Archives for posts with tag: story
Newer Entries »

Deutsch Fraulein

March 27, 2012 //
2

deutsch frauleinI mentioned this morning that I believe Deutsch Fraulein would like L’artiste. Deutsch Fraulein started out as princess, therefore her pink dress and the funny little pink pill box on her head. When she was nearly finished, I discovered the German flag on her forehead and I decided to turn her into German girl.

Further to my pondering this morning… Of course only Deutsch Fraulein could mistake the slimy green Monster for a frog and throw him against the wall. After all she grew up with the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. So there were two mistaken identities here: She still thought she is the princess and then she mistook Monster for the frog prince. I don’t really want to explain the reasons for the story,  all I can say I am very fascinated by how much our childhood still affects us even when we are older. The whole writing process opened a big can of worms for me.

Tags , , , , , ,
Categories Art, Books, Hand Puppets, Photography, Self-publishing

New kid on the block

March 27, 2012 //
3
L'artiste

The finished french artist

Here he is: the finished L’artiste. The puppet I showed last week  in progress.

I am pretty sure Deutsch Fraulein will fall in love with him when she meets him. (I will have to say something about her, but this post is about L’artiste).

He doesn’t appear to be unhappy, but when one looks closely at his neck, there are little fish visible (you can’t really see it in this pic, it  is too small). In German we have the saying that “somebody is up to their neck in water” (“Das Wasser bis zum Hals stehen”) if somebody is in trouble. Having the fish around his neck says it all, but he seems to care little about it. This saying, I think, is pretty much the same as “being in deep water” in English. Sink or Swim!

But as a second language speaker, you have to think much more careful about proverbs.

I have written the book in English and wasn’t thinking about the German translation at all at the time. There are a lot of similar sayings in both languages. But one in particular will cause me a lot of trouble, should I translate the book. In English you have “skeletons in the cupboard”. (In the book I moved them to the wardrobe – as my cupboard is too small to accommodate my huge family of skeletons). The Germans have a “body in the cellar”. I had totally forgotten until my brother pointed it out.

Of course a skeleton looks different from a body. Maybe I could get away with it, by saying that my bodies have been in the cellar for a very, veeeery long time.

Tags , , , , , , , , ,
Categories Art, Books, Hand Puppets, Photography, Self-publishing

What’s the story

March 6, 2012 //
0

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.

Tags , , , ,
Categories Beginning
Newer Entries »