A weekend in California and back again...

Sorry about the delay in posting....been kind of a whirlwind couple of weeks...and I don't have much time to post today but in a nutshell....
Flew back to L.A. for CHA had a great weekend trip doin demos for my publisher Northlight. Saw old friends, Claudine, Bernie, Carmi, the Wynns, my Northlight buddies..Greg, Tonia (my editor), Jessica, and Justin....I could go on and on...so that was fun.

Went to the Getty Museum...great space...though a little disappointed that there wasn't any modern art. Bring your sunglasses...the place is so white that in the California sun you could go snowblind because of the brightness.

Also went to the Billy Shire Gallery in Culver City (an offshoot of La Luz de Jesus) in Hollywood...those of you who are familiar with Juxtapoz magazine will know of this place.
The Wynn's and I went one afternoon and managed to see some of Liz McGrath's work (it's larger in person than her book makes it out to be). But I picked up a great book by Daniel Martin Diaz...Mysterium FidieWonderful new twist on old themes. Love it. Love it. Love it.

Here's a link to it if you wish to purchase it


NARRABEEN Workshop
Workshop in Narrabeen was great! Sorry...no photos...no camera. But I had a great time, I met some great folks and we may be doing it again this June...keep you posted. Thanks to Janine.

Bay Area Workshops

Hey guys in the end of Feb. and beginning March, I'll be heading to the Bay Area to teach some workshops.I know, I know....I'm from the Bay Area originally...and people from S.F. hate the term Frisco...it's like fingernails on a chalkboard...but it got your attention, didn't it.

So here's the skinny:

Danville CA

I'll be at Stampers Warehouse in Danville CA, where I'm teaching the Morpheus Box and Transparency Collage-ssemblage. The dates of those are on Feb 29th and March 1st. Transparency Collage-ssemblage

Berkeley

I will also be at Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley, I'm teaching Lightbulb Shrines and the Six Million Dollar Anatomy Man class.Lightbulb Shrine

Hope to see some of you Bay Area folk there.

Michael

More of Dr. Cyclops' crazed experiments

Hey Guys, how bout some more mutations?
As promised here are some more lab experiments for ya. Here is the latest from my "Zoo-illogical" series. A man-agerie or sorts.

Dr. Cyclops-Self PortraitHe's got the whole world in his hand....

Man-Cow Disease

he's so fine...he's so bovine....

Elephant ChildThis one is based on the Hindhu deity Ganesha.

Those tusk-like things are actually devil's claws...I've talked about being sent a bunch of these strange pods in previous posts. They have even come in handy here in Australia.

Rhino Racer

Wind him up and watch him go....weeeeeeeeee. I don't think rhinos say "weeee"...

Boxer RebellionWhat's not to love about this guy? He's tough...he's cool and he's in your face. By the way those things on the corners of the frames are teeth...dentures.

He'll knock your block off....POW!

El Torro's Revenge

I have also called this : the Running of the Man. For you Aussies ...notice the Footy goal in the background.
Mary Kay-9 Cosmetics

This one reminded me of Sarah Jessica Parker in Mars Attacks. It's even the same hair-do, though her head was transplanted on the body of a chihuahua...this is more of labrador

Thats it for the Cyclops creations.

MelbourneI just got back from Melbourne. Had a great time teaching workshops out there. Thanks Marg, Kathy, Caro, and Con. Ate well...Junked well (thanks to Jen Crowsley who took Judy and I to some secret haunts in the area)...hey what can I say...I'm hooked on the junk. Looks like I'll be back next year. Thought I'd offer some links to some of my students blogs....this is what they're saying.

http://thetamarisk.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
http://liz-aitken.blogspot.com/2008/02/demengie-fever.html
http://ancientechoes.squarespace.com/
http://goosmith.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
http://kattsstuff.blogspot.com/

and here's some more photos from the event here
http://www.ancientechoes.com.au/good.htm

CHA 2008

I'm off to L.A. for a little less than a week for CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) in Anaheim. If you're attending, stop over to the F&W Publication (Northlight) booth and say hey. I'll be doing demos on Sunday and Monday. Not looking forward to the flight....yikes.

cheers,
Michael

After the Robbery... the Police came

Hey guys,
thanks for all the kind comments about the burglary. I am also very thankful to all those who forwarded me in info. I have managed to retrieve most of my workshop files. You guys work fast. Once again thanks so much...what a help.

So it's been a week of the police and the Police (with a capital P). After the robbery we went to see the reunion tour of the band. You may have seen mention of this on a previous post and then it dissappeared. That was because we decided we shouldn't advertise that we were going to be out of the house on a particular night after just being robbed. So now the event is over and I can tell you it was great. The music reminded me of the years of high school...Sting's beard, and Stewart Copeland's grey hair made me feel old (oddly enough Andy Summers looks the same). A very nice night especially as the moon peaked over the Olympic Stadium walls. OK so, you may ask, what was the set list? Here you go...

