Voodoo, Mojo & Mr. Johnson ...

Spent more time in the studio this weekend and the Voodoo art journal is ready to send on its journey! Hard to see this one go - really enjoyed creating the Robert Johnson shrine - but happy it's going to Deb (sure hope she likes it).

The music selection for the last phase of the journal moved into some current material, but still with a strong blues influence ... and an edge.

Conjured up the seedy underbelly with Nick Cave and 'Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!' Catch a bit of their own hoodoo on the Nick Cave & The Badseeds site -- Mojo voted this the best new album of 2008.
Next up, Detroit rockers, The White Stripes with "Icky Thump"
Finally, wrapping things up with Joe Strummer delivering his influences on 'The Future Is Unwritten'

So now to the Voodoo journal. As I thought about Voodoo and Mojo, I thought about the story of Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads ... the inspiration for the spread.




The words are from an article I found at the Mudcat Cafe ...

"If you want to learn how to make songs yourself, you take your guitar and your go to where the road crosses that way, where a crossroads is. Get there be sure to get there just a little ' fore 12 that night so you know you'll be there. You have your guitar and be playing a piece there by yourself…A big black man will walk up there and take your guitar and he'll tune it. And then he'll play a piece and hand it back to you. That's the way I learned to play anything I want." ~ Tommy Johnson

The rusty bits started out as toys. The larger of the dolls is from Hannah Grey Curiosities & Drygoods and the smaller doll is a mardi gras baby -- one of a handful I bought some time ago.


In addition to paints n' patinas, I also used my vise and dremel on this journal. Something satisfying about drilling a hole into the tiny fist (1/32" drill bit). I ordered the vise & dremel from The Artists Nook ... sure, you could go to the local Home Depot but better to support artist-run businesses (besides, it's the vise that Michael deMeng recommends so you know you're off to a good start with your tools)



The snakes are from the local party supply store ...




Might try to grab a few more pics before shipping this off ...