Michael De Meng Weekend Part Deux

Sunday- was the Morpheus Box- this was a challenge- a huge challenge- for me- first off- i'm starting with the same form that all the other people in the class are starting with. this 5x7 pine box with a rectangular spinner that goes inside. and it's new-completely blank canvas- no history, ghosts or ancestors deep inside to guide me through the process, just a mass marketed box from a craft store. then there was the painting and prepping, i wasnt prepared for the amount of time it needed to dry and the bubbling of the dap chalk when i used the heat gun to move things along. .

I woke up knowing that i wanted to use the twin saints on either sides of the box. but they needed to be painted and prepped- i used michael's uszhhhhh mix on the white to make them more antiqued. the box several layers of the "dick van dyke"uszhhhh.

to give it a rich deep wood feeling like a dark church- the inside spinner inspired by the three mary's and joannie. the peasant girls, an old Victorian graduate or bride and the lovely with the long hair who reminded me of a romantic mary Magdalene clutching a rock. it all took much longer than i wanted it to- i really wanted to finish before the end of the class. it's almost there- but still needs more painting and more embellishments to bridge the inside and the outside and to adjust for the dead space on either side of the spinner. so it's now a wip- waiting to be finished.

when i got home yesterday- my husband was completely floored by the pieces, especially the one i finished yesterday. when were discussing the aspects of the piece and the relationship in it when he came out and said- your work is about the "church of the ordinary." and i think that really hit the nail on the head.

my art does have this sense of ancestor worship. taking the found objects, the mundane and enveloping them was a certain mystery and spirit. it's like the objects when joined together become alive to tell a story of those who are only memories. so this new block of work that i'm moving to is inspired by the "church of the ordinary."

we both agreed it is the best piece, the most complete piece i have done to date- which is what has been so invigorating about this weekend. i has put me into a much better head space- a different POV. so i have mr. de meng to thank for that- but a lot of it is about taking risks and not being afraid to commit to the art. to feel it with in.

whenever i start a new session, i always put my earphones on and listen to my music to get me into that frame of mind. that world in between.

so day three closed and i have re-entered my mundane world. working for the man, working my slave wage. but looking forward to a summer full of creating and discovering more about this artful self that is unfolding from me.