bvanhorn

2014 left me exhausted.  I was rarely at home, and when I was at home, I was so tired that I wasn't safe to operate power tools or extremely sharp knives.  Blood stains on  wood are EXTREMELY hard to get out. December was extremely hectic and there is much I still have to do to get caught up with my personal life.  I'm so scatterbrained lately that I have forgotten to do many things. So it was time for a change. Another company offered me a job.  I took it. I've had two weeks in a row where I haven't had to go anywhere and I almost feel human again.  Something about sleeping in one's own bed helps. I have so many projects to finish.  I'l

One of my marionettes is going to be at the Clark County Fair again this year in the Crafts section of the fair. I have been asked to be a little bit more involved by the people who run the area, so I have taken some vacation and will be there on and off throughout the entire fair. I will be demonstrating wood carving and on occasion, marionette manipulation.  I hadn't had a chance to move some of my marionettes to the superior Dwiggins controller yet, so I'm not sure how good the demo is going to be. If you are in the area, come on by.  I look just like my profile picture, except I smile more often.

Last week end I met up with an incredibly talented marionette maker and operator who lives in Portland, OR. His marionettes were truly magical.  He demonstrated one of his puppets and it was almost lifelike. This is something that has been eluding me. My puppets are good, my controls, not as good as I would like.  I really have no idea on where and how to string the puppets and most of the books do not cover the actual theory of stringing. He showed me a modified Dwiggin's controller and he also let me borrow a copy of the theory of stringing marionettes.  I can't wait to implement. Luckily, I have connections in the rare book market and