Pen Work Class this Saturday, April 16th

I'm happy to announce that I'll be teaching a fun NEW class this Saturday at Zinnia!

April 16^th Zinnia So Pasadena Pen Work 11:-3

Pen Work

Think Collage + Pen Work + Mixed Media Techniques+Composition+Design

This isn’t my pen class, more of a part two, a further way to explore layering with pens on the page. In this class, we will take our pen work to the next level. We will dive right in experimenting with writing ideas and techniques on quickly collaged pages. This class will not only teach you ways to use your pens, but also you will be working hands on with collage, as well. This is not a calligraphy class. Think more along the lines of guided hands on experimentation. You will learn to love your handwriting and to take it to a whole ‘nother level! (Note: My “Everything You Wanted to Know About Pens and More” class is not a prerequisite.)

Please bring your journal to class if you have one, or the instructor will be supplying paper for you to work on.

Supply list: journal (see above) Scissors, small selection of favorite collage ephemera, bone folder, cork back metal ruler, roll of waxed paper, roll of paper towels, permanent black inkpad, container to hold water, 1" brush to glue and paint (I like chip or bristle brushes) OR a few of your favorite glue sticks

Please phone the store at 626-441-2181 to sign up. Hope to see you there!

Spring Has Sprung At Zinnia

Tam and I were brainstorming about what to do with the window now that spring is here and Easter is around the corner. Out of the blue the idea of making a giant mushroom popped into our heads. So that began the making of the giant mushroom. The pictures below show the process at a glimpse. In reality the process took about a week; from starting the mushroom making , to the completion of the window featuring the “Giant Mushroom”.

We used a rice paper lamp shade from Ikea and a cylinder thingy to start. We added paper to a cylinder to create the stem and then covered the entire thing with casting tape. Tamara painted it about 101 times before she was satisfied. It was cool watching our customers come in and wonder what the heck we were up to as the whole thing took its shape. We decoupaged it with napkins and added some sparkle and wa-la, the giant mushroom came to life.

We spent most of Friday merchandising and fussing with the whole thing. We are pretty pleased with ourselves and hope you enjoy it. Magically, it glows at night and keeps Alley company; or the other way around. Hope to see you soon.

New Store Hours

Drum roll please...
Zinnia will be open on Mondays 11am to 5pm. We will also start to offer classes on Mondays too.

Michael DeMeng: Pretty Vial Things

Sunday, June 26^h - 10am to 4pm - $150

“When I was a kid I loved the idea of magic potion. Remember how Alice drank from the bottle to become very very tall, and of course Dr. Jekyll turned into his hairy eye-browed buddy Mr. Hyde the same way… different recipe apparently. There must be some very interesting mojo in those little containers… some good… some not so good. In this class we are not going to be making the elixirs (might be illegal in some states) but rather we are going to be designing the little bottles that house these strange liquids. We will be using various assemblage techniques to create some pretty vial things; part of the fun is deciding what they are going to hold and coming up with the appropriate housing. Whether it is turning into a hairy monster (which comes in handy), a potion for invisibility (also very handy), or a place to store the water from the fountain of youth (send me two right away), the containers will be as rich and strange as the contents. Down the hatch!”

To sign up please call Zinnia (626-441-2181), we will need a credit card number, phone number and an email. Tamara will then be in touch with you closer to the date of the class to confirm and to let you know when your credit card will be charged. For additional information including a supply list please visit: www.michaeldemeng.blogspot.com or www.zinnia.biz . We can also provide you with the supply list at the store. Information about the Saturday and Sunday classes will be posted this week. Don’t miss out… space is limited. The information below is Michael’s description of the class.

Michael DeMeng: Lonely Hearts

Lonely Hearts

Saturday, June 25^th 10am to 4pm $150.00

Don’t miss out… space is limited. The information below is Michael’s description of the class.

If you could have designed your own heart, it would have been a little different looking. It would have been a bit more, shall we say “industrial or steampunk”, and filled with gears and gizmos… it is a machine after all… might as well look like one. Well in this class you can redesign your ticker in your own fashion. We will create a heart from found objects, images and anything else we can think of and create a very personalized heart. This will be done by using techniques such as assemblage, collage, painting, and even a bit of metal embossing. Make sure to bring plenty of found objects; after all we don’t want your project to come off “half-hearted”. This is definitely not a class for the “faint hearts”.

Optional: Metal embossing Tools if you have them. I’ll bring stuff for folks to use and will go over the process but to avoid a wait; anyone who has their own is welcome to bring them.

To sign up please call Zinnia (626-441-2181), we will need a credit card number, phone number and an email. Tamara will then be in touch with you closer to the date of the class to confirm and to let you know when your credit card will be charged. For additional information including a supply list please visit: www.michaeldemeng.blogspot.com or www.zinnia.biz . We can also provide you with the supply list at the store. Information about the Saturday and Sunday classes will be posted this week.

Michael DeMeng at Zinnia in June

Cold Blooded Journals

If you are fans of Michael’s and have taken a class at Zinnia in the past you know that the classes get filled fast. We still have openings for all three classes in June. The first one is on Friday, June 24^th. Come learn new techniques and brush up on the ones you already know. Come make art! We have customers that have taken his classes in the past then keep going, make it their own and create amazing art, some that has been featured in our past exhibits. Don’t miss out… space is limited. The information below is Michael’s description of the class.

Friday, June 24^th - 10am to 4pm - $150

Cold Blooded Journals:

This class is all about reptiles and snaky things, and the reason is that I recently came across a product that creates a nice scaly surface. SSSSSo it dawned on me that this would be an interesting technique to use one semi-sculptural surface, and make it more interesting I thought that it would be interesting to make that surface an object that can be used every day. That surface? A sketchbook, for the cold blooded. Of course you can fill the sketchbook with whatever you like but the exterior is going to be built up and scaled up to the point in which if you’re not noticed walking down the street with this … well… there probably isn’t anyone on the street.

To sign up please call Zinnia (626-441-2181), we will need a credit card number, phone number and an email. Tamara will then be in touch with you closer to the date of the class to confirm and to let you know when your credit card will be charged. For additional information including a supply list please visit: www.michaeldemeng.blogspot.com or www.zinnia.biz . We can also provide you with the supply list at the store. Information about the Saturday and Sunday classes will be posted later this week.

Rainy Days

Rainy days are perfect for staying home and making art. I've got the laundry going, the slow cooker is making me dinner and I have a cat on my lap. Aaaah, heaven. I should name my crock pot since it takes good care of me and cooks so I can craft. I think I will name her Alice.

What's going on at Zinnia? Yesterday Tamara changed out the front window display then took a picture. The picture was amazing, she posted it on Facebook so make sure you add Zinnia as a friend so you can get random pictures during our time at the store. I would share the picture here but I couldn't figure out how to share it here.

As many of you know Alley has fans that stop by at night. She has dog friends that stroll by after hours then stop by while we are open to say hello to the humans. Gaylord is my favorite. He is a Standard Poodle that has been a Zinnia friend too. He is really big and playful he behaves like a little poodle as if he has no idea that he is so big.

He probably doesn't. Anyway, he is super adorable. He stopped by this weekend while it was raining. Wouldn't you know that he has a raincoat? I don't have a rain coat (don't tell my mother). I took this picture of him to share him with you all. I think I have posted about him before. Thanks to his mom Marilyn for being a good friend to us and Alley.