Last weekend I finished my first puppet show clip. It’s only like a minute or so long. I am going to put it on Youtube this weekend. This is another first for me. The book publishing part was easy, as I dealt with the related issues all my working life. I am a paper person… But, boy, had I fun making this clip. And I have plenty of ideas for more!
Where I was brought up (and when I was brought up), an artist was considered somebody who was shy of work. “Artist” was more or less a cuss word. When somebody was refered to as being an artist, you knew, they didn’t amount to much – they just fluffed around. Of course there were also the big name artists who were revered. But there was no path between the two careers.
Here is Minor, the sloppy teenage daughter of Detail. Okay, sloppy according to her mother Detail. I think Minor is fourteen or fifteen, going on sixty. Her mother can’t do anything right by her either. OMG, you should hear how these two talk to each other, or… better not…
If you bump into Minor on her own, she is a very introverted little thing, a bit rough and careless about her appearance maybe. I personally think she has a great future, forget the messy bedroom and all.
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The puppy is finally finished. It has been sitting in my studio from before the launch and I only needed to put the skin on. It was good that it took me a while, as in the meantime I came up with the story and chose the skin accordingly. Puppy is eternally in love with Skeleton Edeltraut. But the love is not returned. This will be a big part in the sequel to Hermit’s Web. Edeltraut is still going out with Monster and cute little Puppy turns into a stalker.
I told some people the story already and was surprised how few got it that Edeltraut is the logical choice for Puppy’s desire.
We are moving towards winter. While the days are still gloriously sunny and crisp, the nights are quite nippy already. I am starting to dig out all the images that exude loneliness. I am obviously preparing for hibernation.
A very nice side effect of this book project is: my skeletons seem to have moved on. I always thought I am good friends with my skeletons, but now that they are gone, I don’t miss them much.
I have a couple of obsessions. Maybe obsessions is too strong a word – Recurring topics might be better – Barbed wire is one of them. (I am sure, a psychologist would have something to say about that. I haven’t asked one yet.)
Last year I had a few images on display in a cafe up the road. It doesn’t count as an exhibition in my books (and how it came about is a funny story in itself). It was put together rather quickly and the photographs were chosen by their mass appeal rather than artistic merit.
The feather was one of them. I personally like this photograph, as for me it has a specific meaning. I am pretty sure, if you search through a stock library you will find heaps of images of feathers on barbed wire, some better resolved than mine.
However, I have been asked countless times, whether the feather was already there or whether I had placed it there.
Does it really matter?
Devil
Here is the foreword of Hermit’s Web. Just to give an idea of my writing and what to expect when reading the book…
My friends and I go back a long, long way. All of them were bright young things once, making headlines. They sure were looked at in their heyday, and admired for their knowledge. I for one thoroughly enjoyed their companionship. Sadly, as they grew older they lost their attractiveness. You know how it goes: even great stories become old news as one makes new friends with new stories and new insights. So I shuffled them off to a rest home, where they desperately awaited my visit.
Isn’t it sad? All they had left was a life in anticipation of something that might never happen. Of course I was so busy, that once they were shuffled out of sight, my visit stayed pretty much a promise. Every time I walked past that place, I had a bad conscience and thought, I really have to look up my old friends. Needless to say, it rarely happened. Too many other things demanded my attention.
To cut a long story short, my friends experienced it first hand: our world, is a world of youth. Once you are past your prime, people lose interest fairly swiftly.
Then one day, I heard of plans to demolish the rest home. I was told all my old friends would have to go. I decided instantly to go down memory lane one more time. The next rainy day, I went to pay the old dears a visit. As soon as I sat down, Chance (normally not one to push in front and speak up) said: “If we want to have a new lease on life, we have to re-invent ourselves. Our situation won’t improve by just sitting around.” I am not sure whether they already knew about the demolition plans, or if it was an act of desperation, tired of waiting for some sort of attention. Anyway, the Devil, sitting next to Chance, and of course having no fear, held his hand up immediately. He said to me: “I know, I can do it with your help.” Admittedly I was flattered by the Devil asking me for help. How could I say no to him? So I gave it a go. The others watched suspiciously, but Devil turned out wonderfully and was invited out to dinner that very same night. In fact, he never returned to the rest home. Needless to say, the next day they all wanted to have a go. Now there is a long waiting list.
Of course we are not living in a fairy-tale world, are we? There is danger in re-invention. In the process their brains shrivel dramatically. They might still have a glimpse of who they were before, but more often than not, they become a totally new personality. But one thing they all have in common: they couldn’t give a toss about what’s going on in the big wide world. But why should they? They have been cast aside before.
I just love to watch them and think of my part. With all their imperfections, they are great fun to have around.
Translation for the less imaginative of my friends:
Of course I was talking about the pile of old newspaper in the spare room, and the dreadfully wet summer Christmas of 2011/2012, when I created all the hand puppets featured in this book. But this wouldn’t have taken up two pages.
I just looked through the launch images my friend Renee had sent me.
I think this is a beautiful one of Hermit. It was taken right after the puppet show and the actors are pretty tired. Ducky, (the one in the foreground) wasn’t part of the actual show, but he has always something to say and wants to be centre stage. Pig (lying on the table) drank the entire bottle of snaps by itself and is now out of it. Pirate (at the top) casts his good eye around for the next opportunity to make money. And Mouse (on the left) is just exhausted from running around all evening (tongue hanging out). Witch, Devil (very obscured) and Deutsch Fraulein are protecting Hermit from being recognised (:
Of course everybody knows by now Hermit is actually a Hermitess. It is the age of equal opportunity after all…
Devil is into Detail
Got a bit side tracked lately – back to the Dedes.
There are a couple of puppets missing on the Cast page. Detail is one of them. I want to make good for this ommission now.
Hermit’s other friends pretend to love Detail, but be aware…. she is a difficult one. If you don’t pay her enough attention, it will be very obvious to the entire world. You of course, my friend, will be the last one to find out.
The other trait I dislike about Detail is her hunger for more and more information before she can make up her mind. Can she ever decide? She never seems to get all her facts together. Maybe Procrastinator would be her dream partner (but I haven’t started working on him yet).
She is of course a fantastic worker. Give her a job, and she will finish it brilliantly.
dedepuppets 