Trimester 2- Puppet Making
The locals project and puppet making was a long process one at first I did not regard as much in all honesty. I struggled to find a subject and that impacted my motivation going forward, due to issues with my 'hometown' and a lack of family around me, I took to the internet to find someone inspirational but struggled immensely to find the right person. Even now, at the end of the project, I still don't like my choice of Frederick Delius but I have ruminated more so on the project and what it meant to me- this was where I found my energy.
For a long time now I have looked to the past for direction in what I want to achieve whether it be artists or writers, I find history to be a good source of motivation as I recognise that by building myself up with the lessons of those who have drawn or written before, I have the opportunity to make similarly great things. For me the locals project isn't so much about where or who I come from, but rather who I could be and who will lead me there.
So I wrote a poem. Orientated around this idea of looking up to someone but recognising that due to the years that have passed, knowing that they will never be able to take as much joy in your work as you do in theirs. I chose to use oranges as symbology for the desire to share art, art being a fruit of sustenance and the segments being an easily shared snack amongst friends. I used the basis of music as the inspirational artist as a reference to Frederick Delius who I had originally chosen for the locals project. The poem is as follows:
A hundred years
and a hundred miles-
Segments of an orange, we two are tugged apart.
You roam the field,
I march the marsh.
Unraveling the grass from it's flesh,
Our two hands are stained by the same fruit peeled.
Looser now,
I feel the distance groans as it wanes,
Knitted up by forgotten refrains,
Little melodies signed in your name.
You may not know what I write,
But I know your songs were fine.
And yet divided by the hands of time
we hold tight
the two of us-
Spaced upon the same papered line.
After finishing this I had a stronger sense of what I wanted my stop motion to contain beyond just a rat playing guitar. I started with the oranges, having the scenes start with an orange each. I then added a small story of hedgehogs reuniting as well as the rat, playing guitar but looking outside as if expecting someone to be there- seperation.
Reuniting and seperation were the central points I wanted to cover here as I feel they play a large part into the idea of the poem itself and the way that artists function. We can be reunited with inspiration, muses, ideas, friend and family but equally we can be isolated from what we create, what we love and ultimately what we want inorder to pusue this idea of art. This loneliness in pursuit of sharing is both at odds with itself but also a consistent part of many lives and one I feel should be spoken more about.
I recognise that this post was not what was actually required of the blogs but in truth I not only prefer doing long form writing but I also wanted the opportunity to actually explain my feelings and my work rather than running over the act of making it.
What I struggled most with phyiscally though was sewing as I ended up doing numerous all nighters trying to learn how to make the miniature clothing of my rat. I did however enjoy making the set alot as the chance to use many materials made it very tactile to look at and appealing. I enjoyed thinking about these smaller details like woolen wallpaper and buttons about the place, this contributed a lot to a fake feeling that was intentional for the peace. I didn't want the audience to think of it as real life, I wanted them to understand it as art much like its subject matter.
