The Strange Case of the Sacred Monkey

Ok so I've had a strange day. Today was the day I needed to hunker down and get some work done on a commish that I'm doing for someone. It is a family portrait...sort of...more generally speaking and I just got rolling. It's a large piece...about 4ft by 3 ft. and things started to roll after I found a couple of statues at an antique store to represent the couple. Below is a hint of the beginnings of the piece. No paint yet...just raw materials...the figures will change oodles. Now one thing my clients wanted me to include was a representation of there child...who they fondly call their little monkey. So today I decided I needed to track down a little monkey for the shrine. I pondered a bit and my first thought was the Montana Antique Mall (4 stories of goodies). Of course it means weeding through the place to find a small little monkey. Well, no time like the present. I pull up to the curb in front of the building and start walking in. I even pull the door open and I hesitate. I look down on the side walk and see this:
What is it? A piece of rust...poop? Looks like it might be good. I look closer.
Before I go any further...I'll show you where I was when I found the little object...red dot marks the spot.A closer look reveals a tiny ceramic orangutan. Okay this is pretty friggin' weird. What are the odds. I mean seriously...the day I'm looking for a little monkey. Now I'm sure I could have found a monkey, but to find a monkey on the sidewalk in front of a store that is not know for its supply of monkeys. That little thing on the sidewalk could have been anything...a gear...a old tootsie roll...even a ceramic squirrel, but nooooo, a ceramic monkey on the day I need a ceramic monkey. What do you think statistic freaks? Two trillion to one....more...less?

So here is the sacred monkey in his little spot on the piece. I'll post images of the completed piece when its done. But there is some seriously strange mojo going down already. Weird...very weird.

Vowels at the end of every word...mama mia

I'm baaaaaaaack...for a few days anyway. Back from the land of Olio de Uliva, the land of after dinner drinks called digestivos, the land traffic cops with white purses, an the land of really old stuff. Thats right, I am back from Italy Had a great time...great food...great drink...and a really, really great workshop group...here are my peeps below. I just thought I'd throw a few pictures your way, for your amusment. This is where we had the workshop...not inside this building but on the grounds. Sunset right here....purdy. And here is the view from my apartment...which was totally awesome...except for the uphill climb...upside is that I am now ready for ski season. Okay we did get a bit of rain...but even that was cool...I love rainy cobblestone streets. After the class was over I decided to do a day trip to Firenze (Florence). Stacy (the organizer) was a little wishy washy at first "maybe I'll go...maybe not". Finally after a bit of persuading I convinced her to go. I had ulterior motives, Stacy went to school in Florence so I figured she would know some secret spots and cool things to see....and sure enough she did. The first stop was Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella...which was a surprise for me. It was one of the earliest apothecary shops in Florence, and still sell perfumes, soaps, etc. Here's the ceiling...I have a thing for Medusa...don't look. Here is a drawing room or study in the same building, and of course the cool cabinets filled with stuff I'd love to disect.

Now I said I had a thing for Medusa....this is one of my favorite statues. Celinni's Perseus Beheading Medusa. Amazing to see it in person in the Piazza della Signoria . I'm not quite sure what my Medusa thing is all about, and I know it didn't start with the Clash of the Titans, staring Harry Hamlin as Perseus. I think my fascination is that it is one of the most fantastical villains in all of mythology. Also in the Piazza della Signoria is the Fountain Neptune ...also quite impressive in person. And of course who could forget Michelangelo's David...which is a replica of the original now housed in the Accademia. Okay so I'll leave you with a picture of Neptunes butt.

Ciao...is it time for a cafe and a Limoncell0...or two?

na na na na na...wa...wa...wa

Howdy gang,

been busy trying to get some goodies together for book II. ..plus class proposals... plus trying to figure out Facebook...plus whatever else. Lots to do, no doubt...plenty of time to sleep when you're dead, right? I wanted to post some images of what I've been working on, but you'll just have to wait...top secret right now.

So I'm off to Italy next week...I know...I know...blah, blah, blah, life is rough...yeah, I know. Hey, I'm the first to admit that I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo friggin' lucky.

So, speaking of Italy, those of you who are familiar with my classes know that at the end of every class I play the theme song to "the Good, the Bad and the Ugly", the famous spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood. After the song we do our class critique, (which isn't as ominous as it sounds)...so since the whole Spaghetti Western thing came from Italy (remember all the really bad dubbing) I thought I'd give you a treat.

My buddy, Kristy Duncan (KD) ...a music freak-a-saurus rex...forwarded me something waaaaaay cool in honor of my critique sessions.

the Ukelele Ochestra of Great Britain...check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3gp7B8WC4Q

LoBue deMeng class

Hey guys,

For those of you who are doing the special class BOXED IN, HUNG UP AND WORN OUT Keith LoBue and I are teaching, we finally got our supply list together. I broke them up into two sections...you might find a couple of crossover items, but this is what we are going to play with:

The deMeng requirements

Supply List:

1. Box or nook -of some sort to house your precious object. Could be anything from a cigar box to a hubcap…the important part is that smaller piece fits inside.



2. Various found objects- if you gots em, bring em. Anything and you can think of. If you can’t use what you bring I’m sure someone in the class will find something to do with the goods. Other ideas might include mesh, screen, wire and string…and ooooohhhh Mica…fun stuff.



