Archives for category: Hand Puppets
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Payback time

April 1, 2013 //
4

Lartiste art

I am truly relieved. I found L’Artiste safe and sound, though he devised a devilish plan to get back at me. Let me tell you the story:

My dear friend knows all too well how much I dislike having my image displayed publicly. So while he was sitting up on the ladder he got his pencils and crayons out and did a few sketches of me concentrating on my work with the other Dedes. I didn’t even notice, so engrossed was I in what I was doing. Excited about his cunning plan, he shouted himself a bottle of schnaps to celebrate his success. The discarded robe didn’t mean anything sinister either. L’Artiste is generally a very messy worker and wasn’t wearing his tunic at the time. Sure enough, he soiled his robe and swapped it for a new one. Untidy as he is, he didn’t bother throwing the old one in the wash. You should have seen how excited he was about the outcome. He could hardly wait to get back to the gallery and hang the piece today.

I am a good sport, at least I think so, and primarily I am excited he found his spirits again. So I am happy to call it quits. But I certainly hope  that by tomorrow everybody will have forgotten the image.

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

Where is L’Artiste?

March 31, 2013 //
5

artistes end

I am extremely concerned about L’Artiste. Last week he was very frustrated and I thought I would help him out by making him the star of my short film. Originally he was quite chuffed, but when the feedback came in, he changed his mind. Even though we had some good responses and Socialite was so excited and wanted to interview him, it didn’t help. Strangely enough, negativity always seems to be remembered longer than positive remarks, doesn’t it? Sure enough, after cooling down for a while L’Artiste became convinced the film had ruined his reputation. He choose to have some time out and has withdrawn from the Dede community for the time being. I am well aware of how much he needs his solitude every now and then. So I left him to his own devices sitting high up on a ladder yesterday, while I worked with a few other Dedes on a pilot for a new film. Much to my surprise, when I came into the studio this morning he was gone. Only his robe was lying around where he was sitting yesterday and next to it a bottle of high percentage schnaps. Can you understand my worries?

studio-3

When you know the whole picture, I have to confess, I have sugar coated our situation just a tad. I am actually not working in a studio. I am trying to keep up appearances here and studio sounds flash and established. In reality, I am working in a building site. The site currently has no roof and is shrink wrapped. This protects the building from the elements and gives me  the perfect diffused lighting for photography. As it is the Easter holidays there are no builders around. If you have ever lived on a building site you know how awkward it is. As you can imagine the creativity suffers a little. I’ll try to make the best of it :)

But if L’Artiste really has taken to the bottle and wanted to go skinny dipping in a puddle outside the house, as his discarded clothes suggest, he might have come to grief. I had better go searching for him.

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships, Social Network

Un-friended

March 30, 2013 //
6

socialite artiste

Socialite wanted to interview L’Artiste about the film and looked everywhere for him. Finally, she found him sitting high up on a ladder in the studio contemplating. Socialite, even though she tries to climb the social ladder, is afraid of heights so she had to shout at him. That meant everyone became privy to their conversation.

It turns out that L’Artiste doesn’t want to talk about the film unless our viewers have particular questions. Socialite tried her best to convince him of the film’s artistic merit, but he couldn’t see it and he stubbornly denied her the interview. Instead, it became clear that I can add him to the list of Dedes who un-friended me. He is annoyed because he believed we were just fooling around and it was only a trial for a bigger film we wanted to do. He thought we were trying things out to see if it was feasible. On the day of the shooting he was very frustrated and he acted ridiculously, exaggerating everything.  He was very surprised when he realised I had uploaded the film to Youtube and the blog without further consultation. He would have had a thing or two to say about the storyline and he certainly would have had a different ending. He is thoroughly annoyed because  now our wider audience thinks he is a shallow chap. He is adamant this isn’t a fair depiction of him at all.

“Get over it!” Socialite ended the conversation  “Nowadays you always have to be on your guard.”

L’Artiste still moped: “Honestly, it never occurred to me that friends could do such things to each other! She really has to consider our feelings a bit more.”

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

End of Summer

March 26, 2013 //
4

bad concience and foxy

I don’t know what it is, except that maybe because it’s the end of summer, but the Dedes are in total disarray…

Remember when Devil threw a wobbly last week? Foxy Lady was obviously a bit aggressive towards him. She is a staunch feminist and can’t stand it when the other gender gets too cocky.

