No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on November 10, 2019

People have asked me how many puppets I have built and given away. I cannot give an honest answer. How many puppets I have around the house is turning out to be a larger number than I had remembered building. 

This along with costumes and half finished projects and my fabric stash is making for a bit of a conundrum as to how I am going to store them. But I am going to do it.

My ability to look at a bunch of objects and boxes and see how they will fit in the least amount of space is something I get from my mother. I watched her pack the car for the family trips and she managed to always get everything in there. I have baffled bellmen and taught some of them new tricks to pack tightly. It can look like a clown car of things coming out of the trunk.

I am also good at organizing things. That I think I get from years of being a stage manager. I had some innate ability before I took up the mantle of the theater but I honed it there. 

I have my tools ready to get this job done. Now a matter of pulling everything out before putting it back. Some times you create chaos to resort order. 

Good thing the rest of the family is out of town.

I am grateful to my space relation abilities.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 9, 2019

This morning I took Caroline to the airport where she met up with her sister Shana to go to Canada to see Gwen and family. 

With Peter at GalaxyCon Minn (table 1055), I find myself with the house to myself and four cats. 

Long time since I have had this situation. I plan to use it wisely.

I have worked this plan through in my head a number of times. I know where I want to be in the plan and when to be able to complete it. 

Now I need to execute it.

I will say that rather than fearing what I am setting out to do, I am determined. Thank you anti-depressants, which are working. I have an anti-inflammatory for my right knee and am following the protocol I have been given to minimize the pain. 

So back to the list and work my way through it.

I am grateful for feeling normal.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 8, 2019

I remember when dry erase boards came into being. It was so cool. 

My parents set up one in the kitchen that we would check in and out on along with whether we would be home for dinner and the like. Under it was a notes section where announcements were posted and lists make. It is still in the kitchen but the children are signed out as we are no longer living in that house. It has our cell numbers for reference where we use to put where we were going. It was a good system in a time before cell phones and texting. Heck this was even before paging. I think it gave our parents some peace of mind.

Over the years I have used white boards in various jobs for various reasons. That and a big calendar on my desk that I would make notes on. Lists help me sort through what I need to do and by when.

Over the years this has slipped over to taking notes and setting reminders on my phone. Caroline has a cell phone so she can get in touch with me and I with her. The white board seemed to be a thing of the past.

This changed when I read an article about writing things down by hand rather than typing it into an electronic device. That it used different parts of the brain and they found writing it out longhand fixed it in one’s head a bit more solidly. 

I got a white board for the kitchen and started by putting my grocery list on it as I found items that we needed. Then when I went to the store, I would take a picture of the list on my phone. 

More recently I have been using the other half of the board to write out my to-do list both short term and long term. As I remember things I said I was going to do, I add them. Next to that is a calendar that I put the family schedule on. I have another calendar for the conventions and the like. 

It works for me and the list gives me both goals and structure. 

I am grateful for the invention of the white board and the erase-able different colored markers.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 6, 2019

This is an essay about depression and mental health. I know some people don’t care to read that kind of content. I know others who are disturbed by it. I always want to give people an opt out on this sort of content. I promise that puppets and adventures are still in the mix but this is what I need to talk about right now.

I talk about mental health because I have friends struggling day to day.

I talk about mental health because I have friends who are no longer here because of their mental illness.

I talk about mental health because of Caroline. Apparently, depression runs in my family and Caroline got the short end of the genetic stick.

I talk about mental health because of me.

I talk about mental health because if I can help just one person with this entry it will be enough.

I talk about mental health to try to remove the stigma attached to it. 

I talk about metal health so that one day it can be discussed out loud rather than in whispers.

I talk about mental health so that a depressed person never has to hear the phrase ‘well have you tried cheering up?’ or ‘get over it. You have a great life and have nothing to be sad about’ or ‘you don’t look depressed’ or being told to smile because that will improve your mood or…well it is a very long list.

I talk about mental health because medical research is showing more and more the mind body connection between mental health and its effects on all the systems in the body. 

I talk about mental health because taking an antidepressant should be looked at the same way as insulin for diabetes or blood pressure medication or an anti-inflammatory for arthritis. 

I talk about mental health because we need to lose the stereotype that artists and writers produce their best work when their mental health is in the çráppër. We have that stereotype because many of these creative geniuses had mental health issues that were never addressed or addressed poorly. 

I talk about mental health this way so the next generation doesn’t have to.

I am grateful for the progress we have made.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 5, 2019

The phrase is attributed to Francis Bacon but there are some doubts about the origin. It translates to Knowledge is Power.

I have over the years learned lots of skills that now allow me to create the art I make today. I plan on continuing to learn new skills and hone the ones I have under my belt.

I learn shop safety and basic tools from my father. I expanded on that knowledge by taking shop in high school. These skills are very useful in theater and in making props and small photo sets. In the theater I learned basic plumbing and electrical work. I could build a small house with what I know.

I learned how to sew from my mother. She taught me how to read and cut out a pattern, how to pick the right fabric for what you are making, and the operation of a sewing machine. She taught me the basics of embroidering when it was such a fad in the 70s. I don’t remember who taught me macramé but I have used it. I taught myself how to knit, I still can’t purl, and want to learn how to crochet. 

I learned to build hand and rod puppets at the Center for Puppetry Arts along with many other types of puppets and puppet tricks. I worked in the museum and was able to examine how many puppets were built. I did puppet repair as well which is the fastest way to learn how a puppet goes together. It gave me a firm knowledge of all kinds of puppets and puppetry forms.

Since then I have learned from great teachers who gladly pass on their knowledge to others so that more may create lovely things. Costumers have shown me their tricks which I have used for puppet costumes. Puppeteers have given me all kind of information I have used over time. Artists have shown me how they do what they do.

But I know I have more to learn. I have projects that are just outside my abilities but if I work, I will get to those projects. I know this because the puppets I build today would have been beyond my abilities even 10 years ago. 

I love to learn new skills and then using them to make amazing art. 

I love teaching others how I do what I do knowing that they will surpass me eventually and that’s a good thing.

I am grateful to everyone who took the time to teach me.

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