3. Interesting nails and or screws (we’ll use them for both structure and aethetics



4. Molding Paste (Golden or Liquitex)



5. Matte Medium Gel



6. Paints: Acrylic (Golden brand -preferably fluids – the tubes and jars will work too, the colors are the key)
   Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold,
   TitaniumWhite,
   Carbon or Mars Black,
   Pthalo Green blue shade,
   Dioxazine Purple,
   Quinacridone Crimson,
   Payne’s Gray



7. Optional Paints for Metalic effects
   Interference colors (blue, green, violet),
   Iridescent colors (i.e. silver, gold, bronze, copper, etc.)
   Micaceous Iron Oxide



8. Glues:
   Liquid Nails Clear or E6000
   Epoxy Putty (not a liquid. 3 minute, 5 minute, ore 10 minute get it in the plumbing section of the hardware store)



9. Books, Magazine, and other paper ephemera,



10. Brushes (small to medium, including detail brushes)



11. Palette paper or wax paper



12. Optional items or suggestions to enhance the class project:
    Basic tools like pliers, wire cutters, etc.
    Heat gun.
    Dremel with cut off wheel

the LoBue requirements:

Papering Over it: Collaging the Found ObjectThis exciting workshop will allow participants to leap off of the two-dimensional paper plane and attach to, encase and embellish the wide world of dimensional objects. Working with found-object jeweler Keith Lo Bue, students will learn the proper archival methods of adhering beautiful antique papers to metal, glass, wood and much more.
REQUIRED TOOLS/MATERIALS:
The list below contains things you will be certainly using in the workshop, and to avoid having to wait for a communal tool to become available, you should plan on getting them for the class:
• 'Re-bar tie wire' (found for under $5 in hardware stores in the construction materials section, near the cinder block and chain-link fencing. IMPORTANT: make sure it is steel or iron wire, NOT galvanized!...it should be dark grey-black). If you are travelling light, snip off about 1/4 of the roll which should be plenty. No need to bring the whole roll...it's heavy!• DAP brand KWIK-SEAL Kitchen & Bath caulk- CLEAR: Available at Home Depot and other hardware stores...here's what it looks like: <http://www.dap.com/media/product_photos/KWIKSEALKitchen.aspx>
• 1 small bottle each (Matte, Satin, Gloss) of JO SONJA'S water-based Polyurethane VARNISHES: Here's what they look like: <http://www.dickblick.com/zz007/12a/> Available at many craft-supply stores like Michael's, etc. If you can't get all three, try to at least get Matte and Gloss.
• Small bottle of PVA glue <http://www.dickblick.com/zz128/44/>
• Water-clear epoxy <http://www.ottofrei.com/store/product.php?productid=3457>• an assortment of brushes• tweezers
• plastic cups to mix paint/glue in
• PAPER! You can bring old books, new books, artist-made papers, any kind of paper that interests you! I will be showing some techniques specific to fibre-based papers, that is, either hand-made artist papers, or books that are from earlier than 1910 or so. So if you can, try to bring at least 1 old book that you have made up your mind can be taken apart.
• Assortment of found objects to play with: this may include wooden or metal boxes/tins, scraps of metal, glass, wood, plastic, etc. For a wide-open list of possible objects to bring, check out the list of 'raw materials' in my Precious Little supply list here: <http://www.lobue-art.com/precious_little-supplies.html> Don't be intimidated by that list, please, it's simply a sampling of potential items. Bring materials that thrill you!

Here Kit-ty Kit-ty

Kits are coming...not kittens, but kits. Time to pre-order some cool kits due in October.

Christine has been working away trying to perfect the Morpheus Box kit and finally she has done so. Those of you who took my class this year will know all about it. It has a spinneeee device (techincal term) in the center and gives you the chance for four different images in the box. Give it a whirl. http://www.theartistsnook.net/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=501

The other kit that Christine is getting in is the Printers Tray. I'm working out a class proposal as we speak...or...type...rather. http://www.theartistsnook.net/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=500

Drop Christine a line and let her know if you're interested...

purrrrrrrfect

(not sure where this image is from...but way cool)
M

Selling art...hits and misses

THE ALCHEMIST'S BOOK
I'll leave you with some images of a sample I did for my upcoming Tuscany workshop and the Hacienda Mosaico workshop in Puerto Vallarta my workshop: the Alchemist Book

Diablo or NO Diablo

Hey every from down unda
hangin with Judy for a few weeks...trying to get our prototype together for the Bali workshop.

So those of you who are thinking of attending one or all of my Artist Nook/Ft. Collins Colorado workshops...Christine and I have a little surprise...a chance to win a piece of my art...custom made for you. As some of you know Christine is my on-line store biz partner and she just moved her workshop retreat venue to a new location. As a way of celebration her new space we thought we'd have a little fun.

Demon or No Demon
For each deMeng workshop that a student takes this July, they will receive a little matchbox...filled with something. The idea is to get the one with a little devil. If you get the devil I will make a little shrine for you (roughly 4"x6"ish) that will incorporate a personal item that you would like included.

Here are the three workshops where have a chance of the little demon

Found Object Alchemy 2-day w/ Michael deMeng (7/17-7/18)

Transparency Collage-ssemblage w/ Michael deMeng (7/19)

Morpheus Box w/ Michael deMeng (7/20)

Sound like fun? So let's play...Demon...or No Demon.