Bad Conscience was sidling around all weekend offering his services to both squabblers. That’s what he does… He goes around and looks for a disagreement of some sort somewhere. He offers his help and moves in with whoever lets him in. Once he has made himself comfortable in a corner of your house, preferably the darkest one, he forgets his promise to help and  just sits there and expects to be fed. He has lived with me for a while and, gee, it is difficult to move him on. You have to make a big effort to virtually throw him out. He is one of those who doesn’t know when he has outstayed his welcome. He never leaves of his own accord. Sorry, I am digressing. You certainly know the chap anyway.

Neither Devil nor Foxy Lady have taken Bad Conscience in yet. And I actually wanted to talk to them to see if I can help. But then L’Artiste popped in unexpectedly on Saturday morning. He was really, and I mean really, depressed! We had breakfast together and he moaned and groaned. In the end I said: “To be honest, we only have two options. Either we hang around and we are all depressed for the rest of the weekend or we do some new work. What’s it going to be?”

You know what he opted for. The result is in the previous post. It was an impromptu. L’Artiste just wanted to tell his story. In the end he admitted in secret (so please keep mum about it) that it felt so refreshingly good to have  a hearty cry. I picked up his tunic and will keep it for him until he is ready to put it on again.

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships, Social Network

New Dede puppet film!

March 24, 2013 //
18


Sorry, I am running late today. I  was rushing to finish a new Dede puppet film. So, here it is, fresh of the press… just uploaded to Youtube. Hope you enjoy it!

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Categories Art, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life

Wait, there is more

March 23, 2013 //
0

mouse concernd

“So what do you think?” Mouse asked me.

“About what?” I asked surprised.

“Devil”

“Why, what’s with him?” It’s not easy for me, but I had to pretend I didn’t know anything. Unfortunately, if Mouse knows something, everybody else will know in a flash.

“Don’t tell me he hasn’t seen you. I know that you guys are very close.”

“No, honestly, I don’t know what you are talking about!”

“Devil and Foxy Lady had a showdown on Thursday night when you were out. We were all there. I can tell you, it wasn’t pretty!” This was indeed new to me and it explains why Devil had such a bad night.

“He was a bit huffy when he left, so I thought he might have gone straight to you.”

“No, I didn’t see him. Maybe he is cooling down somewhere.”

Ah so, there seems to be more to the story than Devil had let on. I will have to see what comes to light over the weekend.

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

Devil throws a wobbly

March 22, 2013 //
5

devil resign

This morning when it was still dawn, Devil came to see me. “I have had enough” he started, without beating about the bush. “I can’t do my job when the girls are always interfering. I am resigning!”

“Start again” I said. I wasn’t sure if I had heard him correctly. It was simply too much for me that early in the morning.

“If I hadn’t held my hand up in the first place we would still be flat newspapers, wouldn’t we! Nobody appreciates the work I have put into this whole thing” he continued, ignoring my words.

“When I am gone they will go nowhere fast. That I am sure of. I ask you, who is holding everything together, eh? Who is doing all the work? Didn’t I run the Super Dede Competition before Christmas? Am I not always talking with you to move us forward? Did I not volunteer for the “Embrace Diversity” series first? They are such an ungrateful lot. I am resigning! They will realise very quickly what they’ve lost!”

“Just…”

“You know, I only have to spread the word that I am available. People would love to have me work for them. Most people could do with a bit more devil in them, wouldn’t you think? They just have to let me do my thing! ”

“Think…”

“Only three weeks ago someone asked me if I wanted to work for them but my allegiances were still with the Dedes then. I worked so hard when we were at the burrow and everybody was concerned about you. Snippedy was ready to leave then, but I spoke with an angel’s tongue to convince him we are all in it together. I just should have let it slide. I just can’t do it anymore.”

“Devil!” I exclaimed and stamped my foot on the ground to get his attention. He looked at me stunned and I could finally get a word in. “I beg you, please don’t make any rash decisions. You obviously had a bad night.”

“I have indeed, but I have made up my mind.” He handed me an envelope. It said “Letter of Resignation” in big letters on the outside.

He was obviously not in the mood to listen today, so I took it but said: “Let’s talk about it on Monday.”

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships, Social Network

What are you thinking?

