...or

 ..perhaps Sea Hag from Popeye.

The Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky's suite Pictures at an Exhibition contains a movement entitled The Hut of Baba Yaga

For me the most interesting thing about her is her house...said to be perched upon chicken legs...or in the Polish version a singular leg, perhaps for mobility.   It seems to me that one leg makes for a bumpy ride.  Two on the other hand...

Art by Yoitisl

It is suspected that this house design was based on an ancient slavic burial structure: 

Art by Nicholas Roerich

On a more contemporary level (though probably not inspired by Baba Yaga) this is from Japan:

Architect Terunobu Fujimori - entitled: Takasugi-an (a teahouse too high).

Now to my version

As usual it is made form various bits and pieces.  Plastic angel wings, cheap little birdhouse, camera lens...which by the way...is how she keeps an eye on you.

  

You might see something a bit out of place...

A Virgin Mary above the lens.  

What would that be doing on an old crone's doorway? 

The reason for that was because one of the elements that I find interesting about this character is that she is sometimes bad and sometimes...not as bad.    So when you go to her door...if you were to  see a symbol that embodies the positive...does that mean she will help...or is she merely deceiving the visitor into a false sense of security?  Similar to the candy house in Hansel and Gretel.  

or  

To quote Sir Lawrence Olivier in the Marathon Man:

"Is it safe?"

So...beware the Baba Yaga.  After all, she is sometimes said to be cannibalistic.

If she offers you a bowl of soup...you might say you've already eaten.