The book launch is exactly one week away now.
Last night I worked on even more new puppets. I really shouldn’t… there is still so much other stuff to do… I haven’t even build the puppet theatre yet! It’s only in my mind. I wonder if I will start freaking out at one stage (that might not be a pretty sight for the people around me!). I haven’t asked for RSVP on the invitation, so I have no idea how many people will come. I have heard from a few people who won’t be able to make it, though.
I love the loneliness and calmness these images exude. The walkers appear to be lost in their own thoughts.
Last night a friend told me a story about a “family friend”. I can’t remember the actual story, but I suddenly wondered what constitutes a family friend.
I always understood it as someone who knows Mum, Dad, the kids and maybe Granny as well, basically some one who is accepted into the the closer family circle. However last night it occured to me that a family friend might be someone nobody takes responsibility for – and while he is always around, nobody can recall how he actually became a friend. So, it is not really a friend of mum’s or a mate of dad’s, or Ganny’s for that matter. Of course kids call anyone their friend…
With this new interpretation, I will call Socialite a family friend.
 |
 |
 |
This is one of my more obscure works.
I am not good at taking images of people. I still believe, I am stealing something from them, particularly if they are not aware of the image being taken. And if they know, I am always in a hurry. When I go out to take images I usually come home with a good collection of tree photos. They have a soul as well, but they stand still.
This character was originally called Vanity, but I have renamed her Socialite.
In conversation, she is the one constantly looking around to see whether there is a more important person in sight. If somebody shows up on the horizon, she drops you like a hot potato. On the other hand, she is very worried about what other people might think of her. As an indication of this trait the back of her head shows other people’s faces.
Working on this puppet, and of course thinking of the upcoming book launch, I had an epiphany about what irks me with “social networks”. It is the terminology… For me social networks it is a contradiction in terms.
Network has a very strong business connotation. This might be my second language interpretation here, but any marketing 101 book tells you, you must network to be successful. I went to a business network meeting once, to see what it is all about. In my opinion it was the saddest affair I have ever been to. The people had their intentions plastered all over their foreheads and yes, fair enough, that was the purpose of the meeting. But I found it tremendously off-putting.
Therefore I resist using the word “network” in relation to my friends. In my opinion it excludes altruism, which I consider necessary for relaxed interaction between people.
I’ve got these little Easter bunnies this morning. I just couldn’t resist…
 |
 |
I had a character in mind, when I created this dede. But when I discussed the puppet with a friend, we couldn’t even agree whether it is a male or a female character, so I thought it might be a nice idea to ask the readers who this should become and what traits the character should have.
There is no hint as to who it might be. The skin is quite colourful and maybe it has a bearing that the head is a fraction bigger than all the other puppets.
Any suggestions?
This was the first of my postcard series I did 5 years ago. The photograph of the wall of a partially demolished house triggered that project then. Postcards are pretty much a dying breed.
Thinking about it now, it is not too dissimilar to writing a blog. I sent one postcard every week and had to come up with an idea, print it and find some words to go with it. A bit of a slower pace though.
Devil is into Detail
Got a bit side tracked lately – back to the Dedes.
There are a couple of puppets missing on the Cast page. Detail is one of them. I want to make good for this ommission now.
Hermit’s other friends pretend to love Detail, but be aware…. she is a difficult one. If you don’t pay her enough attention, it will be very obvious to the entire world. You of course, my friend, will be the last one to find out.
The other trait I dislike about Detail is her hunger for more and more information before she can make up her mind. Can she ever decide? She never seems to get all her facts together. Maybe Procrastinator would be her dream partner (but I haven’t started working on him yet).
She is of course a fantastic worker. Give her a job, and she will finish it brilliantly.
dedepuppets 