March 21, 2013 //
5

foxy standing

Sure enough… my unrelated image was a talking point last night. It sounded like there is heaps of stuff going on in the Dede world that I could report on. No need to digress. While they were away in the burrow they didn’t mind me keeping everything going by publishing other images. After all, they had deserted me. But now they are back and they want me to pay full attention to them.

“What are you thinking?” Devil asked me, hands on hips. “Can you tell me the name of the blog again? Or shall I spell it out to you?”

“Come on” Foxy Lady interrupted him. “It was interesting to hear about some history. After all, this is where we come from, isn’t it?” A murmur went through the room. Everybody was surprised she stood up to Devil. He calls himself the spokesperson for the Dedes, but it slowly dawned on me that he is just more vocal about his wishes and opinions than the others. He doesn’t necessarily represent everybody else’s view. Obviously Foxy Lady had finally had enough of his bullying tactics.

“Okay, then…” Devil said self-confidently. “Lets have a show of hands: who thinks it was out of line?”

“No, no. no!” Foxy Lady said before anybody could raise their hands. No one was in a hurry anyway. “You can’t ask for a show of hands! Not when you are in the room. It has to be a secret ballot.”

It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Only Devil was breathing fast and shallow and his face turned a smidgen redder. Foxy Lady outwardly looked very relaxed. Only the pitch of her voice gave away that she was well out of her comfort zone.  Good old Mouse came to the rescue by asking innocently: “Do we still have the old box with the slit in the top? Has anybody seen it since the move? And we need some paper.” She looked at me for help.

“I don’t know where the box is, but I can make a new one” I said and got up. “Maybe our readers have an opinion about this as well!”

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

What’s he up to?

March 19, 2013 //
2

devil and fairy

The other day, when I was taking the images for the “Embrace Diversity” series, all the Dedes were on their best behaviour. The idea was to photograph puppets that wouldn’t normally go together, like Rob the thief and Bobby the policeman. Surprisingly, when they forgot about their professions, they are actually not that different at all and they shared a good old yarn over a beer. Foxy Lady – who tangoed with Harvey, the rabbit – told me afterwards how much she enjoyed the dancing. She admitted she was brought up hating rabbits. That was just the way it was at home and she never questioned it. Not in her wildest dreams would she have thought Harvey could be so much fun.

I got six images I am really happy with and they are already on the tshirts now. The only pairing that didn’t work for me was Mrs Esta Blished, the fairy godmother, and Devil. These two where whispering to each other all afternoon. When I looked at the pictures later I wasn’t quite sure what was going on. When the image is cropped to their heads only they look okay. It just looks like Devil is letting Mrs Esta Blished in on a secret. But when you see the entire image, it looks more like he is hassling her. I better watch this. Despite being a devil, I  have never had any complaints about him so far. But then, it could as well mean that nobody dares to speak up. Until I know the whole story  I can’t really use this image.

devil and fairy2

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Categories Art, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships, Social Network

Nice try, Lou!

March 18, 2013 //
2

designall2

Summer came to a screeching halt yesterday. It rained! It was about time… The usually lush, green countryside had taken on a very parched look.

Being indoor creatures through and through, the Dedes become more active the more miserable the weather outside is. Unlike me, they are actually looking forward to the long wet winter. They are now sticking their heads together and hatching plans about what they are going to do next.

Last night, Lou, the young puppy, popped by and asked casually, “So when is your exhibition then?”

“End of June,” I answered. “It is still a while to go.”

“I thought you wanted to finish your next book by then” he reminded me. “I haven’t seen you writing lately.”

“No” I confirmed. “But I am working on it!”

“Just asking” he said. “With all the kerfuffle about the zazzle store we don’t want you to lose sight of what we are about.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with you being one of the main characters, does it?”

“Oh am I?” He tried hard to sound surprised, but he is the worst liar under the sun. And he immediately came to the real issue. “Any chance of having a sneak preview?”

“No way!” I exclaimed. “If I let you have a look the others will follow and want to have a read as well. Then everybody will tell me their opinion. That would be a recipe for disaster. I would never finish in time!”

There are certain things you just have to do on your own!

I took the opportunity to thank him for being on his best behaviour when we were in the studio taking photos for the “Embrace Diversity” series. Skeleton Edeltraut was terribly worried and it took me a while to convince her she has nothing to fear. Lou was just lovely that day and visually they are a very nice couple. I would never say this out aloud though.

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Categories Art, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Self-publishing
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