B.C.

 One Million B.C. Part One

...British Columbia...that is...

An amazing time in Vancouver, that is.   Great bunch of students for my last minute workshop.  Here's my host Megan at the Upstart Crow.  Class act, to be sure...thanks to her, her husband Chris, and all those attendees.

5064 48 Avenue 
Delta (Ladner) , BC V4K 1V8 
Phone: 604-940-1155 
Fax: 604-940-1189 
E-Mail: info@theupstartcrow.ca 

Ran into a few old friends while I was wandering round the Northern lands, and made some new ones.    

After class I had a day to spend in the city and a number of my students pointed me in the direction of an amazing place....Baker's Dozen on Main St.

A super cool antique shop.  I had hoped the owner was around cuz  I really wanted to do a flip-cast but the staff didn't feel comfortable without her permission...bummer but I understand.  Even so it was a great experience, such an amazing bunch of goodies and so nicely displayed.  Best yet, they have a gallery, which is filled with assemblages made by the owner, Heather, and one the staff, Drew.  Very fun, very cool.  there were giant pigs and solar system models and weird dental tools and this and that and the other thing.    I ended up with an optometrist lens kit.  

 If you are ever there...do go...you'll dig it.

Okay...heading south to ArtFest tomorrow.

speaking of heading south....

One Million B.C. Part Two

...Burbank, California...that is 

This summer I'll be in Burbank...no I am not the new host to the Price is Right

..though...don't you think a deMeng'ed version of the Price is Right would be much better....lets get some rust on those bright colors.    Come to think of it...it would be kind of fun be a game show host...something to ponder.   A Vincent Price version of Bob Barker...by the way have you ever notice how much Bob Barker 

and Vincent Price look alike

...in an evil twin sort of way.

But I digress...

I will be in Burbank to teach at the Carol Parks Studio 

 August 28, 29, and 30th.  The class I'll be doing is my Lost, Found and Reinvented class.  

A found object free for all.  It will be nice because we will have some time to build lots of nifty thing-ma-do-hickies.  Hope to see you there.

but for now...

see everyone at ArtFest...woohoo

Fish and Bird

So I'm still a bit haunted by that Island of Dolls in Mexico. Since that trip I can't seem to get a particular song out of my head. The song is "Fish and Bird" from the album Alice
by Tom Waits.
Originally this music was created for Robert Wilson's opera of the same name. It is the Alice in Wonderland story, which to me, has always been a bit disturbing anyway. It is sinister, to be certain, but it also about madness, loneliness, and the struggle of separate worlds trying to meet.

The Isla de las Munecas relates to this tale in a variety of ways but first let me explain my interpretation of that haunting place. It is the saddest yet simultaneously sweetest place I have ever been. To recap the story, this is a place that young girl drowns and years later is inhabited by a hermit, who senses her ghost. He proceeds to appease her spirit by collecting dolls for years and years, which he hangs up all over the island.

When I was on the island I couldn't help feeling that this whole island was an act of love....not out of fear. It seemed to me that the hermit, Don Julian had a psychological relationship with this spirit (real or imagined it doesn't really matter). His life was devoted to someone that he had never met, at least, not in the traditional sense. Nonetheless he creates this strange realm for her to play. There is a relationship between he and this ghost. Perhaps, being reclusive, this was an easier relationship for him to deal with. Decades they were together on this island and who knows what conversations existed between the two. It is a sad relationship in that it is world separated by vast distances...the distance between the living and the dead. I have no opinion whether the little girl's ghost is real or imagined...to me it doesn't matter. She was real enough to Don Julian. Back to the song that keeps going through my head...."Fish and Bird". I know that Tom Waits is not everyone's cup of tea but he has been a huge inspiration to my work, in particular, Black Rider
(another theatrical collaboration with Robert Wilson.. a Faustian tale). Some people can't get beyond his harsh vocals, but for me it is heightens the carnival/alice-in-wonderland/maddening/heartfelt, aspect of his songs. Here are the lyrics to Fish and Bird:

They bought a round for the sailor
And they heard his tale
Of a world that was so far away
And a song that we'd never heard
A song of a little bird
That fell in love with a whale

He said, 'You cannot live in the ocean'
And she said to him
'You never can live in the sky'
But the ocean is filled with tears
And the sea turns into a mirror
There's a whale in the moon when it's clear
And a bird on the tide

Please don't cry
Let me dry your eyes

So tell me that you will wait for me
Hold me in your arms
I promise we never will part
I'll never sail back to the time
But I'll always pretend you're mine
Though I know that we both must part
You can live in my heart

Please don't cry
Let me dry your eyes

And tell me that you will wait for me
Hold me in your arms
I promise we never will part
I'll never sail back to the time
But I'll always pretend that you're mine
I know that we both must part
You can live in my heart

I have to say, I do know a little something about relationships that span vast distances, so it could be that I'm easily touched by these types of tales.

deMented Toys

Just got back from Cincinnati and had to get some studio time in before I head to Fort Collins for my workshops at the Artists' Nook.
so here are a few creations....I think Doll Island is getting to me.

