Archives for posts with tag: creative writing
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The one that’s left behind

June 26, 2013 //
4

twofaced

All the puppets are at the gallery. All but one!

I was short of one puppet stand and I had to decide which one to leave out. First of all I asked for a show of hands, but nobody volunteered. They are all very keen to be shown off to the world. They want to be famous and they believe being on display will finally bring about their big break. Never mind that they might be sold and that would mean they won’t be coming back to the house, will loose all their close friends, and we’ll never hear from them again. You certainly will have gathered by now they are not particularly good planners. They don’t worry about implications. They just live in the moment and dream of being famous.

Since no-one held their hand up, I decided to take Two-faced home. She is the only puppet I dislike, and I really mean it. Two-faced is not my thing!

Surprisingly, she didn’t mind hopping back in the box. I think she saw her chance to have me all to herself for two weeks. Now she is sitting on the cutting mat in the office and so far we haven’t spoken to each other. Two-faced just smiles, but I have no idea what she is thinking when she looks at me.

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

In the shadow of power

June 3, 2013 //
7

lap dog and court jester

I wish I had more time. Today was a public holiday in New Zealand (Queen’s Birthday) and I had hoped I could catch up on a lot of work, but the day is coming to an end and there is still plenty of things left on the to-do-list. I spend all day working on new  puppets. My goal is to finish 20 puppets for the exhibition. Under normal circumstances that shouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately the working conditions are far from perfect: the house still isn’t finished and I don’t have a studio space. I share a little table with the builders and of course I can only use it when they are not here.

This leaves me with the weekends and nights. Fair enough. But while the house is water tight it is not totally enclosed yet and we are approaching the middle of winter. Okay, one could argue New Zealand is a Pacific Island and therefore the winter can’t be that harsh. After all, there is no snow in Auckland. But then, there is not much between here and Antarctica either and it is frigging cold at night.

Enough whingeing… I have nearly completed eleven new characters. The picture shows Lap Dog and Court Jester, two companions of the King. He is acquiring quite an entourage. I know Lap Dog won’t keep him honest, so I pin my hopes on Court Jester.

(Notice the ladder in the background? I wonder where these two want to go with it!)

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Categories Absurd, Creative Writing, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Social Network

Disgrace

May 25, 2013 //
4

kini-3

The King took offense to what I said. He didn’t like the picture I painted of him. It never occurred to me  he would read my blog. He surely must have his advisers who do the reading for him and hide any unfavourable news. Ah well, maybe Lap dog ratted on me, I don’t know.

“Put her in chains and take her away. I never want to see her again” he thundered with his booming voice. “And anyway, she has fulfilled her duty. I have my new clothes and won’t need her services again any time soon!”

“Okay then” I said. “If this is your new tune, just wait until the exhibition. You might be the first one to go!”

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Categories Absurd, Art, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

The King

May 23, 2013 //
6

kiniI

I spent a lot of time with the King lately while I helped him into his new clothes. And yes, I do like the King. He is a fun guy to be around. There is no doubt he is a giver and he is very benevolent to his subordinates. He gives freely but he is not a sharer. I would advise you to never ask him a question. He won’t give an answer, at least not a straight one. Instead, he wiggles and squirms and tries to put the ball back into your court. I finally figured out it is all about control. After all, he is the king and he is the one who rules. Unfortunately, every so often he has to make it clear that he doesn’t have to justify himself. If he wants something he has to get it, no questions asked!

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

The freeloader

May 20, 2013 //
3

haselmaus

Oh, how I have missed making up stories! I spent the entire weekend working on the puppets and I have finished three more characters and have plenty more in various stages of completion. The new additions are the king, the freeloader and the lap dog. I have the best intentions not get too attached to the new puppets as they will be for sale at the upcoming exhibition. So I am deliberately not giving them names but they still tell me their stories while I sit there shaping their features. This one here reminds me of the common dormouse. She has a cute little face and you just want to cuddle her. Her skin mainly shows parts of vegetables. So she is focussed on the food that she tries to score for free. Fortunately she doesn’t need much. And now I am already attached to her!

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

Coming soon

May 17, 2013 //
3

king copy

OMG it is a week since my last post! The week flew by. I have no idea what kept me so busy, but I seem to be constantly on the go. I started making new puppets last weekend. Unfortunately I didn’t finish any. The King really wants get out there. He is already preparing his maiden speech. I hope he doesn’t think it is his given right to rule all the other Dedes once he is finished.

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

The chosen one

May 8, 2013 //
4

leave skeleton

Lil’ Sculpture has finally made his decision. He was sitting up on his bookshelf observing the Dedes closely and you should have seen the Dedes’ faces when he announced his decision. His choice was Deutsch Fraulein (German girl). How on earth did Lil’ Sculpture come to the conclusion she would be an outsider? Beats all of us really. But anyway, he is convinced and stuck to his guns. Deutsch Fraulein played hard to get and didn’t want to answer in the beginning. She doesn’t want to have her photograph taken either. We don’t have many pictures of her, even though she was one of the earliest Dedes and she has this wonderful smile.

Recently she has taken up photography as a hobby and she definitely prefers to be behind the camera rather than in front of the lens. So she made a deal with Lil’ Sculpture. She will answer his questions if he puts up one of her photographs instead of a picture of her. Lil’ Sculpture didn’t have a problem with that at all and so the deal was sealed.

