I will not be silenced
Posted By Kathleen David on September 30, 2018
Behind the cut because I am giving you the option to not read my words which is more than some have given me recently.
No Strings Attached
Kathleen David's weblog
Teach Your Children Well
Posted By Kathleen David on September 26, 2018
Behind the cut are frank talk and a bit of a rant about behavior both acceptable and not acceptable and how people should be treated and how they are treated.
Crafty Tuesday Creative Black Hole
Posted By Kathleen David on September 25, 2018
I have had the good fortune over the years to take several doll making classes from Wendy Froud along with Toby and Brian on occasion. It is usually a three day course in which you create a doll under their tutelage. My first doll was a bit of a disaster but I learned. By the last time I took the course, I had both Wendy and Toby pushing me to do better because they knew I was coasting. I created one of my favorite dolls ever who I call Goat Boy.
It is three days of nothing but being creative with a group of creative people. You can get a lot done in those days because, other than meals, you have no worries but building your doll.
DragonCon is another place were I find my creative brain going into overtime. Talking to my friends and learning new things from various people at the convention gives me so many ideas for things I would like to do both building and writing.
There are a number of conventions that this happens at especially those that we consider our family conventions.
Then there is the return home and back to the day to day things that must be done and things that need to be done.
All that energy from the convention seems to fade away into the mundane of the world.
I sit down to be creative and my mind goes to all the other things I could be doing rather than this that seems self-indulgent.
I have to remind myself that my creative endeavors are as important as the rest of the things around the house. I cannot feel guilty about carving out some time for me. Creative time like Gym time is me time and that is something I need for my mental health.
The biggest obstacle is carving out the time, sitting down, and nothing happens.
Nothing. Big ol’ crickets.
And that feels horrible. I know at my core I am a very creative person.
I cannot use pressure to get me moving because I never like the results.
Nor can I give myself all the time in the world or I would get nothing done.
So I have to discover the balance that works for me.
Not that it always does. I have stared at materials knowing what I want to create and just can’t. I have to walk away before I make mistakes.
But out of the mistakes sometimes comes my best work or my worst.
Eventually the cloth has to be cut, the clay sculpted, the words written.
I just start so that I will move forward on the project.
The energy that I feel from being with other creative people fades over time and some of the ideas get shelved.
And it can be very frustrating.
But that’s creativity.
I am grateful for the support system I have that allows me to be creative.
Thank You Jim Henson
Posted By Kathleen David on September 24, 2018
Today is Jim Henson’s birthday. I am left to wonder what he would have done with the current motion capture equipment. I have a feeling I am going to see what Brian, his son, can do with it in the Dark Crystal prequel on NetFlix some time next year.
For many puppeteers Jim Henson is a touchstone for us. His work inspires ours.
A number of us were talking at DragonCon that the number of people who worked with or met Jim Henson is reducing as new people come into puppets and some of our older members are passing away. But we all took solace in the fact that Jim Henson is remembered and loved by folks who never met him but say that the Muppets are why they are in puppetry.
If not for the Muppets, I would not be sitting where I am right now. I met Peter because of a Klingon puppet I build. I learned to build that type of puppet at the Center for Puppetry Arts that has its existence because of a grant, very early on, from the Henson Foundation. The line of dominos that had to fall just that way for our paths to cross go back to Jim Henson.
Of course no Peter means no Caroline and I really can’t think of the world without her in it.
The number of friends I have made over the years through puppets, I cannot even try to count.
The number of adventures that started with a puppet I build are myriad and I know there are more to come.
All this because Jim Henson’s work and his vision of what puppets could be.
Happy Birthday Jim. We love you and we miss you and we are so very grateful to you.
I am grateful that I met Jim Henson.
I have a list of my lists
Posted By Kathleen David on September 21, 2018
Or as it is call, the master list of lists.
I like paper products. I love little notebooks that fit into a pocket. When I was cleaning up, I noticed that I have a box now of all the little notebooks I have collected over the past couple of years. I don’t think I will be buying anymore for a while. Now there are a couple that are retiring like my Sherlock Holmes one signed by Matt Fewer but others are blank waiting to be used.
I have my own version of a bullet journal to keep organized, which is something that I have developed over the years. A lot of it came out of my time as a stage manager and having to sort out information for various folks.
Something I have fallen out of is writing in a personal journal. I feel like it might help me to get back into the habit of writing down what is on my mind in that moment. They are very stream of consciousness and years down the road I have to see if I can remember what was going on in my life at that time. It does help me see patterns in my thinking.
Today I need to get a Broadway Bear back in shape. I need to see if I can find or recreate his shoes. This is for an adventure Peter is going to have tomorrow. More on that after all is done.
Yes, Peter is going to be at NYCC as is Caroline. We are still working on me but it is looking good.
I am grateful for paper products.
