Hey Mikel, VERY nice work ! The gent with a bow tie looks familiar ?
Simon1, That little fella was never intended to be sold. But he was introduced to the world at Tulsa International May-feast in 1984.
He was made for a children’s ministry, as a working puppet.
My employer borrowed him to display
(As if they had created him).
Out of 3,000 applications, a jury picked only 300 craftsmen and women, to get into the show.
Out of them, only 30 recipients were invited to a special event with the jury members, to display 3 of their best pieces. He was the centerpiece.
He was later put into production on a limited basis of 100 numbered, and signed by the craftsmen that I trained.
He was honored to be placed in the front window of Macey’s in NYC at the end of the Thanksgiving Parade, and was featured in the New York Times, by their art editor, introduced, by the editor, as the most original piece of folk art that he had seen in 20 years.
My employers soaked up all of the credit at every event and kept all of the certificates and newspaper clips!
They had the nerve to ask me to allow them to continue with production without the signature on the bottom of his foot.
I carefully explained the reasons for not doing it.
They decided to turn him into copies of “Pinocchio “ they made the error of showing their copies in Florida, where one man saw him and took photos with their “craftsmen “ proudly in the pictures....
He later returned with a small army of lawyers to issue a federal court judge’s court order to stop production and to confiscate all of the copyrighted inventory!!!
Justice was finally served.
All of this went on while I put my original one to work, entertaining children, on stage in “Bible Hour”
For Sunday evening worship service, for several years.
He has aged a bit and his cherry wood face and hands have a farmer’s tan, but, he has remained in the memories of those children, as Woody, the clumsy little man that learned about God with themselves.
That has been the honor that casts a great shadows over all of the lies that my employers told about creating and making the copies.
The rest of my original pieces that are shown here, are not famous, they are gifts that I made for my family, and have returned home to me as each one passed into their new lives in heaven. Or nursing home.
The spinning wheel is a working model, with a two speed collection spool. The most demanding technology was designed by someone who probably never got credit for his own skills.
The rest were simply a gift, to me by my parents, on my birthday.
#/;0{>~
