This just in from Michael de Meng’s blog…

Guess what is ready to ship! My biz partner Christine just got her first shipment of “Secrets” in. She’ll be sending them out next week. She’s busy adding the signed bookplates and the Artist Cards as we speak.

If you’re interested in having a special edition “Secrets of Rusty Things” you can visit the online site here http://www.theartistsnook.net/p-secretsofrustythings.shtml

If you happen to be in Idyllwild, California this July, you may have a chance to take a class with past guest, Michael de Meng. Michael will be teaching assemblage classes in three sessions at Idyllwild Arts. Session I (Holy Rolling Hot Wheels) will take place on July 16th, Session II (Trash to Treasure: Assemblage Alchemy) will take place on July 17th and 18th, and Session III (Mad Hatter’s Tea Party) will take place on July 19th and 20th.

My birthday is on July 20th, so I wish I can treat myself to one of Michael’s classes….but maybe next time *sigh*. But if you’re lucky enough to be in the area and if you’re interested in one of Michael’s sessions, you can find out more at the Idyllwild Arts web site. Enrollment is limited so you should act fast.

The most we ever think about trash…if we ever really think about it at all…is that we
have to put it out on the curb on Thursday nights so it can be picked up early the next morning. Most of our awareness about the things we discard stops at the trash can at the curb. There are a number of artists who use what we throw away to create their art and are breathing new life into the things that we consider trash. In celebration of Earth Day this first episode of Season 1 of Crafting Voices, we’ll look at three artists who use discarded materials to create their work and how they transform trash into a thing of beauty.

Guest List

• Bryant Holsenbeck (environmental artist)
• Boris Bally (mixed media sculptor)
• Michael de Meng (assemblage artist)

Listen to this Episode

To listen, click on the “Play in Popup” link below, or you can download this episode and listen later by clicking on the “Download” link. For more information on how to listen to episodes, visit the “How to Listen” page.

•  The Transformation of Trash [1:00:00m]: | Download
  
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It’s been awhile since I last dipped my toe in the podcasting waters. But after a couple of months of hard work, I’ve finally launched the new Crafting Voices web site and next week I’ll be launching the new season of the Crafting Voices podcast on April 17th!

The first episode of the new 11 show season is called The Transformation of Trash and I decided to launch this episode just in time for Earth Day as the theme of the show focuses on artists who use trash and discarded materials to create their artwork. In this episode, I interviewed artists Bryant Holsenbeck, Boris Bally, and Michael de Meng. All of these artists were great interviewees and I had a great time interviewing them for this episode, so be sure to check out the launch of this episode on April 17th.

In the meantime, be sure to explore the new web site. Along with a fresh new look, I’ve also added new features such as individual pages for past show guests where you can go learn more about the guests who were interviewed for past shows and listen to excerpts from their interviews. I’ve also added a guest gallery, where you can look at some of the crafts and artwork of the artists who have been featured on past shows. If you run into any problems, so something doesn’t seem to work correctly, please let me know!