The Man in the Moon

The Man in the Moon took another mug,
and then rolled beneath his chair;
And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale
and dawn was in the air.

Let me introduce you to my Man in the Moon, a kind of altered art mini assemblage.
This all started of with a plastic ball, a zip from a pair of jeans, an old box frame and a glass eye.

Of course I had to add a light somewhere... so I decided to illuminate the glass eye!

Lots of fun doing this one, hope you like it.

Lights off...

Lights on!

Thanks for taking the time to read,

Andy

Vodunian

I managed to pick up this clock in an antiques store this week, a bargain at just £15.00.
This is how it all began.

Introducing to you....Vodunian

The Voodoo potions contained within are protected by the deadly Puffer Fish spines, one of the most deadly venom's known to man!

I have used some plaster castings within this assemblage for the dolls and also the Skulls, I then used the lovely scraps of plaster to give texture to the piece.


I also love lights and had to add a small blue LED inside to light it up at night :)



I will leave you with a brief description of the inspiration for this piece.

Bokors are featured in many Haitian tales and are often associated with the creation of 'zombies' by the use of a deadening brew or potion usually containing poison extracted from puffer fish. This potion makes the drinker appear to be dead and thus he is often buried; later, the bokor will return for the "corpse" and force it to do his bidding, such as manual labor. The "corpse" is often given deliriant drugs, mainly datura, which puts them in a detached, somewhat dreamlike state. Its state is likened to being mind controlled. The person is alive but in a state where they cannot control what they say or do; at this point, when the person has been "reanimated" from the grave, or at least is moving about working for the bokor, they can be termed "zombies." However, some legends dispense with this more rational explanation, and have the bokor raise zombies from dead bodies whose souls have departed.

Thanks for visiting,

Andy

Do you want some Bad Mojo?

Bocio, mostly from Togo and Benin, fulfil two cultural goals: to protect their owners from danger, and to exact revenge on those who have harmed the owners.
The bocio is made in secret, so that only the owner knows its composition and purpose and these figurines were aesthetically provocative empowerment objects produced primarily in the lower Western Africa regions of Benin and Togo. These figures were artistic assemblages as well as magical objects.
The most common of the bocio genre is bla-bacio which I have based this on,  the object is wrapped tightly with rope or cord and are very personal objects, an individual would have made one for protection, to harm an enemy, or to ensure personal success.
Ingredients

1. Stencil Brush (Wooden handled)
2. Twine
3. Wooden coffee stirrers (arms)
4. Epoxy Putty
5. Glue
6. Acrylic Paint

Those of you participating on the Outcasts workshop will see in this close-up I have been making use of the scraps :)

Among the slave population in Louisiana during the 18th and 19th centuries, image magic using dolls was commonplace, archaic dolls bound with cat gut or twine and stuck with pins or fish bones have been discovered on several Louisiana plantations. Some of these figural forms found among the slave population bore a striking resemblance to the bocio of Africa. , and would often have a variety of items attached to the figure. For example, personal items, cloth, rope, nails or tacks were driven into the figure to activate its power and invoke the spirit.
Here are some Authentic Bocio


I now need to make a home for him!!

Andy

Forbidden Fruit

It's been mighty quiet on here lately but sometimes life tends to chuck lots of rubbish your way all in one go just to keep you on your toes!!

Just a quick reminder that Timeworn and The Book of Secrets online workshops re-start towards the end of this month, details can be found here

I will soon be posting the amazing work and competition results from the last Timeworn workshop on here but until then here is a piece I have been working on recently entitled Genesis.

Click Images for a Larger View

Have a good day,

 

Andy

Altered Moroccan Frame

I picked up this cool Moroccan Picture frame last week with the idea of altering it.

It is made from Acacia wood and had a simple white wash applied with a little distressed sanding.

I began by adding lots of different colour washes using Decoart Americana and Traditions acrylic paint. A layer of gesso was added on top of  each colour wash and sanded and scrapped back to reveal some of the layer below. 
The shutter doors I decided would look good rusty as well as the embellishment's…
I know.. I know but I cant help it!! I had to add some rust, I am just totally drawn to its fantastic vibrant colours… I am the same when it comes to Moroccan spices!

Here are the finished results, you can click the pictures for a larger view.

I made a box to fit behind the frame opening to fill with a few curiosities.
The picture is of a Moroccan mother and child to which I constructed a driftwood frame around.

