Archives for posts with tag: fun
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Are they friends?

February 18, 2013 //
4

mouse and pavlova

It was interesting to see how Pavlova got along with all the others at the get-together last Saturday. In the beginning she was just sitting in the sun by herself, watching the Dedes arrive. She is not an outgoing character by any means, and it is obviously very difficult for her to start a conversation. So, she waited around until someone came up and talked to her. Mouse is really welcoming, particularly when she feels at ease. She invites everybody to partake and she engaged with Pavlova for a while. Later she told us Pavlova was hard work. She didn’t answer in full sentences, she only said yes or no and wasn’t forthcoming with any stories of her own. Mouse is none the wiser about who Pavlova actually is. Everybody else said pretty much the same thing. Pavlova isn’t unpleasant at all, but very difficult to have a conversation with.

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

Ah, that’s the story…

February 15, 2013 //
4

lil skulpture

Last night when I sat down to check my blog, a little voice called out to me from the bookshelf: “Hey, what’s the story with Valentine’s?”  I looked up and saw Lil’ Sculpture sitting between some junk. I have to admit he looked very settled. He can’t hide his rubbish-background. As he is very new to the world I explained to him that Valentines is a day when lovers send cards and presents to each other. Like so many other celebrations it has a valid historic background, but unfortunately is now exploited commercially.

“Sorry,” Lil’ sculpture said apologetically.

“What are you sorry for?” I asked.

“For causing a fight yesterday… I don’t want my friends to quarrel!”

“So it was your rose then?”

“Yes!” he said coyly “But it wasn’t a proper Valentine’s. Maybe it was, sort of… it was for all the Dedes and of course for you as well. Remember, we met exactly one week ago.”

He explained he had left the rose on the doorstep as a reminder of his induction into the Dede world a week earlier at the same place. He is so happy that the Dedes have taken him in with open arms even though he looks totally different. He now feels such a part of the community.

“But where does a little fellow like you get a golden rose from?” I asked.

“It was just sitting here on the bookshelf! It is pretty isn’t it?”

I didn’t want to spoil his enthusiasm, so I didn’t have the heart to tell him he can’t just take things he finds in the house without asking. I will have to leave this for another time.

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

Humble pie

February 7, 2013 //
7

sunny artwork-1

I have to eat humble pie again. I had underestimated Sunny big time. He was working very hard yesterday and really surprised me by finishing his work the same day. In the evening he very proudly called me to the front door and presented his finished sculpture to me.

Oh gosh…! I was speechless.  You have to excuse me, but I am not impressed by what he has done. Yes, it is a cute little figure, but it is a total rip-off and he obviously didn’t understand the original art he copied at all. I’ll tell you where he got the idea from:

A while back we came across the blog  ArtistatExit0 by Albertus Gorman. I knew that Sunny loves the figures and the stories of the blog, but I would never have thought he stoops so low and copies the art. My sincere apologies to the artist for Sunny’s naughty behaviour. I admire Al’s concept and I well and truly love his artworks.

I take my hat off to Albertus and so should Sunny. For ten years now the artist has been visiting the same spot at the Ohio Falls and collects rubbish to turn into new works of art. Sometimes he arranges the rubbish by type  (eg rubber ducks, or signs, or tail lights) and photographs the items. But what I enjoy the most are the river-polished Styrofoam figures  he creates, then photographs and posts with wonderful environmental stories on his blog. He makes the figures in a makeshift outdoor studio (a place that might be destroyed by natural forces or humans by the next time he visits). The figures are often left in situ and he watches what happens to them over time. But what am I telling you? Here is the link, have a look for yourself. You need a bit of time, though. There is heaps to see and read, and I hope you are as excited about it as I am.

Thanks Albertus for your great blog (hope I got everything right here) and I am looking forward to your next post :)

Tags , , , , , , ,
Categories Art, Fun, Life, Social Network

Caught

February 3, 2013 //
4

pig catflap

A building site does have a strange attraction, doesn’t it! There is so much to see and do. No matter how often I tell the Dedes they shouldn’t go there, they just can’t stay away.

This morning they kept their voices down so they wouldn’t alert me to their whereabouts, but of course I could make out the pitter patter of their feet in the old living room. When I opened the door a fraction to check out what they were doing now, I heard the ca-lonk, ca-lonk of the cat flap opening and closing and saw them all escaping onto the deck. Only fat little Pig, the last one, got caught in it.

Pig’s mate Professor was very distressed about the accident and tried to pull from the other side. It must have hurt a bit, as Pig was  squeaking and squealing. I’m pretty sure the entire neighbourhood thought we were preparing it for our  Sunday roast. My biggest worry was that the noise would attract Nosy Neighbour’s attention and he would come over.  I couldn’t have coped with him on a Sunday morning, so I quickly helped Pig out. But I was certainly not impressed that they had ignored my warnings yet again.

Tags , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories Art, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

Daredevil’s trick

February 2, 2013 //
4

daredevil on framing

The Dedes are under strict instructions not to go on the building site (which is just across the corridor) particularly when the builders are there. It is just too dangerous for them and I don’t want them to distract the workers. But today is Saturday and no builders are around and of course the cheeky little things know how much I like to have a sleep in.

When I got up, I heard something going on behind the closed door in what used to be the living room. Sure enough, when I opened the door I saw Daredevil sitting high up in the framing waving to a group of Dedes on the floor. He didn’t look too comfortable. The Dedes on the floor were chanting “jump, jump, jump….”

Daredevil is not a bright spark and a real loud mouth. You know, he is one of those puppets who, when you tell him you have ran a marathon, he would have ran two in a day and won both to boot. He always has to top your story, any story! Of course the other Dedes have great fun daring him to do silly things and watch him shit himself. He is usually unperturbed and goes ahead with any request, but he does it very, very slowly to give someone a chance to step in and rescue him, before he loses face by trying to back out.

Most of the time he counts on me. He knows exactly when the Dedes make too much of a racket  I will come along and have a look at what’s going on. I will tell them off, they look stupid and Daredevil is saved. His plan worked once again. I lifted him off the frame and shooed the others out of the room.

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

Devil on Facebook

January 18, 2013 //
4

devil on facebook

Mouse hasn’t quite recovered yet. She decided to make herself scarce for the time being. Devil had a long conversation with her yesterday, and he reported back to us – while she has stopped crying, she is not ready yet to face the crowd again.

“So what is happening with our Facebook page then?” Socialite asked, more interested in publicity than in Mouse‘s wellbeing. “It is still half finished, isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry” Devil said, “I have offered to take care of that and I kept the ball rolling.” And then he showed us what he had done with instructions from Mouse. He is feeding the blog straight into Facebook. The others were reasonably impressed, except for Foreign Correspondent who had to point out that Mouse accused him of rehashing this blog on his German site. “So, what are you doing on Facebook then? Isn’t that just another form of recycling?”

“I am going to put some background images up. Like us in context. You know, us hanging around the house and things like that. And I will show some images from the studio – Dietlind permitting of course! We could have our beauty competition, once I figure out how to do it. Don’t worry, Foreign Correspondent, it will be different. But give me time! You know I am a bit of a Luddite.”

They were all very excited about the prospect of communicating with friends once they have some. Then they looked at me and Devil asked: “Why don’t you have a Facebook page? You could share us with your friends.” I shook my head. “As if I didn’t share you with my friends already!” I said, reminding them that there is not only this blog here, but also a book and postcards and a calendar. And I can’t stop talking about the Dedes anyway. “I am starting to drive my real friends bonkers” I said with a smile. “No, I won’t have a private Facebook page!”

What the Dedes are doing is their thing. I won’t interfere, but I am starting to worry about the time they spend on the computer. I hardly have a chance to use my own laptop. First there is Mouse, who does all her administration on the computer, then Foreign Correspondent who translates the blog into German and now Devil started this Facebook thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if L’Artiste wanted to have a LinkedIn presence next.

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

Decision making

January 14, 2013 //
6

fc presenting

Last night the second post of the Dede story was launched at ||:VEGGIETORIA:||. For the Dedes it is an absolute must to watch, just like a riveting mini series on TV. As I had them all in one place, I told them what Foreign Correspondent and I had nutted out recently. Surprisingly we received very mixed reactions. I was so convinced they would be excited and I realised  I don’t know them  as well as I thought I did.

The main reservation was that the Dedes believe most Germans speak better English than they let on. They wouldn’t need the extra summary. Foreign Correspondent just stood there and smiled, but he didn’t try to convince them of his plan. In the end Devil’s Advocate said: “Can we discuss this later? I want to know what Miss Viwi has to say today!” And he invited Foreign Correspondent to take the floor.

Foreign Correspondent stood there calmly, looking very credible, and started his speech: “Thank you Dedes for giving me the opportunity to talk to you tonight. I believe you would like to be known to a wider audience. Is that right?” He paused for effect, and all the Dedes obediently nodded their heads. Then he continued. “I can help you to achieve this and I would be delighted if you would accept my proposal. ” He took charge of the computer and switched to Miss Viwi’s page.

“First of all, I want to thank Miss Viwi again for her kindness in publishing a series about the background of the Dedes. Let’s see what she has to say:”

{dede puppets | second act}

[The book:]

hermits-web-cover

‘Hermit’s web or the few friends I need, I hand-craft myself’. The story of this book introduces the first fifteen Dede characters.
dietlind: „The idea for the story was conceived when someone I didn’t know invited me to become friends on face book. Not only was this person a stranger to me, I don’t have a face book page. So I go on and tell the world that I have enough to do with my real friends, my Dedes. The book is written in easy-to-understand English, similar to the blog.  

[the blog]

dietlind: „I started the blog shortly before the book was launched. An artist friend of mine had advised me to document the entire process. A year on, I am really happy I have heeded this advice. The thought of selling [the puppets ] has disappeared into thin air and the blog has definitely strengthened the relationship between the Dedes and myself.

group pic top left to right.: Detail, Snippedy, Devil, Mouse and Socialite || below left to right: Monkey, Pig, Professor, L’Artiste Dede, Foxy Lady and Fairy Godmother

miss viwi: So you can’t imagine selling puppets?

dietlind: „Not at the moment. In particular not those that appear on the blog and there is no way I could part with the first ones, the ones from the book. But at one stage there will be so many, and I should be able to let some go. I can envisage, though, creating some puppets specifically for an exhibition and to sell them before I get used to them, before I come up with their character traits.“

[Exhibition]

Exhibitions are a relatively new subject for the artist, she never considered it with her previous work, but  „The Dede puppets are a category of their own, they really want to be seen.“

Apart from a few low key photographic exhibitions, the puppets were on show at the book launch.

book launchBook launch April 2012, Auckland, Visitor examines L’Artiste Dede (Foto: © Sonya Roussina)

An installation by the artist Dietlind Wagner had been selected as a finalist in New Zealand’s prestigeous  „Wallace Art Awards“. The installation of five dede puppets was exhibited in a gallery in Auckland.
Further solo exhibitions are planned for 2013.

dietlind: „I also had two workshops for Senior Citizens and would love to explore this area further. Hand puppets are often used in therapy with kids, but I am convinced they could be equally useful with the elderly.“

—

The  interview will continue next Sunday 20/1/13, at 8 am CET at |:::VEGGIETORIA:::|.

P.S.: If you have any queries, wishes or comments feel free to write in

“Good, good” Devil said. “Now, Foreign Correspondent, this was a very literal translation. But you have to prove to us that you can summarise, if we are to give you the responsibility of looking after the Dede’s German blog. So how would you summarise what Miss Viwi has said?” Mouse turned to Devil and gave him a hi-five.

Foreign Correspondent was unfazed and said: “In brief, Dietlind loves us all. And all of us, who are currently in the room are safe. She won’t sell any of us. She believes the blog strengthened our relationship, but she also knows we are attention seekers and she would like to comply by presenting us to the non-digital world in exhibitions and workshops. If you have any queries, leave a comment or send an email!”

“I hope your German summaries are a bit more comprehensive, but I would say give it a go!” Devil concluded.

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

Hello neighbours

January 12, 2013 //
6

the neigbours

The weather here is just fantastic at the moment. During the day it is hot, but still bearable, and when night falls, it becomes balmy. This is the time when it is lovely to sit outside for a little, before the mosquitoes start their battle for dominance  outdoors. Last night a few of us where sitting on the deck, having a quiet wind-down from a busy week, when Nosy Neighbour and his wife Two-faced walked by. They only got married last year and we don’t see much of them. We see him more than her, though. We really only know her as a shadow behind the curtain in their living room. He, on the other hand, is out and about. He does some gardening or fetches the newspaper and I even think he does the shopping for the two of them. He particularly likes to be out after the Dedes have had a loud party. Sometimes I suspect he is only hanging around in the open in order to catch me and have a good old rant about my lot.

“Hello neighbours,” I called out when I saw them passing “Want to join us?”

They looked at each other and Two-faced shook her head. “Would love to catch up” Nosy Neighbour replied, “but we have to keep going. We have to do something about the kilos we gained over Christmas.” Nevertheless, he approached the deck a little, but Two-faced was anchored firmly to the footpath and didn’t move an inch.

“Lovely evening for it” Devil said to keep the small-talk going.

“I’ve just started to read your blog” Nosy Neighbour told us, when he finally stopped a few paces from where we were sitting.

“What do you think?” Mouse wanted to know of course.

“Interesting read” he said and looked at me. “I don’t even know why you bother. They are such a nuisance.” He pointed with his head towards my little friends, and continued talking as if they weren’t there. “Why don’t you kick them all out and that is it. No more problems! Myself? I wouldn’t put up with their crap!”

