Archives for posts with tag: thoughts
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Winter blues

July 16, 2013 //
8

winterblues

Ah well, it had to happen sooner or later. I have the winter blues. But from now on things can only go up.

The Dedes are fighting over who should be allowed to come with me to Melbourne this weekend. I want to take one of them to have some company when I explore the place. I have never been to Melbourne before so it will be good to share the experience with someone. Devil thought – as my favourite – he will be the chosen one. Unfortunately he is a bit too big headed and awkward to pack, as I’ll only take a cabin bag. I might take one of the new ones as their characters are not formed yet. I have added their pictures to the Characters page. Does anybody have any suggestions? Who would you like to hear more about?

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

What’s next?

July 8, 2013 //
8

quiet copy

We had to leave the house for the weekend as the floors were being sanded and coated. So we went and visited family up north on the farm. A place without cell phone reception and internet – Bliss! Ah, Bliss is a puppet I don’t have yet… As soon as I get my studio space I will start on that one :)

Being away from the Dedes pushed me off cloud nine and I have found my grounding again. I see there are a few avenues opening. I’ve been invited to exhibit some of the Dedes in a gallery that is dedicated to recycled art on Waiheke, an island just off Auckland. I love Waiheke, but haven’t been there for ages, so this is a very good excuse to visit again. They are interested in running a workshop as well and asked if I could do it during the next holidays. While I could have done it, I decided to postpone it for a little, as I have booked myself into a puppeteering workshop with renown puppeteer Gary Friedman in Melbourne. I am sure I will learn heaps and might be able to apply a few things to what I am doing here. The workshop is from 19th to 21st July. As this is not too far off, I’ll try not to make any major decisions until I am back in Auckland. I know my head will be brimming with new ideas. A good deal of them will be impractical but who cares.

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Categories Art, Exhibition, Hand Puppets, Life, Promotion

Getting somewhere

June 8, 2013 //
8

workspace2

Yes, the Dedes are still around! And we are getting somewhere.  Still heaps to do, so I won’t write much today. Just a snapshot of the workspace tonight. The new ones are progressing nicely.So far I have completed eleven new characters for the exhibition, and there are still a few more in the making.

I am looking forward when it is all over and I can spend time reading other blogs again. At the moment I have the feeling I am totally disconnected from the world.

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

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

Preparation

May 21, 2013 //
4

exhibition flyer.indd

Yesterday I had a meeting with the curator of my exhibition. It really hit me then that it is only a month away. I have to fill a room and 30 meters of wall space. What a luxury…

I spent today creating my promotional postcard. I love this image of Fairy Godmother and Devil. They look like they are sharing the town secret, and it didn’t take me long to decide they will become the pin-up couple for the exhibition.

ArtistatExit0 made a brillant comment on the blog yesterday. He suggested that if some of the puppets sell, maybe the new owners could contribute to the blog by sharing how their Dedes fare in their new home. I love the idea of having a real Dede community. I am not sure though if the blog is the best platform to accommodate such a community, or whether face book would be more suitable. (I am still not particularly familiar with face book). I will mull it over and hope to have something in place before I sell the first one. It would be exciting if the new owners of the Dedes  would be willing to participate every so often. And it certainly would make it easier for me to part with them.

I want to include parts of the blog into the exhibition. After all, I have 30 meters of wall space to fill. (The puppets will sit on plinths so visitors can walk around them). At the moment I am thinking of having two electronic frames side by side. One showing images used on the blog and the other one showing the matching text. I am not sure if it will work. That is something I dreamt up recently, but haven’t investigated further. And this certainly doesn’t fill 30 meters!

On the two Sundays during the exhibition I will have puppeteering workshops. It became clear in my conversation yesterday that when it comes to playing with puppets everybody just assumes it is for children. Personally, I enivsage the puppets sitting on grandmother’s bookshelf rather than in the kiddies’ toy box. I explained this to the curator. Today I got an email from her telling me about a conversation she subsequently had with some people from U3A (University of Third Age). They seem to be quite interested in the puppeteering idea. Oh, there is still so much to do. For now I am happy that I recovered my spirit from the bottom of the toy box!

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

Back to puppet making

May 11, 2013 //
10

unveil1

Thank you to all my dear readers who are still bearing with me. I had no idea how draining house alterations can become. Don’t get me wrong, so far we haven’t had any major catastrophes. The builders are extremely pleasant and there is really nothing to complain about. It’s starting to look more finished, but the novelty has definitely worn off and it is dragging on a bit. The abode is still drafty and winter is approaching fast. It gets dark early now and the nights are pretty cold. All I want to do is curl up and hibernate and wake up again when it is spring time.

