Michael Demeng Anatomical Man Class

So Sunday March 2nd I headed out for a long awaited Michael Demeng Class in Berkeley.
It was an odd start for me. Missing my bus, missing my transfer train & then another bus. Arrived 15min. in, and took me a while to wake up & jump in the game.
(my creative time is normally around 11pm till daybreak)... so attempting to create at 10 in the morning was interesting. It wasn't until after lunch that I felt alive & really settled into creating... of course at that time the class was nearly over & ready for the overview.

Michael was friendly, funny & had some good advice for techniques in collaging my plastic Anatomy figure into a work of art.


My Horned Ancient Guardian of the key was unfinished... and though Mike had said the piece looked finished as it was. I continued to create after I got home. Then went out and had a fabulous Mexican meal with the hus (who had bought the class for me as a Valentines gift ).
Then back for Sweet Honey Mead wine & final creation.

I realized in adding extra chains & wired caging around the open chest area... it really changed the overall feel of the piece. Maybe even less emphasis on the Large Onyx horns. But in the end... it was what I wanted to do. So I stepped away from the work & let it be what it is.

(michael & I after class)

Technique/concepts & flow:

-Plastic Anatomical Figure... innards taken out. Face sliced down with dremel. NouVeau Stamp attached.
-hands drilled & chest ridge drilled for future wiring & chain attachments
-Wired feet down to base (base found object Heavy Brass almost like a gauge)
- Gold glass rays button with color wash over.
- Gold plastic bead trim frame body of the piece (drawing eye inward says 'michael' :)
-Horns: Carved Black Onyx wired into place
-Key & Skull attached to innard well
-coated in white dap kwik caulk for texture
-Painted over in varying effects: Carbon Black, Paynes Gray, Dioxane Purple blend/wash
-More colors included Permenant Bronze, Ant. Silver

Midnight at home design continuation included:
-painting accents of Bronze & wash over face & details of mask.
- more wash & darkened details on body, & accent glow hues inside chest well.
- Wired Darkened Brass with black glass teardrops around chest.
- Chain sweeps & tiny black glass heart with tiny accent Bronze painted heart hanging chest center.
- Long Chain sweeps & Waterfall of asymetrical chain drops & tears from hands.
- left over wire around base used to accent sweep for one side of drops. Drops sit inside coil.
- repaint over brass base with Bronze & dark wash accents.

*DONE*

any comments welcome. Sorry I did not get the name of the other students in class, so I do not have names next to pieces by others.
Luckily I got a ride home from 2 of my table/classmates Deborah & Daniel. I took a few pics of everyones pieces...Will post pics of others work.

~X~



All together now...


My horned Guardian before Final Wired cage & drops.
Love the pic with Mike in the background... Almost like mike is a giant next to all the collaged creatures.

~

Finding your Jewelry or Art Niche'

{The following is from a letter I wrote to a lovely young woman who was inquiring any info from me, as she was writing her final for jewelry class on me & my business. I was flattered, though tired at the time that I wrote this... but thought it might be nice to share with others.}

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First of all, you should do what you love! Too much time is wasted being stressed out in life & not following your dreams or ambitions. Most of this might be due to necessity. But if nothing is holding you back....

If you want to excel in Jewelry creation or any art form as a career and earn a living from your art, & if it is the type of art that you feel is a bit different than the norm (or not), then Find your niche' and Do it Well! Without a good niche (something that you feel might be a bit different in the market place) then you are just creating what everyone else is, hence you may not be filling a void that may well be needed somewhere (in whatever niche' or genre you choose).

(added: though it is nice to just be creating & fueling your art & following your dreams, if you wish to have your dream earn you enough money to not have to work for another, than you definately need to find your niche')

Though in the beginning, you may need to work for others or take on jobs, customs, or repairs & sometimes it may not be what you want to be doing. Look at every project or job as a new lesson to learn. Take everything in, you never know when you might need to apply it to a future project or experience.

For myself I find that although I create in many mediums from what I call Embellishment piecework, to torch work/soldering, or carving in ACS or PMC, Resin, photography etc... I always attempt to try something new. I strive to learn a new technique when I can. I pick up books for inspiration & tutorials, and even if I do not set out to follow a tutorial, I am still inspired by the process of individual techniques to produce something. The books can be anything from jewelry techniques, benchwork, Art Nouveau & art deco or wrought iron designwork books, arts & crafts zines, painting & photography, my sketching journals and so on. (and for my geekier side, I love it when they have some heirloom piece of jewelry on the antique roadshow, or going to some museum exhibit to see some old viking or egyptian jewels). Whatever inspires you!

When I feel I am becoming somewhat stagnant or repetitive (having created jewels for over 20 years in various forms, & having multiple orders over & over for some similar jewelry styles), I search out something new to tempt my eyes and hands. Without a steady flow of the new I don't know where I would be. It can be hard to challenge yourself if you do not sometimes place an interesting obstacle in your path.

So basically, be yourself! Find your Niche'! Do it well! Try something new! Inspire yourself & hopefully you can inspire others!!!

I wish you much luck in all your artistic endeavors!
~X~



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As a side note: There are always negatives (sorry not all roses)....
I wouldn't trade my work hours for anything. I am happy just to continue to create what I love & earn a living from my art. (being my own boss, way flexible hours, although It can be negative at times running your own business, especially dealing with the 'business' end of things versus the art, or dealing with unscrupulous people who wish to copy above & beyond flattering, and it is a LOT of work, but I still wouldn't want my life any differently).
As soon as you put your work out there & on the internet... there will always be others who copy you. It is a fact that some others can't seperate, inspiration & learning techniques... with exact duplication.
Karma has a way of coming back around. So be good to others as well as yourself!