Progress

Fear of puppets.

See also Automatonophobia, fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues; anything that falsely represents a sentient being.

While taking a break from mask-making, I remembered that one of the things I wanted to write about in this blog was the subject of scissors. What I once thought of as simply tools, I now take very seriously.

Last year, I performed a puppet show that required about 20 small, latex puppets. As anyone who’s worked with latex would know, this required dealing with flashing, or the bits of latex that one does not want, usually found at the meeting points of the two mold parts. Since I have yet to perfect the art of using a dremel to remove these bits, I used scissors.

Initially, I used the scissors that were on my swiss army knife; they were small, sharp, and flat which was exactly what I needed considering the size of the puppets. However, by about puppet #16 I had succeeded in breaking them and thus began my search for a suitable replacement.

This proved to be much harder than I expected because the art stores that I knew of either didn’t have much of a selection beyond kid safe scissors or were out of the more precise ones. So I decided to check out the internet.

(Note: if you want to find some “interesting” websites, just type “latex” and “flashing” into Google.)

After a tip from a friend, I began searching for embroidery and applique scissors, on the assumption that such tools would have the detail that my project required. However, the ones I got did not cut through latex well and couldn’t give the detail I wanted. So I went back to the web and got these scissors.

Big mistake.

They cut well enough and could provide decent detail, but after using them for 20 minutes I realized that I’d lost all sensation in my right index finger. My finger remained numb for two weeks and I had additional pains in the rest of my hand as well. Needless to say this was unacceptable… and more than a bit worrisome.

Not willing to give the internet another chance, I returned to the local craft stores. Amazingly enough, Pearl Arts and Crafts actually had new scissors in stock. I chose a pair of Fiskars Comfort Grip ™ Micro-Tip (r) Scissors. And wow. They are wonderful. Not only do they cut very well and provide fantastic detail but they are remarkably comfortable. I can’t reccomend them enough.

The lesson learned from this experience is do not scrimp on the quality of your tools. RSI is not fun; it first struck both my wrists in college and has plagued me ever since. I don’t think I can ever be rid of it, but I can lessen the damage done from now on.

New gallery showing sketches for an upcoming collaboration.

The play is Masquerade. It is written by Meron Langsner and is scheduled to be performed at an upcoming PuppetSLAM (details forthcoming).

Saturday, December 13th, 2003 at the Puppet Showplace Theatre.

Come to the PuppetSLAM!

I know I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else will have to show.

Updated the puppet gallery with some images of a shadow puppet I’ve just put together (but is still unfinished). I’m playing with the intention of maybe actually having it in a show this Saturday. Challenges are fun.

(11-15-03: Show performed. Left the audience wanting more and learned quite a few things about technique. Good experience.)

Thus far the only glitch in the proceedings was one of my pieces breaking. The gallery has two resident cats who are very friendly… and apparently much friskier than mine is. One of the pieces on display ended up cracked after being mistaken for a toy.

I’m not angry, after all things happen and this particular bit of damage isn’t irreversible, but it has made me think about possible future predicaments. When I signed up with the American Craft Council one of the benefits mentioned was insurance for objects on display. I did not sign up for it so it does me little good now but as I continue to do this I think I will have to give it more thought… particularly if art critics continue to come with four legs.

Things to have on hand during the set up for a show:

Glue
Another kind of glue
Hammer(s)
Nails
A leveling device
A straightedge
A pencil
Fantastic friends who are willing to help (Thanks Mike and Matt!)

Having a camera on hand to document the whole thing is also quite nice. Some pictures of the set-up and the opening reception are available here and here. (Thanks again Mike and Matt!)

Much gratitude to all those who came to the opening. Thank you for your support and appreciation.

Another lesson learned for next time… not all printers are aware of the postal regulations for postcards. (Not surprising, since I had a hard time finding information on them.) It’s not just about paper weight and size.

Postcards are sent through scanners and if the text isn’t situated in the correct manner they won’t go through. This page had the only useful template for how they should look. The address must be on the right, under the stamp, and written lengthwise. End of story.

All of my postcards got sent out… in envelopes.

… is not as easy as one would think. Or at least not as easy as I thought it would be.

The basic lessons are as follows:
1) Always call twice.
2) Expect to get a different story the next day.
3) You get what you pay for.

After contemplating different options I decided to simply go with the traditional postcard for advertisement (maybe next time I’ll go for a bumper sticker). Not being able to afford a professional photographer, I tried my hand at it. After about two weeks of cursing the results, and some help from Joe, I came up with a rather cool image.

I had some business cards printed up last December by a printer I’d gotten to know and wanted to go to him for this project. However, there was no answer to my phone call. I tried looking up his company online but saw no trace of the website and so assumed something had happened and he’d gone out of business. I decided I should try the cheap route… and headed to Kinko’s.

I went in on a Thursday afternoon and spoke to the helpful guy behind the counter. I asked him the price per page, what file format I should use, and the proper sizing for each image. The answers he gave sounded good; 99 cents per page, in PDF, and images were to be 4.25×5.5 inches in order to fit four images on each sheet of card stock. After asking a few more questions, I went home and got everything in order.

When I arrived the next day the person who came to my assistance told me that I would not be able to fit four images on a sheet. This person was very snippy and it took some coaxing to find out the reasons behind this inability. She just kept not-quite-yelling that it wouldn’t fit. Once I found out the reasons, that they don’t do “full-bleed” images and instead need a quarter-inch gutter around each image, she then informed me that the only card stock she could give me would cost $2.30 per sheet.

So I decided to look through the phone book. While perusing the printing section I came across the company who’d done my business cards. I decided to try calling them again. They answered! I can still get some cards printed from them… 100 cards for $113.75, 250 for $217, etc. I know they will be good quality. I just need to decide if I want to spend that much money when I’ve found another solution…

Gnomon Copy on Mount Auburn St. in Harvard Square. On the same day that Kinko’s lost my business, I got a recommendation to try this company. They too would require a quarter inch gutter around each image, but it came to 85 cents per page and they were very nice to me.

The quality of the text on the back isn’t as sharp as one would like, but the picture is good and they are done! I still may get some by Westwood Graphics (look in the Cambridge, MA phone book… they’re not online), but the urgency isn’t as keen as it was last week.

Updating the gallery… with luck more people will be viewing it in the next month.

I’ve been working on sculptures and boxes for the upcoming show. I have enough projects going at one time that if I’m feeling blocked on one I can work on another; that seems to be how I work best… provided I actually finish the projects and don’t just keep starting new ones.

Much of what I’ve been feeling recently has been insecurity and I don’t think that makes for very compelling blogging. Plus, if I’ve got a free moment it should be devoted to my artwork… of course it doesn’t always work out that way, but that impulse has helped to keep me from composing.

This stage of planning (naming the show, writing the artist statement, getting the promotional materials together, printing postcards, etc…) seems to consist of lots of thing I’m not very good at doing. I’m not used to selling myself. My natural inclinations are mouse-like; just do my work, and then sneak it into a space where it can be seen and see if anyone notices but not actively call attention to it. However, that won’t fly if I hope to continue showing my work.

And I’ll get better at it as I continue. That’s a comforting thought.