Customer Reviews

Secrets of Rusty Things: Transforming Found Objects into Art

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

As most mixed media artists who've "come of age" in the post-scrapbooking/craft/art revolution, I've been a fan of Michael deMengs work for some time. I was delighted to catch an episode of DIY's Craft Lab in which he showed some of his rusting techniques (basically paint is what he uses to get that effect but with other surprises like spray insulation foam).

This book is just beautiful, from the matt fold out covers to the unique presentations inside. Based in myths from around the world, each piece represented is beautiful and a step-by-step process is shown. But not clearly. Don't get me wrong-the photos are clear but the process isn't necessarily clearly outlined. I haven't minded at all bc the book is so awesome but I doubt I'll be combing any scrap yards anytime soon. Still it's wonderful to see his work in detail, watch it come together.

Don't expect a true "how to" book but more of a beautiful insight to how a true mixed media assemblage artist works. I'm not at all sorry I bought it! And I'm proud to be the first to review it.

This is not a book about how to transform found objects into art. It does give good ideas of course, but that's not what it's about. It's about de Meng's creative process, which I think is much more interesting.

It's about the story behind several compelling pieces of assemblage art in his typically arresting style, starting with the mythology that gave the idea shape, followed by a narrative about how the piece evolved, accompanied by a running sidebar about how he acquires his elements.

The text is breezy and droll, complex without getting too pretentious, honest without being tediously self-deprecating. He's not putting himself on any pedestals, he's simply explaining the logic behind the decisions he makes (or are made for him) as he works on the piece, comments like "I decided to put a grate in front of her eyes. There, now she's exiled."

It's sprinkled throughout with tips ranging from his favorite paints to use for achieving certain effects to the dangers of open flame around freshly-applied Liquid Nails ("can cause some excitement"). It reveals how he overcomes the frustrations every artist experiences when work on a piece just isn't flowing.

In contrast to the text, the photos are not particularly illustrative, though prettily shot. The whole book is rich and dramatic, not easy to dismiss after riffling through it.

The sidebar steals the scene in a lot of cases, reading like a funny and well-written blog, and it changes the way you look at estate sales, junkyards, construction recycling facilities, and bits of mechanical detritus from an earlier age.

It's a dangerous book in this regard. Like all collage and assemblage art it discourages you from throwing away anything, and De Meng reveals little about how he manages the accumulation of intriguing junk that inevitably develops -- you get the impression that his studio consists of boxes and piles of junk, a lifestyle to which his readers may not aspire. (I wouldn't want to be the buddy he asks to help him move.)

In all, it's an engaging look into how a unique artist works and how his pieces develop. You won't come away with many practical new techniques to try out, but you will come away with a new approach to art, which is very worthwhile.

As a child, I spent many hours reading fairy tales and myths. The myths I read and studied were ancient. I loved them and they came from all over the world. I related to each one of them intuitively. I couldn't help it! Many readers, like me, begin as children, loving myths.
Possibly you agree that the human condition, our joys, trials, everything, is distilled myth, be it Inuit, Hindu, Greek.

Myths can seem grand and off-putting. However, when you pair them with the writing of the often humorous, occasionally mystical (I am thinking of his walk in the woods where he found some stove pieces, way away from any house, and wrote a lovely and visually elegant vignette about it) and frequently charming style of assemblage artist/teacher Michael de Meng, they are lively, full of energy and fun to view as potential subjects for artworks!

Read this book and you are reading two books side by side: de Meng recounts the myth he is concerned with, then begins to discuss the process he goes through when he creates an art piece representing that myth. Simultaneously, he comments in journalling script form on the side of each page about what is going on in his real life with a different sort of emotional immediacy, as he is making the art piece, or recalling something to do with it.


Both segments of the book intersect and cross over in certain ways...but the main segment essentially deals with the original myth and his work on creating the piece he makes inspired by it, using bathroom scales he alters, or funky "Brady Bunch '70's clocks", the insides of irons, and things he likes. You read a vaiety of discussions and tales of the processes he goes through in order to do create his art pieces.

The notebook part basically discusses life stories: where he was when he found something, how he was feeling, why it was great.

What is super unique and good about this book?

Without being "grand" about it, Michael de Meng explains that artists are the people who climb to the top of the pyramid...who get that chance to look all around with that "all seeing eye" (he mentions eyes quite a bit and uses them in his work frequently), and then, when inspired, they climb back down to earth and, without being frightened by being judged, express themselves through creating.

Some readers have commented that the photography is too dark in this book. I disagree. This is a mysterious book and the photography is perfect for it. It is extremely cool.

