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Exhibition Opening

February 16, 2010

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It's official, and my name is on the list :-)

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Better late than never

Well, it took longer than expected (1.5 years longer, to be exact), but it was well worth the extra time. In July, I finally finished the course requirements for the Academy of the Wooden Puppet, conceived, created and facilitated by Bernd Ogrodnik at www.worldsofpuppets.com . It's been a fabulous two and a half years of learning and doing. Bernd is an excellent instructor and brings more content to the course than simply how to carve wooden puppets. While I enjoyed the entire course, I really appreciated the philosophy of doing things "in your own good time". There were no fixed deadlines, no exams and no grades, simply constant encouragement to keep focused and to experiment and learn as we went along. As well, the camaraderie among the students was immense. People from all over the world bonded through their puppets, their challenges in making them and ended up supporting each other in many ways that went beyond the confines of the course. One of these days, perhaps

When the end is just the beginning

Well, she took a while to come together, but she's finally ready to walk. Tante is a table-top puppet in the style created by Bernd Ogrodnik at https://worldsofpuppets.com . While the mechanics and techniques used are his, the character design and costume are mine. I've really enjoyed the fact that Bernd has encouraged us to change his designs to make our puppets more unique. No two puppets produced in the course have looked alike, even though we were all given the same plans and instructions. Tante will eventually become part of a small puppet show I hope to create. For now, she and I have to get to know one another. "We" tried walking today and I realized that much more practice will be needed before we are both proficient. However, those first steps were very exciting and are a sign of more fun steps in the future. The year of puppets, after 14 months, has officially come to an end. I say "officially", as there are no more modules to be released and our

Settling in

Tante found her spot in the living room. Isn't this a great family photo? Ezra's across the room, sitting on a pickle jug, and winking at the nice little old lady, wondering how he can get over there to meet her in person. Pippi is still downstairs, gabbing away with the characters in my studio. And the fish, you ask? Sitting (swimming?) in the back bedroom, keeping Peter company when he works from home. Not bad for a year's work. I spent the last two weekends making Tante a rocking chair out of plywood and dowels. It was so much fun to get out the tole paints and do some traditional Bauernmalerei again. It's been years since I've done it. Time to turn my attention to the next puppet. Three more to make until I've officially finished the requirements of the Academy of the Wooden Puppet.

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