Here are the questions and her answers:

1. What makes you unique?

Deutsch Fraulein: Oh dear, can’t you tell? I am different! I have this birth mark on my forehead. It is very clearly a German flag. You know, I should have been someone else but this birth mark has ruined everything. It really hindered me from becoming what I really should have been. Did you know that originally I should have been the Dede Princess?

2. Do you consider being unique a curse or a blessing?

Deutsch Fraulein: In my case it is a curse. I have to carry an historic load through no fault of my own. If I’d been the princess it would be a blessing. People would respect me for my status.

3. What is the most difficult thing for you to cope with?

Deutsch Fraulein: I have no home. I have no roots. I was born here, but I am a foreigner. People take one look at me and know I am not from here. But funnily enough, if I moved to Germany I would be a foreigner too.

4. What do you like most about your uniqueness?

Deutsch Fraulein: I could do without my bloody uniqueness. I want to be like everybody else. I saw a doctor to find out whether the birth mark can be removed, but no, there was nothing he could do. I have to live with it forever.

5. If you had one wish, what would you wish for?

Deutsch Fraulein: A magic cap! An invisibility cloak. Something I can wear to become invisible.

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

Who is next?

May 7, 2013 //
2

rain

A terrible storm has popunded the area for the last three days. The wind was howling around the corners of our half finished house. Not the kind of weather you want to go out in, particularly if you are not water proof. So the Dedes huddled together in their corner, while I had to brave the weather. Lil’ Sculpture, back in his vantage point on the book-shelf, tried to decide who he will put his five questions to. His idea was to identify a puppet who is a Dede, but still an outsider within this otherwise homogeneous society. When the idea first came to him he thought it would be easy to pin point a candidate. Now he realises there are a few contenders. In fact they are all more or less outsiders to some degree.

Then he wanted to question Clay Head, who used to be a Dede but turned into something else. Clay Head had obviously left the community by choice. Unfortunately no-one has seen Clay Head since the move. It might be that he has left the Dedes for good. Alien was his second choice. Of course an alien must be different. But watching closely how they all interact Lil’ Sculpture became aware Alien is well established in the Dede society. He is the life and soul of every party and doesn’t  give a toss about what everybody else thinks. Even if he is an outsider, he doesn’t seem to have a problem with his role. Then there are others who desperately want to be different, but are not so. They are like any other Dede.

As the Dedes are bored sitting in their little corner all day they are now starting to pressure Lil’ Sculpture and warned him if he doesn’t make up his mind soon, somebody else will take over and ask the next questions. “You can tell you are not a Dede” Socialite said unkindly, “Dedes don’t take so long to make decisions.”

He begged them to give him another day. He has short-listed three candidates and he will make up his mind by tonight.

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

Outsider’s view

May 3, 2013 //
6

lil interview

The first set of questions L’Artiste had thought up were clearly geared towards me. I thought the idea was to ask non-specific questions, but then, I am not taking part so it is none of my business. Anyway, L’Artiste disappeared again to come up with new questions for Lil’ Sculpture. No, L’Artiste isn’t the fastest runner out of the blocks but finally, finally, he was ready to present our mascot with his questions.

1. You are obviously an outsider, but having said that, is there anything you have in common with the Dedes?

Lil’ Sculpture: We are all made from recycled materials.

2. What sets you apart from the Dedes?

Lil’ Sculpture: I am cut from a different cloth. I am made from  polystyrene and twigs, while they are made from newspapers.  I am just dumb padding, while they carry the knowledge of the world in them.

3. Outsiders often have a better insight. What do you think about the Dedes?

Lil’ Sculpture: They are a great lot. I certainly wouldn’t say anything bad about my hosts. It was generous of them to take me in, otherwise I would have landed in the big skip. I will always be grateful!

4. What is your biggest problem being a minority?

Lil’ Sculpture: I can’t really complain. I have become their mascot. I have found my place. I am convinced this is the best job I could have landed here. On the other hand, to be really honest, it can be a little depressing to think that this is the best job I can achieve here. It is very clear this is the pinnacle of my career. This is how close I can get to the Dedes. I will never be one of them. I am only their mascot and when I am depressed it feels belittling. They obviously don’t trust me to make a good decision. As a mascot I get blamed when things don’t work the way they should and I am not allowed to offer any suggestions.

5. What is your biggest dream?

Lil’ Sculpture: I hear I am not the only polystyrene sculpture. There are other ones out there just like me. One day I would like to catch up with some of them. But then, I am also a bit scared as we grew up in different places. We might look the same but there is a chance that we have absolutely nothing in common. As long as I don’t meet them I can dream on!

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

Stand-in

May 1, 2013 //
2

lartiste and lil

We all know now that L’Artiste doesn’t cope well with rejection. After I declined to answer his questions on Sunday night he went away and I thought that is it… He broke the link and this means the game came to an end. But last night he showed up again and said: “Okay then, if you are such a spoil sport, I am going to tag Lil’ Sculpture instead!”

“Oh L’Artiste,” I said surprised, “Lil’ Sculpture isn’t a Dede either. You are pushing it a bit here. Why do you want to do that?”  I was sure he did it to spite me.

“Isn’t that what I am meant to do? Push the boundaries?” L’Artiste answered unwavering. “Anyway, I see it slightly differently. Lil’ Sculpture is our mascot and this makes him part of our society. If we include him in our games rather than make him watch from the book shelf I am sure he will feel more welcome, more integrated, don’t you think?”

Before I could answer, Lil’ Sculpture had jumped down from the shelf and given L’Artiste a hug.

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