I don't want to be Mr. de Meng, however, if I lived near him, I would certinly take a class from him, because I believe he really has a lot to offer, and he offers up his heart and soul, in an incandescent manner, in this remarkable, fascinating book.


If I were teaching a class on found objects and altered art, I would insist that this book, The Secret of Rusty Things, by Michael de Meng, be on the reading list. It is illuminating.

I was really excited about this book because I thought it would be geared more toward the male reader than most craft books are. Many of the other reviewers hit the rusty nail on the head with this one. This is not really an instructional book, the side bar notes are much more interesting than the main section of the book, and the photos are way too dark and small to be helpful. I am a fan of the author's art and I enjoy his conversational style (if even a bit conceited at times). Yet, the combination of the lesson in mythology and his side notes just do not jive. In some parts of the book, it comes off as the author trying too hard to be quirky. He's repeatedly searching for the right item to use while bumbling around his studio, or engaging in self-analysis (often in a bar), or referring to himself in the third person. The way DeMeng calls everything a "doodad" or "thingy" makes him seem less authoritative and it quickly grows tiresome. Is he merely the victim of poor editorial choices? I would've much rather seen the art in greater detail and had less of Morpheus.

I loved Michael DeMeng's stories in the margin telling how and where he came across certain found objects. For me, that was the most interesting part of the book. A gorgeously designed book, but the photos of his work are a bit dark, making it very hard to see exactly what found objects he had brought together. As other reviewers have noted, this is not a how-to. But it would have been nice for more explanation of what objects went into each piece of work...unless the mystery was intentional and he doesn't want to share any creative production secrets. Still, I am not sorry I bought it and Michael's enthusiastic, conversational style is very inspirational/motivational. I can't wait to get out to my studio!

I checked this book out from the library, fully expecting to enjoy and order my own copy. Boy - am I glad I did. It will NOT go into my shopping cart. The subtitle is "Transforming Found Objects in Art", which to me implies an instructional book. There MAY be some instruction here, but this book is simply too much of a chore to read.

Sure, the author may be talented. Sure - he may have some useful techniques to share. Trouble is, he apparently decided not to share them in this book. Photos are small, dark, and each is oh-so-cleverly bordered with artzy margins that take up way too much space on the page. There MAY be some interesting comments in the side bar on the right margin but it's hard to tell, as the chosen handwriting font makes them difficult to read. If you had a magnifying glass, you MAY be able to see what he's doing with the objects in the photos, but I've no patience for that and by now - I'm irritated.

It's just one more book that gets just too carried away with self-embellishment, cluttered layout, distracting backgrounds and frilly fonts to be a truly instructive source. Eye candy - that's all.

I love Demeng's work and appreciate that he wanted to talk about what the different works on display in the book mean to him and the story of how he came across some old frame...but I would like to know more about his methods of creating washes, choosing colors and using liquid nails, a hardware store product that most of us budding artists don't understand the properties of. Frankly I found the book to be self indulgent. I guess he didn't really want to share his "secrets".

I won't beat the dead horse... if you've read the other reviews then you know Secrets of Rusty Things isn't a "how-to" book. In fact I think I really wouldn't have enjoyed it much if Demeng provided actual detailed instructions on how he makes his art.

The real magic in this book is how it is truly written from his "voice". Perhaps the publisher did a great job of fooling me but all the narratives seemed to come straight from Demeng with what seems like very little editorial intervention.

If you've ever pulled a stool up to a bar and delighted in finding out you were sitting beside an interesting character, then you are in for a treat. Part mythology lesson, part studio visit, part malty-brew-induced story telling.... this book is a refreshing take on one man's creative process. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in mixed media artwork - whether you are an artist or just a like minded soul.

I had pre-ordered this book and it came in the mail yesterday. I had been so looking forward to it and on first glance was disappointed. The layout is beautiful and Michael's work is wonderful but I was expecting the usual step 1 do this, step 2 do that...
I sat down and read the first 50 pages and found this book to be much more than a how to. It causes you to think about how you work by learning about how Michael invents his work, where he finds his objects, his stories on teaching etc...
In the end this is just what I had hoped for a gifted artist giving us a glimpse into his process.

I purchased this book based on the description and reviews, plus what little I was able to see in the Amazon Online Reader. When it arrived I was disappointed to see that the pages are much too busy, the photo illustrations much too small, and the type too small and in fonts much too difficult to read. And as others have observed, not much in the way of helpful projects. I ruled out two other books in order to get this one and I'm quite disappointed in what I received. About the only thing I still like about it is the title, but I count this as $13 down the drain - and the day after I received it the price dropped! Thanks a lot Amazon.