Escape from Dead Doll Island

As promised, I told you I would post a video of my little adventure....so here it is using my best Anderson Cooper impersonation...I even grayed my hair for the occasion.
Part One
Journey to the Center of Dead Doll Island
Filmed in Rust-O-Rama



and now
Part Two
Escape From Dead Doll Island
aka
The Trees Have Eyes And They Are Made Of Plastic



I think I mentioned that I couldn't post all my photos since some of them are being used in my Mexico book but if you want to see more from this trip, take a peek at the photos that my travel partner Stacey took: http://arcangeloproductions.blogspot.com/

Some photos Stacey took were from her toy "Holga" camera, which creates very random unusual effects...this is a plastic blue, yellow and pink device that matched the color of our Mexican gondola.See what I mean...camera and boat match.
...as I said check out Stacey's blog...she'll be adding more entries soon...after all she took twenty million photographs. I only took 2 million.

Isla de las Munecas

Okay so the primary reason I went to Mexico was to visit the Island of Dolls. Isla de las Munecas. I was working on my book and doing a piece for the Mexican ghost story la Llorona when I heard about this place, and had to go. It is an island...sort of...basically a bit of land surrounded by canals...in the area of Xochimilco. This area is renowned for its floating gardens. Gondola style boats go up and down the waterways, some filled with tourists on a picnic, others transpoting things like locally grown flowers.

The basic story behind what is worth 4 hour round trip boat ride, is that in the 1920s three little girls were playing on this island and one of them drowned. At some point a hermit named Don Julian took up residence and started to see the spirit of the girl. To appease the little girl's ghost he started collecting discarded dolls from Mexico City. 50 years of collecting lead to the current state of the island...creepy. Thousands of these little guys are strewn all over the place.

Here's a little taste:

Its a trip...if your ever in the area...check it out if you dare!
the next time I post...I'll show you some video I took while there.

Mexico City - Part Uno: Art on Grasshopper Hill

So just go back from a great trip to Mexico City. I'll show you some of my art adventures in parts. Just to let you know...I'm saving the best for last

PART ONE
These are images from an exhibit on the main thoroughfare of Paseo Reforma, in Chapultapec (grasshopper hill)

The artist's name is Leonora Carrington, who is British born but spent much, if not most of her life in Mexico City. Carrington is a surrealist and the exhitbit is of large bronze sculptures of her work. I came across it in a cab on route to the Anthropological Museum (I'll go into that in another post).

What a great exhibit...you can admire it from a car, but I got out and walked the exhibit...much nicer.
Here's the main fish dude at the beginning

wouldn't you love a stove like this:



this is one of my favorites
this is a nice photo cuz you can get a sense of how the exhibit runs down the boulevard...plus what is not to love about stingray-faced man

The jouney ends with a grim group
They remind me of something from my private collection. My grim group is by the Oaxacan black pottery artist Carlomagno Pedro. okay that's it for now

deMeng de los Muertos 2009

Guess what is being planned as I type: deMeng de los Muertos 2009. We had such a great year (once again) in 2008 that Colleen and I are planning another trip. The specifics such as this year's Day of the Dead activities and tours and are still being worked out but I thought I'd throw a bone (no pun intended) your way. Here's the 2009 class description:

Calaveras y Diablos, y Santos…Oh My!

Translation: Skeletons and Devils and Saints…Oh My. My head spins every time I visit Oaxaca and see all the Day of the Dead toys and figurines made by the local artisans. I have a number of such purchases in my collection, such as a group of drunken diablos, a skeletal Frida on a bicycle, and of course my various Virgin of Soledad statues. So on this year's trek to the magical city of Oaxaca, Mexico, I thought that we would explore the process of doll and figurine making, and I should say, from my standpoint…the crazier the better. We will use everything from broken toys and found objects, to bizarre items like eyes and wings and halos from the surreal religious store La Ninas de las Posada, to handmade items using epoxy clay. For those who want to create little homes for your peeps, we will go over making a little nichos, as well as some metal embossing techniques for adornment. In this class you will be required to play…no fuddy-duddying allowed (and yes I did make up that word). As with previous years we will also create a class ofrenda (memorial shrine) to honor those we have lost and want to remember. Hope you decide to join me at my favorite place in the world, during my favorite festival…Dia de los Muertos…oh my!

for more info or to get on the list contact:
Colleen Darling
colleen950@hotmail.com
Home 805-688-1221
Cell 805-448-1509