Archives for category: Absurd
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Giveaway

December 13, 2015 //
0

Time is flying. It seems like only yesterday that I had the booklaunch, but no, it is already two weeks ago. Must be because it is Christmas and there are so many things to organise before the end of the year. Anyway the Dedes are working in the background and for now, because it is Christmas, they have set up a giveaway on Goodreads. It runs from today to the 3 of January. All you need to do is enter by clicking on the link below. No questions asked (at least if you are a goodreads member, if not, you will have to answer a few questions about your reading habits to become a member) :)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Artist's Survival Cookbook by Dietlind Wagner

The Artist's Survival Cookbook

by Dietlind Wagner

Giveaway ends January 03, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/166074

Categories Absurd, Art, Book Launch, Books, Competition, Fun, Hand Puppets, Promotion, recipes, Self-publishing

It had to happen

November 27, 2015 //
3

yeast plait

Today is baking day. We are making a couple of items so we have something to offer before the first bread will come out of the oven tomorrow. Early this morning we started off with a yeast plait, and would you believe it, it got slightly burned around the edges. Cash Cow was very unhappy and her initial thought was, she will have to do it again, we can’t take that thing to our event. Alien, who has a very sunny disposition tries to talk her out of it. In his opinion nobody will notice once it is cut up. I don’t know. I leave them to sort it out :)

I use my oven all the time and it really should not have happend. This of course makes me wonder how the two ovens a the church will behave. I never used them before. We might head towards disaster.

And while I am writing this in a disgruntled mood, can anybody tell me where the spellcheck function in WordPress is hiding now? I can’t find the button, or am I the only one who needs a spell-checker?

Tags , , , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Book Launch, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Promotion, recipes, Self-publishing, workshop

Why I play with puppets (18)

November 24, 2015 //
0

Dietlind Wagner dedepuppet and bun

Doesn’t the saying go: “Necessity is the mother of all inventions”. When the puppets got really desperate, they came up with the idea to make a book full of recipes with flour and water: The Artist’s Survival  Cookbook. The book is now available on CreateSpace and this Saturday we are celebrating the launch with a pop-up kitchen at the Methodist Church in Birkenhead. It is an interactive launch and the visitors can try their hand at a recipe from the book. I still have a lot to prepare and I have no idea how it will go, but that is the fun of it :)

Tags , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Book Launch, Books, Comedy, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Self-publishing, workshop

Why I play with puppets (17)

November 18, 2015 //
0

devil sunglasses

Loosing your job is a very unsettling event and you will go through a serious grieving phase. It would be strange if you wouldn’t. When it happened, my favourite puppet Devil (the first puppet I ever made) wore dark sunglasses a lot.

I so wanted my puppets to get a bit more bite and be more negative and scathing on the blog. But they ignored me. Negativity is not in their make-up. It doesn’t come naturally to them. Instead they got quieter and quieter.

Tags , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Comedy, film, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life

Why I play with puppets (16)

November 17, 2015 //
0

alien

In the beginning the Dedes and I had a care free life. I did workshops and wrote every morning between 7 and 9, before I trundled off to work.

Looking back at the early days with the puppets, they clearly express my attitude: “There are no real dramas! So, get over it.”

And then I lost two major contracts in my design business, and my part-time teaching job – all at the same time. Tja and everything new I touched seemed to turn to custard straight away. This was a new experience for me!

Tags , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Comedy, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life

Why I play with puppets (15)

November 12, 2015 //
0

elemate

The next step up from just telling stories on the blog was the puppet films. Puppets are performers and they want to move. One weekend, when I was home alone, I created the film “Life of an Artist”. It describes the plight of an artist creating work that nobody gives a toss about. Most of us can relate to that, eh.

This lead to me running workshops where a small group of people get together to create impromptu stop motion films. It’s similar to “theatre sports” or “who’s line is it anyway”. I’m sure you get the picture. It’s hillareous. I only facilitate and observe and I put the film together in the end. This picture though, is from a different workshop. This one is called “My friend the Dede.” Here I work with older people to elicit stories. I love that particular picture. The elephant and the lady display such a wonderful rapport.

Tags , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, workshop

Why I play with puppets (14)

November 5, 2015 //
0

pig performance

In the third week the candidates had to perform a skills. You know by now Pig can’t do anything but drink. Surprisingly he turned his perceived weakness, the stage fright, into a strength. He performed a modern show called “the unveiling” together with his mate Professor.

Hackled by another Dede he came close to a heart attack. Pigs are prone to that when they are scared. If you want to know what happened you have to read the blog.

Tags , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, bullying, Comedy, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life

Why I play with puppets (13)

November 2, 2015 //
0

pig stage fright

The puppets are an amazing tool to foster understanding. For example Pig. In the first week of the superdede competition Pig froze on stage and it became clear he is an alcoholic, but for no fault of his own. In the competition he told the blog readers is because the farmer fed beer to the mother sow to make farrowing easier. So he basically suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome. It also became clear, that Professor and Pig are co-depended. A very common trait in alcoholics.

Tags , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Comedy, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Medical, Relationships, Social Network

Why I play with puppets (12)

October 29, 2015 //
0

contestants

Back to the Pecha Kucha presentation why I play with puppets.

Later in that year (2012) the Dedes came up with the Super Dede competition, a three-week-long talent show leading up to Christmas. In the first week they had to talk about themselves, in the second week they had to answer questions and in the third week they had to show a special talent. The readers of the blog voted five of the puppets into the competition and in the end they also decided who was the overall winner.

Pig was put forward by Professor. And the readers selected him into the competition along with L’Artiste, Harvey, Mouse and Cash Cow (from left to right)

Tags , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Hand Puppets, Life

Why I play with puppets (11)

October 26, 2015 //
0

halloween

Hermit’s Web was the first public appearance of the Dedes, and someone recommended I should write a blog to keep track of their progess. After the book was published the story continued here. The blog really helped me to find out, what I am doing. To be honest, the puppets don’t have much bite. They are funny in a very subtle way. Sometimes I might be the only one who gets their jokes :). For me it is all about understanding where people come from and how they tick. I don’t care if others deem the puppets silly. I love them. They are a brilliant tool to keep me sane.

This picture was taken on Halloween two years back. I am not a big fan of Halloween, but obviously the Dedes are. (Note: you certainly guessed it, they are all wearing masks with my face on it. Pretty scary!)

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories Absurd, Art, Comedy, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships, Social Network
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »