Archives for posts with tag: personalities
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A new world

August 12, 2013 //
2

I know, I’ve been rather slack lately about reporting what is happening in the Dede world. Nontheless, the Dedes are alive. I’ve got an email from Lil’Mouse who found a new home last week. He told me it is pretty cold where he is living now and everyone is wearing a tuxedo. So he went to a suit hire shop to get himself one too. He doesn’t want to stand out, he says. Can you spot him?

penguin2

He then went to a photographer to have his portrait taken, to send to his friends he left behind. I think the tux suits him perfectly. I guess he still has to wear sunglasses to avoid snow blindness.

penguine mouse

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Categories Absurd, Art, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life

Where have all the days gone?

August 2, 2013 //
0

snotty nosed prince

I just realised I haven’t written for a week. Oh, dear!  There isn’t much to report as I am busy tying up loose ends. I think next week the builders will finally move out. What should have taken four months took six. You can imagine what this did to the budget, can’t you? There is still heaps for us do do when the builders have gone. I am really longing to set my studio up and get back into creating.

Yesterday, Snotty Nosed Prince and I went for an outing to Waiheke, an island in the Hauraki Gulf, just 30 minutes from Auckland by ferry. I have been invited to show my work in a Gallery that specialises in art from recycled materials. Snotty Nosed Prince definitely has an issue with the connotation of being made from inferior materials. I had hoped that when I showed him all the other artworks he would become more comfortable with his roots. Gee, he is a funny chap. He just can’t stop pooh poohing everything around him. I assume this gives him a feeling of superiority. When we had a coffee he was constanly making snide remarks about the other patrons and the service. He couldn’t put me off though, I had the best panini in a long time. I am happy that it was a day trip only. There is no way I would like to spend more time with Snotty Nosed Prince. He would drive me up the wall.

Look at this. We went to the beach after lunch. It must be a poor person who can’t have fun at the beach. It was only when I told him a mermaid lived under the driftwood that he became more interested and picked up a few pieces to move them to the side. But fun he did not have! And the mermaid remained elusive too.

snotty driftwood

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Categories Absurd, Art, craft, Exhibition, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Promotion, Relationships

There is always someone!

July 27, 2013 //
4

new space

I was so curious to watch the Dedes exploring their new space. I wanted to see their enjoyment, which of course would give me the confirmation that it was all worth it. Unfortunately there is always someone who spoils the party! I overheard Chamber Maid saying to Mouse: “Nice space, but who is going to keep it clean. It looks good now, but in a weeks time it will look like a dump!”

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

Calamity’s lucky day

July 18, 2013 //
5

calamity

I finally made up my mind, but only because I have to leave soon and needed to.

I am going to take Calamity. Who in their right mind wants to have him as travel companion, you might ask? My reasoning is that when I take him with me it is very unlikely other calamities will happen.

He is a pretty grumpy chap and his glass is always half empty. But what do I care when he is exploring on his own. He can be as grumpy as he likes then.  It doesn’t affect me. When we meet up for dinner he will have to listen to me. With his big ears he seems to be the right sort of puppet.

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Categories Absurd, Art, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life

Travel companion

July 17, 2013 //
4

scardy and lap

Oh the agony of choice! Who am I going to take? It is certainly not easy to find a perfect travel companion.

I am going to attend a puppeteering workshop in Melbourne, so I will be busy during the day and the Dede I take will have to look after himself while I am out playing with other puppets. I assume this fact isn’t easy to swallow for some of them.

Arindam and Tony made very good suggestions. Mouse of course is the best organiser. If I took her I wouldn’t need to worry about anything. She would take care of any problems. Her downside of course is that she tries to pack too much into a single day. No doubt she would hustle me from each must see sight to the next without a break. She knows my current financial situation too and wouldn’t even allow me a coffee. She can be very harsh. My batteries are pretty flat at moment and to be honest, I couldn’t face a weekend with her! Another time, yes… but not this time.

Other suggestions were Scardy Pants and Lap Dog and I thought Chamber Maid would be a good contender too. On closer scrutiny though, I realised none of them could cope with being on their own during the day, but for different reasons: Scardy Pants doesn’t have any self-esteem. You have to coerce him out of the house at the best of times. He is so easily scared that even his own shadow gives him a fright. Lap Dog on the other hand is clingy. She doesn’t want to be on her own because she gets bored. She follows you around like a shadow. And the third puppet, Chamber Maid, is proud to be the shadow. Her strength is to be neither seen nor heard. If I took her she would rather stay in the hotel room and mend my socks than go out and explore. She can mend my socks at home and I know she would happily step aside to let another puppet go.

For now I have short listed Granddad Max, Cool Cat and Milky Bar Devil. What I need is a Dede that can explore during the day, but will listen to me at dinner time. I know myself. I will be full of new ideas after a day at the workshop. And when I have new ideas I can’t stop talking. Granddad Max is hard of hearing, so he would be perfect. However, he easily gets lost and letting him loose in a place where he has never been before…. I don’t know. Help! It is all too hard!

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

Evan’s story

July 14, 2013 //
4

evan

Evan G List is one of the new puppets and it didn’t take him long to get upset with me. He is a very mild looking character with smiley eyes and glasses. Honestly, he looks like he couldn’t hurt a fly and is very forgiving to boot. How could I upset him so easily?

It happened in the gallery. One day I had a conversation with a lady and I asked her which puppet she liked the most. The lady pointed straight to Evan and told me she really loves his eyes. “He looks so benevolent” she said, “but what is the significance of his name?” I read it out aloud: Evangelist, and I explained that his initial name was TV Evangelist, but on second thought I considered it too blunt. She looked at him again and admitted quietly: “I don’t know if I still like him. I really fell for his eyes!” All I could say was “that is how it works!” And we both burst out laughing.

Of course Evan was not amused. He had tried so hard to catch a soul and find someone to take him home. While he still smiled he muttered something about lost souls and redemption and he hopes we get caught by the devil. He hasn’t spoken to me since.

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

Email from a friend

July 10, 2013 //
6
punch too

Picture supplied by Punch’s new owner

I know I wanted to tell you a snippet from the exhibition today, but then I received this lovely email telling me about what Punch too is up to. I do understand now why he was so keen on leaving and finding a new home. When I read the message I remembered instantly that he had recited Shakespeare before, but the other Dedes weren’t a particularly good audience. He was very serious and gave it his best, but some of the others made fun of him. This really put him off and he never tried again, or at least not publicly. He might have honed his skills in front of the bathroom mirror though. I am so pleased that he found someone who appreciates his gift. Do I spot a victorian lace collar in this image?

Here is the complete email:

Hello Dietlind and Dedes one and all.

Well, Punch has been sharing with me over the past few days since his arrival and has helped with the household budgeting to boot!

Often when I am tempted to buy something in a shop I hear him encouraging me to exercise a modicum of self restraint. Now who’d have thought a Dede could have such magical powers. haha. Anyway, it’s worked so far although I think he may have ulterior motives.

During one of our frequent tete-a-tetes he divulged his unrequited love for Freeloader saying they had a shared history of mistaken identity! It’s a long story so more of this later.

As evening fell and I was preparing the traditional Friday night curry I could hear him in the sunroom muttering to himself and on paying a bit more attention I could not believe my ears. “oh Horatio ( quoth he )…An unlifted shadow lies across my memory ….Things standing thus unknown shall live behind me….If thou didst ever hold me in your heart…absent thee from felicity awhile….and in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain…..To tell my story.” I could only applaud and throw roses where he stood. I think he has the makings of a fine Shakespearian actor.

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

Sold, not sold, sold

July 5, 2013 //
6

good buy

Yesterday the puppets had to say Good Bye to the gallery. It was a very emotional farewell. The staff at the gallery had well and truly fallen in love with the little critters, who brought a smile to visitor’s faces. I have to say, for me personally, the show was a success. I am totally overwhelmed by the great response I’ve got from everyone. The staff at the gallery were wonderful. I have nothing but praise for everyone.

From a selling point of view though, it wasn’t particularly successful. But then, I wasn’t so keen on letting them go in the first place. The Dedes were sitting on the fence as well and weren’t sure if they really should step away from their friends. In true Dede fashion there was a bit of a kerfuffle before everything was sorted. Actually, I am still not sure how many puppets I have sold.

It was obviously very difficult for people to choose which puppet to take. I had a little competition going where people could tell me which puppet they liked most. A lot of people said they couldn’t make up their minds, they loved them all. This of course is not very conducive to selling, is it? Someone was going to buy two puppets for his grandchildren. The first puppet he chose was Punch too, but when he came back he changed his mind.

Thankfully Punch too has a lot of me in him. He is a smiley one and looks a tad naive, but he  certainly doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet. He told me quietly that he had come to terms about having to leave the Dede home and was ready for new experiences. He’d rather like to live on a comfortable shelf overlooking a living room and get lovely clothes. Maybe something with a victorian lace collar or so.

I thought to myself: “dream on, not this time buddy!” But do you know what happened then? The genial Mrs A+ fell in love with him and took him home. I will have to tell you about the wonderful Mrs A+ in another post. Yes, she had a hard time making up her mind as she loves all the Dedes, but in the end Punch too‘s smile won her over.

I can tell you Punch too is over the moon. He got all he wanted, except for the lace collared robe, but who knows, there is always Christmas. And he promised the other Dedes to stay in touch. Isn’t that a happy ending?

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

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

Drama with the queen

June 15, 2013 //
2

snotty nosed prince

Any puppet troupe needs to have a queen and though my lot have this lovely looking king he is still desperately looking for a mate. But for some strange reason I seem unable to create one :). This one here was destined to become his queen, but the result looks more like a snotty nosed, spoiled prince rather than a queen.

Ah well, the king will have to wait a little longer.

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