All the Dedes that were with me started laughing. They thought it was a big big joke. Only I knew he was serious. I had too many similar conversations with him before.

“They are not that bad” I appeased him. He rolled his eyes, turned around and mumbled: “You really have to mow your lawn too” while he walked back to his wife, who was still waiting on the foot path. She waived at us with a smile, before they walked on.

“He has such dead pan humour, I just love it!” Devil said.

“We should invite them to our next barbeque,” Mouse added. “It’s a pity we know so little about them, they are Dedes just like us, aren’t they?”

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

But what about us monkeys?

January 11, 2013 //
2

monkey lamp

Yes, I was happy with Philosopher’s statement about what the Dede’s mission is. They are celebrating diversity! I was really happy for a day, until Monkey showed up.

Monkey swung through the curtains to the floor lamp and stopped a safe distance from me. I observed him closely. He is a bit stand-offish and usually only comes to see me in a group with others. Even today he looked as if he had to muster all his bravery. He sat there and casually scratched some flees out of his fur. Finally he addressed me: “Diversity you said… ”

“Yes”, I answered proudly “That’s what the Dedes are about”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You could also say ‘Live and let live!’ Embracing all the differences” I said.

“Funny you should say that” said Monkey, still sitting at a safe distance.  “So what about the monkeys then?”

“What about them?” I asked as I had no clue what he was on about.

“Aren’t you writing a book!” Monkey said.

“No, not at the moment, though I have written plenty of books in the past. Now I am too busy with the Dedes”

“So it’s not true that you have a nearly completed book in the drawer… The others told me so.”

And then all of a sudden it occurred to me,  yes, right. Last summer before the Dedes burst onto the scene I was indeed working on a book that contained all my wisdom of over sixteen years of teaching digital imaging. I had made good progress until the rain set in and the Dedes pushed into my life.

“Ah, you mean ‘Let’s kill that monkey‘?” I blurted out. Oops, only now I noticed what an unfortunate title it had.

Monkey jumped a bit further away from me and said: “Yes that one”.

I laughed out loud. “No worries… I don’t really kill monkeys. Did you really think I would?”

He wanted to know why I gave my book such a mean title. It is a clear call to violence after all. I explained it was frustration talking. I had the strong feeling some of my students didn’t really want to be bothered with understanding the programs, but chose just to fluff around and see what comes out. I wouldn’t call my student monkeys, no way, but any work created without intention I call ‘monkey work’.

“This doesn’t sound like celebrating differences. In fact it is very derogatory. You have to come up with a different term!” said Monkey while swinging away.

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

Philosopher’s thought

January 10, 2013 //
10

philosopher walk

On Wednesday mornings Philosopher comes round and picks me up for a walk. I treasure this hour with him. There is no need to talk, if there is nothing to talk about. Sometimes silence in company can feel awkward, you certainly know that feeling, but with Philosopher quietness feels comforting. He has a very good head on his shoulders. And if you talk, you can be sure he would never pooh pooh any ideas – even if they are miles off the beaten track – nor would he speak badly about anyone.

So we walked in silence for a while and then I had to ask him: “So, Philosopher, what do you think about Witch’s comment on the blog yesterday?”

“Sorry, I don’t read your blog,” he answered honestly. “What happened?”

“You don’t read my blog?” I asked in disbelief.

“A lot of your friends don’t. Everybody knows you will tell them what’s happening anyway next time you see them.”

“Do they really?”  I tried to remember the barbeques I had been to lately and started to wonder if everybody is getting sick of me. Am I  quietly turning into a bore? I have to admit, Philosopher is right, the Dedes are my favourite subject.

“Oh, yes,” Philosopher smiled benevolently. “But don’t worry, they all like your passion – and not just that, they love us Dedes.” Before I could think more about my real friends, Philosopher got me back on my original train of thought: “So what did Witch say?”

I told him that Witch was taken aback by my remark the Dedes are for fun. It was just an aside and I wished Witch wouldn’t read my blog and wouldn’t pick up on little throw-away phrases like that.

“Do you think we are for fun?” Philosopher inquired.

“Not always… but what do you think, Philosopher, what is the agenda of the Dedes? Help me out here, please.” I know for a fact Witch would love to have more space on the blog to promote a frugal and healthy lifestyle. Cash Cow might support her, but it would displease most of the other Dedes, as this is really just Witch’s hobby-horse.

Philosopher didn’t think long: “In my opinion, the Dedes are celebrating diversity and they are having fun while doing it. This, my valued friend, is a good enough reason for their existence!”

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