I think it is about time that I talk a little about the story of Hermit’s Web. It is quite amazing how the whole thing fell into place. I started making these puppets on a rainy day. While I was unsure what I was going to do with them, I had them sitting in a vase – stuck on the end of chop sticks –  on my dinner table. My bunch of new friends.Originally I though I would sell them, and tried  to figure out what the best way would be: either through a local gallery or via Trade Me. In the meantime I love them so much, I am not ready to part with them.

The book idea popped up, when I took photographs of some of the puppets to send to the German newspaper they are made of. When I looked at the images I thought photographs are indeed a very good way to share the puppets with my friends. At the same time I found an email in my inbox, somebody wanted to be my friend on facebook. The list of people who want to be my friend is steadily growing, but I don’t have a facebook page. I have thought about it… and decided against it, for various reasons. It is not a matter of not liking people or not wanting to have friends, but I have enough to do with my real life friends.

But this particular email started the Hermit story….  The narrator admits to being an online hermit and then goes on to tell us about his circle of friends. He observes each and every one of them and shares his thoughts with the reader (not unlike a blog really).

I did a small print run of just 30 copies and got them bound with a hard cover. These books I gave to my real life friends and they absolutely loved it. Now, they are my friends… and I gave them a present… of course they won’t say: yuck, don’t like it… but my friends passed their copies around and even their friends gave positive feedback. Everybody seems to recognise people they know in the observations. It’s really like facebook as a puppet show.

Yesterday I put up the cast of the Hermit’s Web book on the Cast page. These are basically the first puppets I made. Detail is missing, though. She wasn’t one of the initial lot. I only added her after I had written the story. I had one blank puppet head left over (one without face and skin) and I didn’t want this head to go to waste and therefore created her part in the story.