No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on April 19, 2010

Convention is over. We are in the airport with a delay to get home which is going to just push things later. Not totally sanguine with that but I will deal.

This will probably be posted tomorrow (Monday) or after I get home tonight which very well might be Monday at this rate.

Overall I had a great time. The people both at the convention and just in Chicago were helpful and nice. They have a funny sense of geography and the time it takes to get from point A to point B but no different than many other cities that have odd time warps through out the city.

Reed put on a great show. The fans had lots of fun meeting the pros and the pros did OK for themselves as well. To everyone who took the time to talk to me about this blog and the little snippets that Peter talks about, thank you for all your kind words and actions.

Caroline did very well as an artist. Finally tally was 34 dollars earned over the weekend and she wasn’t there that much on Saturday because we were at the ball park.

Speaking of Wrigley field, that is a true gem and I hope that it never changes. Unlike all these new parks with new whistles and bells and obstructions to see the outfield, Wrigley has a sense of history and warmth that can only come with time. The bleachers on top of the brownstones were a little disconcerting at first but had a charm of their own. It really is a lovely baseball park. And everyone working there was helpful and very patient considering some of the things that they have to deal with that no other ballpark personal has to.

Monday
I am posting this Monday. We got in about 10:55 which was only 5 minutes later than the original time. The FAA let us fly over New York City to get to our airport which saved us about 20 minutes so we were almost on time rather than really late.

Caroline went to bed. Peter and I did a few things that needed to be done before we went to bed. We went to bed and collapsed.

Snippets of the convention

We met Carrie Fisher who is a class act and has a wicked sense of humor. She is going to be doing her one woman show “Wishful Drinking” in Chicago soon so be on the look out. She is also going to be doing it for a short time in New York as part of a project she is working on. I highly recommend her works. She is a great writer and just s spiffy person.

I got to meet Ambush Bug from Ain’t it Cool. Might not mean much to many but I though it was pretty cool to be able to put a face with a body of work.

Caroline is reading Magical Trixie by Jill Thompson. Caroline got to meet Jill which was cool to her because of Scary Godmother but now Caroline is in love with Magic Trixie. Caroline even drew a picture of the main characters for Jill.

It is amazing to me that she can read on her own and the books that she is reading are getting more and more complicated. Right now she is working on “A Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. She read, with only a little help, all three Magic Trixie books and loved them all.

I was happy to see so many younger kids on Sunday (which is Kid’s Day at the convention). I was even happier to see the variety of costumes and t-shirts being displayed by these kids. It was a true mix of Super-Heros, Star Wars, and even some Star Trek to boot. And I asked the older kids if they picked out their costumes or did their parents and to a kid, they told me that they wanted to wear them. And the kids were interested in what was going on. They were happy to get new comic books to read. They loved taking drawing lessons from artists. Reed does a good job with Kid’s Day with programming aimed at them.

Strangely there were not many anima co-players wandering through. I saw a couple but fewer than I thought. Lots of steampunk costumes however. And Super-Heros all over the place. A lot of great costumes.

I am grateful to everyone who made our stay in Chicago so wonderful.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 16, 2010

The airplane was on time and these days that’s a big deal. We got to Chicago, went to the Hotel, dropped off our luggage, and went off to the convention. Managed to get our badges and find Peter’s table where we spent most of the rest of the day.

Ran into a lot of old friends and acquaintances and met some new people. Talked about the Jets with George RR Martin. Had a chance to chat with Jill Thompson and got Caroline a set of the Magic Trixie books which she loves. She did a couple of drawings for Jill. Hug Billie Tucci. And met a lot of fans. It was interesting. A number of people were glad to meet Caroline so they have a face to go with the tales that are told of her. Overall everyone was very friendly and helpful which is great when you are short on sleep.

Caroline set herself up and starting making pictures for sale. She sold 23 pictures and made $25.00. She had fun doing that and reading her graphic novels.

Peter signed a lot of stuff for people and made a lot of people happy.

Right now Peter is off with the Marvel gang, Caroline is watching Shrek 3 and I am taking it easy.

Peter has a full calendar tomorrow and Caroline and I are off to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs play the Astros. Depending when the game ends, we might go back to the convention or we’ll go straight back to the Hotel.