Unfortunately the exhibition is only six weeks away. My new book is not progressing at all. I have to admit the renovations and the cold have killed my creativity :). Nevertheless, today I set out to make new puppets. I finally decided to create a new lot especially for the exhibition and I am going to sell these. So I set up a make shift studio on the washing machine. When I had the first puppets ready for drying – you will not believe this – my trusted old oven decided to up and die. It is a very old thing and I was expecting its demise soonish. To be honest, we have already bought a new one, but of course this will be only delivered when we are done with the renovations. At the moment we neither have a floor in the kitchen nor a staircase to get up there. The old oven could really have been more accommodating and lasted another six weeks until the exhibition is in the bag. Now I have to find another way to speed dry the puppets. Otherwise I won’t have any new ones ready for the exhibition. Each puppet takes at least four rounds of modelling and drying. And the drying process can take ages, particularly at this time of the year as I can’t rely on the sun to shine. We don’t have any heating at the moment either. It would be futile with all the holes we still have in the floors and walls. To keep warm we have to put additional layers of cloths on.

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Categories Art, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

Exhibition draws closer

May 4, 2013 //
9

This week I’ve seen the first promotion for the Dede puppet exhibition, which will be at the end of June in the Depot at Devonport (Auckland, New Zealand). It was printed in the Gallery’s quarterly magazine. The blurb reads as follows:

Dietlind Wagner, Dede puppets 22 June to 4th July. Opening Saturday 22 June 3pm to 4:30pm

In a hyper-communicative world Dietlind Wagner slowly transforms old news into her vibrant colourful character heads,  Dede puppets.

For Wagner, these sculptures are a vehicle to express introspective views on interpersonal communication. Her puppets are designed to charm, bewilder and even repulse thus inspiring reflection within the viewer. The puppets uniquely sculptured and collaged faces allude to the fractured personalities in the fast paced world of modern-day communication. The stories they tell are homage to real friends and real people with all their flaws and idiosyncrasies. Being a very private person Wagner has not exhibited extensively but her puppets have managed to tease her out into the public. An installation of five puppets was selected into the finals of the 2012 Wallace Art Awards.

I’d better get back on track…I am meandering a bit at the moment!

When I arranged the exhibition, I knew I was cutting it a tad fine with the renovations that are going on in my house. The Dedes didn’t even exist, when we started planning the extension two and a half years ago, but the physical build started in February this year.  Silly me, I didn’t expect the actual build to impact on my psyche. The whole thing is supposed to be finished at the beginning of June. Has anybody ever finished in time?

house2 house

The pictures here are two weeks old and the build has progressed since. In the meantime everything is wrapped in building paper and the cladding is nearly completed. Soon we will have a staircase going up to the first floor. The floor boards are still missing though. And yes, we are really living on the site. Under the remaining black tiled roof.

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Categories Art, Life, Relationships

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

Good excuse

April 29, 2013 //
5

lartiste very close

L’Artiste wanted to tag me and he had thought up some curly questions. Unfortunately I had to disappoint him and decline.  I was busy sanding wooden window frames yesterday. Admittedly not one of my favorite past-times and therefore I wasn’t in the mood to answer anything last night. Thankfully I have a good excuse. The game they are currently playing is called “Tag-a-Dede” and I am not a Dede, or am I?

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Categories Art, Fun, Hand Puppets, Life, Relationships

More Lite than Social

April 24, 2013 //
0

socialite and witch

We were very suprised that Witch wanted to tag Socialite. It is an open secret: there is no love lost between the two of them. Socialite is an outgoing champagne kind of gal, while Witch is a staunch teetotaller who loves to stay at home. There are worlds between them. Anyway, Witch presented the questions to her nemisis. And Socialite jumped right into answering them.

1. Describe yourself in three words?

Socialite: I am outgoing, it is easy for me to make friends and I have a great fashion sense. I know what’s hot.

“Three words” Witch reminded her.

Socialite: Mhm outgoing, driven, sharp and gorgeous of course.

2. What don’t you like about yourself?

Socialite: I like myself. There is nothing that needs changing. Oh, my big nose maybe. Yes, definitely my big nose. One day, I will fix it.

3. What would you save if your house was on fire?

Socialite: That is not difficult. My big collection of lip sticks. I feel naked without my lippy. I wouldn’t go anywhere without it.

4. What is your biggest dream?

Socialite: I want to do something really, really big. Something I will be remembered for forever. What exactly… I don’t know yet, but it will come to me!

5. If you would volunteer, what organisation or job would you choose?

Socialite: This question isn’t fair! I don’t have the time to volunteer right now, so I haven’t really thought about it. Sure, I will do it one day. But I know already I couldn’t volunteer in an old peoples home. This really would depress me. Nor could I help out in an animal shelter where it stinks. Help migrants settle maybe? No, I am not patient enough. That rules out anything with kids as well. What a silly question! I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it.

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