Sunday, May 3, 2009

Michael deMeng

I took an art class on Friday called "Matchbox Vignettes" instructed by Michael deMeng. I fell in love with deMeng's work when I first saw it a few years back so when the opportunity arose for a class I decided to go for it. (If you are not familiar with his work go have a look: http://www.michaeldemeng.com/ ). I learned some really great techniques from him including: layering color, playing with light and texture and pulling in elements from different realms to create a unified and cohesive piece of art (all contained by a very small matchbox). For those of you familiar with my work I have to tell you that this class was a big challenge for me. I am so used to just going to my room and letting the work talk to me and create itself while with this class I actually had to stop and think about an overall concept of what is this box about, what looks good together, how do I make this box evoke some kind of emotion from the viewer? BIG THINGs that I do not normally give much thought to when creating my Oddities. I hope you enjoy this piece that I made based on the concept of Dia De Los Muertos. I would also like to say Thank you Michael for sharing your amazing expertise along with a good dose of fun! Below are pictures of the piece I made in Michael's class.

This is how my piece looked at the end of class - I just wasn't able to complete it in the time alloted due to my own personal challenges. :o)
Ahhh, that's better. Now we have some color! I sculpted the little face and it is a bit smaller than a dime.

Detail...
I have a really cool brass candlestick holder (small) that I am going to mount this piece on in order to balance out the top.

17 comments:

Zan Asha said...

WOw, this is amazing! I've never thought of working with matchboxes-I will have to try that out! I LOVE this piece--I can't imagine working that small of a scale but yours has so much detail! Excellent!

Elizabeth said...

That is so awesome! You are so talented! All your pieces are different yet your point of view flows through them all.

Georgina said...

Your matchbox is wonderful! I've worked with matchboxes before, but never like that...and what an experience to be under Michael DeMeng's tutelage. Lucky girl!

Sue said...

Wow...that is so cool! I love what you have done with a matchbox! Amazing! Thank you for introducing me to Michael deMeng's work also!

Unknown said...

Thank You for the wonderful compliments you guys!
It was an amazing class and he really gave his all in providing us with the incredible knowledge he has gained through the years working on his art. :o)

Jdee said...

This is wonderful! All the tiny details are amazing and upon first looking at it I would never have guessed it was so small! Wonderful and so colorful and creative!
xoxo

Deb said...

OMG! You so inspire me! This piece is fantastic. Great job on this!

Blue Dragon Arts said...

what an amazing piece of work!! i'm so lucky to be related to you!!!!! lvoes!

Kaycee James said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kaycee James said...

Denise - Your work is incredible! The matchbox is a spectacular piece of art and you should be very proud.

In my opinion, the pictures don't even come close to showing how awesome this box is in person. It's kinda like being told what strawberry tastes like instead of eating a fresh one. They just doesn't do it justice. :-)

I can hardly wait to see your other ones. Hurry up and finish them. :-)

FishStikks said...

Holy smokes!! Color me jealous! I would so totally LOVE to take one of Michael DeMeng's classes, I adore his work and your piece turned out wonderfully! Love those little skulls too!

Deb said...

I met Michael once, in the middle of his workshop at a scrapbook store. I had no idea who this man was. Now I wait for him to come back to the Bay Area so I can do one of his workshops. Lucky you.....and I wanted to pop by to let you know how much you have inspired me and that you are one of the seven who has been given The Kreativ Blogger Award. You can stop by any time to pick it up.

http://katuragreetings.blogspot.com/

Namaste
Deb

Empty Daze said...

Absolutely fabulous!! I love Michael's stuff and plan on taking a class when he comes to Australia at the end of the year. After seeing what you've done I can't wait to get into it. Congrats from Down Under.

AWJ said...

I can't believe that face is the size of a dime. Gorgeous! I'd try something like that if my hands didn't hurt so much. :(

3rdEyeMuse said...

is that matchbox the size of one that fits in your pocket? or the larger one ... either way, the detail is pretty amazing. looks like a great class!

Anonymous said...

That is very cool and looks great! :)

Ghoul Friday said...

Truly beautiful. The details on that piece are stunning.