 

Fibres and lace were attached to back of the driftwood frame,  a heart made from Lutrador and a TH number plaque (rusted obviously:) were attached to the driftwood.

The background of the box was painted with Decoart Crackle texture and some Moroccan postal papers were glued into place.

This project actually took my much longer than I had planned for but was good fun to do.

 

Andy

New Video, May's Altered Bottles

Thought I would share the fantastic work from some of the delegates on the last Evil Elixir Mixer Workshop…. Sit back and enjoy!

Andy

Craft Barn Extravaganza 2012

Been busy preparing for this weekends Extravaganza at the Craft Barn this past week, nearly there just a few things to finish off.
I unfortunately can not show everything but here are some sneak peaks.

Tomorrows Master Class

 

An old piece revamped

 

And this i have called Indian Summer, its a new blank being launched this weekend.

 

 

Another new design being released

There is more and I will reveal all next week.

Getting excited now….Who's coming??

 

Andy

The Steampunk Fairy's Have Returned!!!

Ok I know many of you think this is a joke but they have done it again… this time my Nerf gun!!!


This time they have only half finished the job!!!!



Ohhhhh….. but I now have the answer!!!!!!!!

Andy

When Timeworn Met the Book of Secrets!

Hello,
I ran a workshop at the Stamp Attic in Wantage on Saturday and got very inspired by what I saw there.

Lewis, a participant on the Book of Secrets workshop I held there a few weeks back had used the techniques on an artists manikin and gave it wings, I wished I had my camera with me at the time so I could show you.
I met some lovely people on the workshop and just want to say a big hello to you all, and thanks for all the laughs!!
Anyway I will get to the point, I also met Sue Roddis there who's work I absolutely love, I was lucky enough to have a look at some of her journal work, it was the front cover of one of these journals along with the winged manikin that inspired the artwork below, its the Book box from the Book of Secrets workshop, painted with techniques using Decoart Traditions from the Timeworn workshop!

Hope you likey!

Click on Pictures to Enlarge






Andy

The Judges have made there decision and the decision is?

The three judges Tim Holtz, Louise Crobie and the guys at Decoart have sent there results and I am happy to announce the winner and runner up of the Timeworn competition.
It was extremely close in the end and Tim's results have just come in and swayed it…. Ok Ok I will get on with it :)

The Winner Is Anabela!!!

Who wins a £50 Decoart Voucher

This carousel actually turns and plays music

 

The Runner Up is Rachel

who wins A tote bag from the idea-ology range!!

 

All the final pieces were amazing and in my eyes all deserved to win, for this reason I have built a gallery to spotlight all there work, please go and have a look at all of there creations in full at the Timeworn Gallery

Congratulations to both Anabela and Rachel and also to everyone who took part in this workshop, its been emotional :)

Before I go I would like to say a huge thank you to all participants, you have all been great fun to work with.

We are all now going back to the workshop forum now for a party!!!!

Andy

Sneaky Timeworn Peak

Well the Timeworn workshop has sadly come to an end and the pictures are being sent off to the three judges today.
For this reason I can't show yet there final pieces in full, but believe me they are amazing!

I have made this quick video to give you a taster of what to expect, the workshop itself was very much based upon Upcycling.
Once the faux techniques were learned the participants then had the choice to make a final assemblage piece from found objects, mixed media and embellishments, with no rules whatsoever on a theme.

I think you will agree with me after seeing this short snippet, they all did a wonderful job and I will share all with you when the judges have made there decisions.

 

If you would like to take part in the next Timeworn workshop taking place in June then please do visit the timeworn techniques workshop site.

 

Andy

Do you believe in Steampunk Fairies?

Well I do!…. I went to bed late last night and left my trusted Heat Buddy on the table.

 

When I woke up this morning I found this!!

 

They have only gone and pimped my Heat Buddy!

 

Or maybe I sleep paint lol

Have a good Friday,

Andy

Nearly done!

Here is the latest work on the Buddha piece.
The plinth for Buddha to sit on has now been made and given a peeled paint and burnt copper effect.

I have added Probably the most famous mantra of Buddhism, Om mani padme hum, the six syllable mantra of the Bodhisattva

Nothing has been stuck into place yet....still more to do but it's getting there!

These plastic knives came in handy for giving the piece more of a shrine feel.

Andy