I am grateful for easy and swift travel.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 14, 2010

(Insert Your X-Factor Joke here)

Peter is back and then went out again to do his reading and signing with Coheed and Cambria last night so Caroline got to see him for a grand total of 15 minutes. I think she will be attached to him at the hip once she gets home from school today until she has to go to bed. But it is all good since we are going to a convention together this weekend. (Anyone else going to C2E2?)

Right now I am having a program go through and find out how many duplicate files I have. I seem to have 2 copies of about 2 years worth of stuff on the hard drive which is eating up a lot of space that I need to be able to use the computer. I have no idea other than maybe it was backing up on itself but this is really a pain in the hard drive.

It is amazing to me how often the same subject comes up among totally different groups/types of artists at the same time. And how someone else will sum up what you wanted to say so well to these other people. First I suggest you read Russell Dickerson’s article Why the hëll would I help you? You’ll steal all my ideas (Warning there is slightly strong language in the piece).

I agree with Mr. Dickerson. Anything anyone else has shown me or taught me, I am more than willing to teach others. And anything I figure out on my own, I am willing to do the same. Yeah, there are people who are going to take what I teach them and outstrip me in terms of their talent and ability, but I do take pride in that I taught them how to do that. I feel like one of my purposes on this planet is to teach and educate people about puppetry. To create new fans and participants in the art form. There are artists who guard how they do something almost like dragons guarding their horde. It’s theirs and only theirs and heaven forefend if you happen to stumble, on your own, how to do the same thing. For the Dragon will come after you with breath ablaze and wings flapping. Which I find kind of sad.

Note I said I will teach you how I do it but I still believe that straight copying is a no-no. If someone started making critters just like mine to the point that others believe them to be mine, then I would be a little put off. There are things about my puppets that are generic and there are a couple of things that makes them a KOD puppet. If you copy another’s art and then recolor it and call it yours, then you are doing a disservice to yourself as an artist and to the original artist’s work as well. I know that if I use the techniques that Wendy Froud taught me, my doll is going to have some of the same workings but the doll is going to be totally different than what she or even Toby has made. I have gotten to the point that I can tell a Toby doll from a Wendy doll although they are similar. But I wouldn’t try to copy Wendy’s work because that is her work and her ideas and I have plenty of my own. I guess there is a fine line between learning and copying.

I am grateful for everyone who has taught me how to be a better artist/puppeteer.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 13, 2010

Peter called so I know he is on this coast and in the car coming home.

Caroline is staying home to see him and then she is off to school. She did very well at her citizenship award presentation.

I got most of what I wanted to get done yesterday but not all. I think I am going to give it another go today. I am closer than I was yesterday.

I am also seeing lots of laundry in my future.

I have been following steampunk for a while now including the couture. And one thing puzzles me. I know not everyone can afford brass and I know that brass is expensive but what is the obsession with spray painting plastics with brass and copper like colors? If it is done well, it doesn’t look bad. If it is done Ok to poorly, it looks awful. Also you will never get the shine you want unless you treat the paint with something to give it gloss/shine. Plus I am betting that a lot of those objects are sticky to the touch no matter how long they give it to dry.

Remember that Dragon/Egg I did? Do you think that is a sell-able art piece? I am thinking of doing a couple for DragonCon and maybe one or two other conventions.

Just tossing this out there, does anyone know Mo Williems the children’s author or how to get in touch with him (other than his publisher)? I have a question for him.

I told you this would be Random.

Mets, I think, are showing what the rest of the season is going to look like. Don’t tell me it is going to get better when so-and-so rejoins the team. I don’t believe that one person is going to be able to fix the hemorrhaging of this team.

And Peter has returned! Caroline is happily sitting in his lap and getting cuddles. Now I have to take her to school.

I am grateful that my husband is safely home.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 11, 2010

I only meet Ms. Carter once. It was the same time I met Hal Holbrook who was her husband. Living in the South you get to know those mysterious flowers known as Steel Magnolias and I would say that Ms. Carter was one in spades. The accent you heard on TV was a slightly exaggerated version of her own speaking voice. I met both of them when I was helping out at a theater benefit in Atlanta. They were both lovely people and very professional. The kind of actors that stage managers love to work with. My sympathies to her friends and family.

Today Caroline and I are venturing into the city by train to go see 101 Dalmatians. Then we might be going uptown to Times Square to look around or we might just hop the train home again. It will depend on the train schedules and Caroline’s energy level. The Sunday train schedule is a wacky one and it gets worse when there is track work.

Now off to get Caroline ready and catch a train into the city.

I am grateful that Caroline has been in the city so much recently.

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