Vampire Hunting Kit with Michael deMeng, Day Five

Today is Thursday, May 15th, in New Orleans and I believe I never made it to breakfast this morning on time.  Yes, my boastful announcement that I would always be up at 7:00 a.m. no matter what is shattered.  I believe I was bitten by a vampire and am in sleep mode.

Today it is full speed ahead in the workshop.  It is also time to get going on the inside of the box.  My focus is shifting on this project.  I have gone from a Vampire Hunting Kit to a Vampire's Hunting Kit.  Then I just decided to screw the whole theme thing and build what I appear to want to build:  a memento mori to a dead vampire.

Please note the baby head to the left:  this was a junkin' find and I had no intentions of using it at this point, but...

This is all that is left of the shelf unit I bought while we were junkin'.  

When lunch came around I ran across the street and got a Po' Boy.  Yes, it was all work, work, work today.  Yes, work, work, work--until someone told us that there was a jazz festival in Armstrong Park this weekend and it starts this afternoon.  So, KD and I decided to head on over there and check the music and some food.  On to the Jazz in the Park event sponsored by the People United for Armstrong Park.

The featured band on the main stage had this woman whose name I did not record.  She was a beat poet of feminist and personal issues who at times appeared to have left her band behind until suddenly you noticed that they all were in sync.  And, she had personality.  

Remember this photo of the barely visible photo?

That photograph is by L. J. Goldstein, the owner of The Brass Camera Gallery.  As KD and I were leaving the Jazz Festival we came upon his tent.  The good news is that each of us were able to buy a matted 4" x 4" version of the little boy smokin' the cigar.  KD threw in one more and all parties parted happy.  

The big event of the evening tonight is a vampire tour led by Lord Chaz.  Whenever you participate in something like this, you never know what you are going to get.  Well, we got a fine actor and comedian buried in his character who looked the part.  He led us on a wonderful tour going full blast the whole two and one half hours.  

Before leading us into the streets, Lord Chaz did a few vampire tricks for us that included making a key roll in his hand and stopping the flow of his blood.  Yup, he did.  Then we hit the streets for the tour.

And because being led around NOLA after dark by a vampire is just not enough for some people, I worked in the workshop until 1:30 with KD, Keisha and Sue.

Vampire Hunting Kit with Michael deMeng, Day Four

Today is Wednesday, May, May 14th, and I actually got up to meet Lynn and Ann Renee for breakfast at 7:00 a.m.  We thought we would try The Grill but it does not open until 8:00 a.m.  Imagine people sleeping in in NOLA.  So we walked back to our hotel and went across the block to Vacherie for breakfast.  Much more elegant than The Grill, the food was good but I like the bustle and grit of the The Grill better.

I was in the workshop at 8:00 a.m. with class scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. This is great time to finish what I started last night after the carriage ride.  The box is getting its exterior adornments as I added in the erector set parts I brought from home and the lamp parts I bought while junkin' NOLA.

No matter how I say this it is going to sound wrong so I am just going to take a stab at it anyway.  This "class" was just what I wanted but it did not have much "teaching" in the sense of us gathering all together and hearing a lecture on a technique.  It reminded me of the "master class" we had at Valley Ridge one year where we could work on any project we wanted and Michael was a resource to help get through individual issues. Eighteen of the nineteen attendees this year had taken a deMeng workshop before (many of us had taken multiple ones) so this worked out well for me.   I loved the freedom to work and I functioned well under this kind of class.  The teaching moments come in the individual instruction like here where Michael is helping Leslie work through a challenge.

KD and I shared a table;  the ruler marked the Continental Divide

Betty and I used the wall as a convenient place to store our crap

One of this year's discoveries for me was that there is a Ace Hardware Store within walking distance of the Four Points.  

So today KD, Leslie and I went to Armstrong Park to shop for supplies.

For lunch we ate at Dreamy Weenie restaurant across the street from Armstrong Park.  Besides this cool statute of Sachmo, the restaurant had some great black and white photos.  Please note the barely visible photo of the young man with the cigar to the right of Louis (more on that later).

Now it is time to paint.

Tonight's big event begins with a tour of Thomas Mann's studio and store called Gallery I/O on Magazine Street.  The event is a costume party and most of the group took it pretty darn serious (minus this blogger).  The vampire teeth that had been made on Monday also were a major feature.

Michael deMeng had found a bobble head while we were junkin' and with a little deMengian magic he transformed it into his present for our host:  a Thomas Mann bobble head.

Thomas Mann's desk

Thomas Mann has been making jewelry for over 40 years.  He is a designer, employs a production staff in his studio and has been featured on the PBS show Craft in America.

Next it was over to Thomas Mann's house which is across the street from the famous Tipitina's bar and music establishment.

Thomas, and a few workers from his store, fixed a many course meal for our whole crew.

One thing for sure about this night,

it did not bite.