This is the way I described my finished piece at the group discussion and share at end of Michael de Meng's "Soda Pop Icon" workshop.
First off Michael de Meng is totally the rock star of the mixed media, found art world or it least that's how it seems to me. He has groupies, is totally captivating, looks good in a pair of jeans and is pretty easy on the eyes.
Thanks to some generous people from an earlier workshop I had soda cans for this class. Most folks know I never drink soda and I was ready to make Marsy chug a few cans but there were none to be found in the hotel vending machines, bottles only! This was the only large class I took and clearly some people were taking several classes with him so I walked in a bit intimidated by that alone.
He spoke for a few minutes during which time I realized that he was a total rock star and then it was like ready, set, create! I crushed my Diet Mountain Dew can (Ew!) and then sat and stared at it trying to figure out what the hell to do next. Clearly a lot of people had prepared for this far better than I had and had tons of doo-dads and such to work with. (These were also the people who pounced onto the stuff he brought as well, not making a lot of room for those of with less - bad sharers!)
Not until I found the doll head and arms amongst my stuff did I get a clue of what I was going to do. Clearly it is in my DNA. Quick tangent here, totally appropriate since I am speaking of my Mom, Queen o' Tangents. But I think this one makes sense. When I was younger it was not unusual for someone to come over to my house and find a bowls of fake fruit with a pair of doll's arms sticking out of it or legs or in one case a really large head. Mom got past her body part and faux food stage although they still have a mannequin in the living room and fake deli sausages hanging from the kitchen ceiling so maybe not.
Okay back to Virginia....so my bizarre, slightly obscene soda can icon was born. She's got a totally different vibe than his work (check it out, it is really great - even if some people think it's too "muddy") and everyone else's in class. But Michael was awesome and totally supportive and has introduced me to Liquid Nails (how did I live without this?). He taught an amazing amount on color theory that I will surely use. And at the end of class we put all the pieces on the table where he asked everyone to say a quick thing on their piece and then he told us what he liked and worked well on each one of them. Even mine! Apparently my painting technique was quite impressive. Must be because I had no clue what I was doing! But I now know how to make things look rusty and patina'ed (is that a word?) with paint.
So all I had to say was she's weird and I like her. Sounds a lot like me.
Funny post script: I'm holding her in the elevator back at the hotel and someone else from Art & Soul is there and looks at it and says "That's cool - it looks like you." (Huh?!?) My reply "My boobs aren't that big."
First off Michael de Meng is totally the rock star of the mixed media, found art world or it least that's how it seems to me. He has groupies, is totally captivating, looks good in a pair of jeans and is pretty easy on the eyes.
Thanks to some generous people from an earlier workshop I had soda cans for this class. Most folks know I never drink soda and I was ready to make Marsy chug a few cans but there were none to be found in the hotel vending machines, bottles only! This was the only large class I took and clearly some people were taking several classes with him so I walked in a bit intimidated by that alone.
He spoke for a few minutes during which time I realized that he was a total rock star and then it was like ready, set, create! I crushed my Diet Mountain Dew can (Ew!) and then sat and stared at it trying to figure out what the hell to do next. Clearly a lot of people had prepared for this far better than I had and had tons of doo-dads and such to work with. (These were also the people who pounced onto the stuff he brought as well, not making a lot of room for those of with less - bad sharers!)
Not until I found the doll head and arms amongst my stuff did I get a clue of what I was going to do. Clearly it is in my DNA. Quick tangent here, totally appropriate since I am speaking of my Mom, Queen o' Tangents. But I think this one makes sense. When I was younger it was not unusual for someone to come over to my house and find a bowls of fake fruit with a pair of doll's arms sticking out of it or legs or in one case a really large head. Mom got past her body part and faux food stage although they still have a mannequin in the living room and fake deli sausages hanging from the kitchen ceiling so maybe not.
Okay back to Virginia....so my bizarre, slightly obscene soda can icon was born. She's got a totally different vibe than his work (check it out, it is really great - even if some people think it's too "muddy") and everyone else's in class. But Michael was awesome and totally supportive and has introduced me to Liquid Nails (how did I live without this?). He taught an amazing amount on color theory that I will surely use. And at the end of class we put all the pieces on the table where he asked everyone to say a quick thing on their piece and then he told us what he liked and worked well on each one of them. Even mine! Apparently my painting technique was quite impressive. Must be because I had no clue what I was doing! But I now know how to make things look rusty and patina'ed (is that a word?) with paint.
So all I had to say was she's weird and I like her. Sounds a lot like me.
Funny post script: I'm holding her in the elevator back at the hotel and someone else from Art & Soul is there and looks at it and says "That's cool - it looks like you." (Huh?!?) My reply "My boobs aren't that big."
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