Curious Pharmacists

I did mention that the purpose of this trip was an art workshop with Michael deMeng. Michael really does come up with the coolest stuff. This is his sample for the class made from an old dressing kit. The top is hinged and flips up where there was originally a mirror (more detailed pics at the link above). Love his medicinal bottles.

Michael doing the uszhhh!!! color wash demos. While he gets a lot of repeat students in his class, I think this class was about half with those who had never taken a workshop from him before. Of course Gary showed up because he has OCDD (Obsessive Compulsive deMeng Disorder).

Another trademark of Michael's workshop is the time on the last day of the workshop when the theme from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" gets played. Pencils down, times up... Everybody stops where they are at and Michael does a critique. The first time I heard this, my stomach lurched and I had heart palpitations. But Michael's critiques are wonderful, and he'll point out things that you didn't even realize were going on when you were working on the piece. You learn so much from all of the different pieces of artwork that is created, and how somebody else choose to design their version of the apothecary kit. And I have to saw that the art that was created these three days was really incredible. I felt so inadequate by the end of day two when I saw how everybody's boxes were shaping up.

The other thing that I like about attending the workshops is the collaboration with other artists. You can work all by yourself on the same piece in your studio, but to get a fresh perspective from somebody else walking by is great. To turn and ask the person next to you "What do you think?" and get reinforcement, or perhaps they say "I have this that would be perfect there" is something you don't get working alone. Truly a great group of artists.

My kit was originally an old first aid kit. I added cheese cloth to the front for some texture and to tone down the FIRST AID  lettering on the front. But I was having difficulty incorporating the lettering that I ended up painting over it and adding a poison label. The photo is actually on a cigarette case that opens, so I hope to add some pieces to go inside for some more interactivity. While we were out shopping on Magazine street we came across a medical students journal in one of the shops, so Gary, Kelley and I split it and I've used it along the back interior of the kit. I also worked on a couple of miscellaneous bottles and test tubes as well. I'd like to make more deMeng-like bottles to put inside.

I work rather literally in my creations. I wish I could step it up and be more "outside of the box". Like Gary's piece...my brain just doesn't put a squirrel's skull onto a plastic doll's body with wings, and then a heart and snake lit up on the inside along with a shrine and skulls lined up like the catacombs. I wish I had a tenth of that "out-there" thinking. Ten percent is about it though, cause to me a squirrel's skull on a plastic doll's body is creepy. ;-)

And every workshop should end with a parade. This happened to be the weekend of the first Mardi Gras parade, the Krewe du Vieux, considered the raunchiest of the parades. I'm really surprised any of my photos turned out considering I was randomly shooting with my camera raised over my head. It was a fun time, and fairly crowded. I can't imagine what the parades on Fat Tuesday are like with wall-to-wall people. Claustrophobic, I'm sure.

What a shock it was to leave the 75-degree balmy breezes of New Orleans to return home to another foot of snow and 25 degrees in Wisconsin. (Is it Spring yet?) What a great trip and every moment was something fun and exciting.