• “Message in a Bottle”
• “Synchronicity II”
• “Walking on the Moon”
• “Voices Inside My Head/When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around”
  
• “Don’t Stand So Close to Me
• “Driven to Tears”
• “Hole in My Life”
• “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
• “Wrapped Around Your Finger”
• “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da”
• “Invisible Sun”
• “Walking in Your Footsteps”
• “Can’t Stand Losing You/Regatta De Blanc”
• “Roxanne” (including glorious red lighting over the crowd)
• Encore I: “King of Pain”, “So Lonely”, “Every Breath You Take”
• Encore II: “Next to You”

Great time...if you have a chance check out the show...it's well worth it.

cheers,
Michael

HELP!! THIEF!!

Well, what a pain...
We have had a burglar...in the middle of the day. I was home....down in the studio, working away. Judy's son was in and out, house all locked up and through a window crept a human spider man. I say this because this is no easy window to ascend...something like this:...okay I'm exaggerating, but still an amazing feat. So in the window, and he snagged a few things...
a watch of mine, my camera, a few things of Judy's, and my laptop
...with everything on it.

Luckily I had everything on an external hard drive....
Oh rats! He decided to take that too!

And then he was gone. I didn't hear a thing, and if I did I must have assumed Ari was still at home. No one knew anything had happened until a neighbor had mentioned that they saw someone jump out of the window. Spry little bastard.

Much of my life has flown out the window...well not that bad...just a pain, because all my email addresses, schedules, class descriptions (photos etc.) gonzo. Some of these items, I have on my computer at home but not the most recent stuff. I almost left my hard drive at home, but brought it just in case something happened to my computer. I was using it to transfer data that morning and left it on the table with it. Oh well....nothing tragic happened, at least.

So a simple request to those who can help...

1. Anyone who was on my email list, just drop me a line so I can save your info...I have some of this stashed away on my newsletter program back home, but it wouldn't hurt.
2. Also, I'm trying to recover some of my files relating to workshop proposals. so anyone with class descriptions and images. I would love to have you foreword them my way.
   

well that's it, a bit of adventure...and I feel a bit violated (blush), El Charro where are you?
M

Dr. Cyclops presents: This Little Piggy Went Wee Wee

Okay I promised y'all a sneak peak into the Laboratories of Dr. Cyclops...and here it is. I have been working on a number of framed pieces involving the mutated hybrids of man and beast. I have about ten done so here's a sneak peak at one of them...this is my ManPig from Hell. I also have a Man-Cow,


A Bulldog-Man,


a Bull-Man,


a Man-Rhinoceros,


a cyclopian Man-headed Bird,


a Woman-Dog,


and an Elphant toddler.

I have more on the way but here's the first peak. It's a slightly different format than you've seen from me. This was a direction the beautiful Judy had offered up as a direction. Originally this head was going to be a Krampus...thus the tounge and the horns...I then removed the horns but ultimatley the horns looked better than without...so ManPig from Hell.


This little piggy went wee wee wee...all over the bones.

Went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales Today...a great retrospective on Australia's most reknowed painter Sydney Nolan. Great exhibit...the painting is phenom...especially if you see some of the techniques he played with throught the years.

Here's more of his work http://www.pictureaustralia.org/nolan/

It's official! Day of the Dead 2008

Late October and early November is a wonderful time to be in southern Mexico; it is especially amazing in the city of Oaxaca, where the celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is perhaps the most amazing and beautiful event on the planet. A place rich with culture, art and magic. Last November, I was fortunate enough to offer a class during this amazing event in this magical place. Because of the overwhelmingly positive response we had from the experience, Colleen Darling (the event's organizer) and I have decide to return to the Land of the Dead.

This year's class is called:
Retablos from the RandomOne of the most amazing things about Mexico is there knack for transforming the most mundane object into something interesting and artistic. In this art adventure we will be creating shrines using mixed media and found objects...found objects we find wandering through the Mexican town of Oaxaca...the shops, the vendors, the streets, the rooftops...wherever. Old shoes, rusty machine parts, license plates, who knows what we'll find and that is the adventure. Then, back in the class, we will assemble, collage, paint, etc. the work into fruition. I'll also show students how to make little saints, skeletons or diablos out of broken dolls or toys. Mexico is so rich in inspiration when it comes to shrines, that we'll explore a number of possible styles and designs including Nichos, Quadalupes, Ex Votos, Ofrendas and Retablos. Time to turn that trash into treasure. Oh, and don't worry, we'll still have time for margaritas...or better yet mescal.
Along with all of this Colleen is busy organizing cemetery tours during the festivities as well as excursions to various historic sites and visits to the studios and homes of local artisans. As with last year it will, no doubt, be an extraordinary experience that you will not forget...I promise.

If you're interested drop Colleen an email colleen950@gmail.com