Shadow Play

Last autumn I created a group of shadow puppets for the telling of a contemporary fairytale and finally, in May, was able to see the end result performance at a theatre near my home in Nantes. The shadow show is part of a larger work entitled "Les Fabuleuses Histoires du Fabularium", a charming piece full of humour and accordion music performed by Les Aretes du Biftek troupe:
http://lesaretesdubiftek.wix.com/lesaretesdubiftek

Below is the princess character minus her control rods...

She is beloved of the wolf, a dandified fellow who in some ways might not be all bad, although still obsessed with harassing pigs...

Here they are in performance...

And we all hope they lived happily ever after...

Or in the meanwhile at least had a very good time...

Cut Paper Animation Test Video

The following a silent test of an animation with my cut paper puppets, made in a springtime afternoon using an old door as background on the floor of a friend's tiny living room---camera duct taped in place and me doing the contortion dance to make all the articulations amongst the throng of objects. It's a very funky but fun view with much shifting movement and scotch tape visible on the puppets---'nuff said. Hum the jazz standard "Fly Me to the Moon" if you feel in need of a soundtrack...

(Note: The still seen here appears pixellated but the images are relatively clear when you press play and watch on the small screen--it's definitely not a quality version in full screen but at least quick to load and play---This is a first for me so any helpful advice gladly accepted!)

Shadows and Travels

 I have spent the past two days moving paper bits around and capturing the results on camera. Soon I hope to have a video of shadow puppet stop motion to post, but until then I am including an overview of some of the bits and pieces used. (The soundtrack is the jazz standard "Fly Me to the Moon" )

Recently I spent a few days in Sete, on the Mediterranean coast of France. Sete is a city with water on all sides--- a grid of canals criss-crosses the urban area, with the sea on one side and a large salt water lake on the other. The canals are used for commercial shipping as well as pleasure craft, so some are quite wide and deep. At other places there are small impasses where looking down from the hewn stone sides is rather like observing a large salt water aquarium. Oysters and dark red sea urchins cling to the sides, small fish dart past and clusters of transparent medusa jellyfish perform their pulsing dance. I found the latter fascinating and deeply calming to watch---the sea is truly an alien world full of magic and mystery.

There are other more raucous inhabitants in the salt water basin outside the city. The brilliant rose flamingos are a sight to see flying en masse to land along the shallow water by the shore. Their voices sound something like the croaking of huge, tuneless frogs but their dances are an amazing synchronized choreography of aligned long legs and nodding heads that sweep forward and back again. They also seem to have little fear of humans, so I was able to observe them at quite close range.

May is also the season for the beautiful papery petalled red-orange poppies that line the roadsides and pastures throughout France.

Until next we meet...

Enchanted April

Spring has been really lovely here in France and was a magical first experience for me of March and April in this country. My recent travels have taken me from intense heat one day to a high elevation blizzard in the glorious Alps, back to picnics beside the turquoise waters of southern rivers in short sleeves and finally to the west coast again. On the drive across the country it seemed there was a wonderfully romantic looking castle ruin on every hilltop and I wish I could have stopped to photograph all of them! As it stands I have an alarming number of interesting photos I want to share with you--- but they will have to wait for a bit of sorting and selecting---soon, I promise! Meanwhile I'd like to show you what else I've been doing with my time besides snapping pix.
A sampling of cut paper shadow puppets for upcoming performance works...

Another sort of  puppet---a hand held rod version in process--with recycled newsprint papier mache head, faux fur hair and the beginning of rag wrapping to give her body and arms shape. I wasn't initially certain how I felt about creating a more standard, doll like face than my usually fantasy, but it seems to be called for in the particular production for which it is destined. I think the clothes and final touches will help to make her more memorable. To give you some idea of the proportions, the head and neck measure 15 centimeters. Below her are three older creations in my more "normal" fantasy style for comparison.

               And a lovely, merry month of May to all from my house of faes...until next we meet!!!