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I feel obliged to do a "Year In Review" message, but my short list of
projects this year really says it all: Instead of making dolls, I did
other stuff.
Yes, I played a lot of guitar this year, and spent a lot of money on
guitar stuff. I discovered that I don't have the interest in playing music
with other people that I once had-- even though it's still fun, I seem
to be less patient with the hassles of getting together to jam and I don't
like committing to a regular routine of getting together for it. That's
probably a good thing, considering the amount of beer that gets consumed
at such events and the dangers of driving while really fucked up (in the
old days, it was safer to drive while blitzed and stoned). Instead, I've
resigned myself to playing along to the canned accompaniment of a Boss
Jamstation. While it doesn't provide a fraction of the high or entertainment
that playing with real people does, it does know how to keep a beat, doesn't
forget parts or get bored and doesn't bum cigarettes. Best of all, it's
always ready to go, and can be turned off when I get bored. But practice,
practice, practice... it never ends. This go round, I listened to some
killer Country guitarists, including the local whiz, Redd Volkaert, and
on disc; Albert Lee, and Danny Gatton (more Jazz, actually). I picked
up some good chops from them, challenged myself with hybrid picking and
banjo rolls, and actually felt that I'd made some headway at better "feeling"
where notes are on the fretboard. On a few good days, I felt that I did
a credible job keeping up with some Jazz progressions... on the bad days,
I really stank. The high of feeling really connected and "on"
is incredible-- I just wish it happened more regularly and predictably.
A good part of my interest in guitar is in the gear itself. I've probably
spent more money on guitar stuff in six months than I've spent in my whole
life on 1:6 stuff; It's a lot of kewl stuff that I wish I had back when
I was really playing. And I did get to dust off an old hobby of
mine-- customizing with a soldering iron. Unfortunately, there's only
a limited amount of that you can do because it's practical and goal-oriented,
and it can get awfully expensive buying things to work on.
It was only a matter of time before my attention returned to doll-making.
The main attraction for me is that it's project-oriented, instead of performance-oriented.
I can immerse myself as heavily as I want, and since these are artistic,
not practical/functional creations, there's really no point at which they're
ever "finished". The work schedule and artistic decisions are determined
solely by me, and I can't blame anyone else for when things don't work
out. Finally, the activity (usually) produces incremental and positive
progress, and the results of a project are tangible. When completed, the
project can be compared to other projects, and each one contributes to
the overall "world" that's created whenever two or more doll "characters"
congregate. The representation becomes more than just a collection of
objects: It invites us to use our imagination to explore, see possibilities,
and create stories. It's a participatory form of storytelling-- instead
of being fed a story, the viewer gets as much or as little as their imagination
is willing to work. I believe that I enjoy that aspect as much as any
other, and I've had fun fretting over which new characters to add to expand
the storytelling possibilities.
Although I like other genres, the fantasy "Brass Bras and Jockstraps"
genre has held my attention the longest because of its unique characteristics.
It accommodates an exaggerated breadth of character types, which is telegraphed
in their physical appearance. This is perfect for the medium of doll-making,
where information is conveyed in static 3-D poses and not dialog or actions.
Fantasy is unchained from Reality, and therefore stuff doesn't have to
be realistic, logical, practical, or even make sense. This opens up a
world of things that are fun to make, like brass bras and fat devil women
with wings. The technological milieu of this genre allows a wide range
of individualistic costuming that employs an equally wide variety of production
techniques and materials. This makes the design and production work diverse
and interesting. In addition, the artifacts and clothing are acceptable
when crude, unsophisticated, and "homemade" in appearance-- this happens
to mirror exactly the kind of stuff that I can competently produce.
In addition to not making much in 1:6 this year, I really didn't buy
much in 1:6 either. I bought and reviewed a few things at the beginning
of the year, and most recently bought a few things to see what was new
and exciting-- Dragon's "Soldat", and Takara/BBI's version 2 Cy Girl .
These are great products, but not really innovative enough for me to be
interested in doing reviews of them. The "Soldat" concept is really over-the-top
in small stuff that you could lose and extra stuff to store... if you
dared to remove it from the packaging. What a concept! The box-ish display
happens to stack very compactly in my closet... Takara's made some solid
improvements with their rendition of v2 Cy Girl , while keeping the appeal
of the original. To me, it just shows how BBI botched the job in their
attempt with the "Perfect Body" figures (no, not really interested in
PB2s). I think that this illustrates the delicate balance between form
& function in dolls, and a reasonable way to handle it. Screwing with
a well-conceived figure and giving it lousy articulation is a dumb thing
to do-- and then adding insult to injury by turning it into a caricature
of itself with balloon-sized boobs... Sheesh. I almost forgot-- I bought
one of Hasbro's 40th Anniversary reissues for purely nostalgic reasons
(my first Joe was a Marine). Since the packaging was its unique feature,
it too was assigned to closet display.
You can tell that figure purchases aren't a real exciting event for
me these days... Even though there's lots of superb, kewl stuff being
produced nowadays-- more so than ever before --I've really found that
almost all of my enjoyment in the hobby comes from heavily reconfiguring
a stock fodder figure. While it's nice to have good fodder, that's not
always desirable since it may remove some of the motivation necessary
for you radically alter it to what you want, versus accepting what's provided
with some minor changes. I believe that's significant-- it's the work
that defines who we are and gives us a sense of fulfillment, not what
we buy. Unless we find reasons to make stuff, those talents will atrophy
or never have a chance to develop.
I feel fortunate to have been interested in arts & crafts at a time
before hoards of adult toy collectors roamed the aisles, and at a time
when toy manufacturers weren't very detail-conscious. Finding the motivation
to improve what was available was easy, and I learned a lot. As I discovered
from customizing Star Wars figures (a long time ago), once Hasbro began
providing variety and improving their detailing, my involvement in that
hobby seemed pointless-- I could just buy their figures. For the sake
of the enjoyment that I get from this hobby, I selfishly hope that isn't
repeated in the 1:6 scale hobby. To an extent, I've circled my wagons
by retreating into subject matter that would probably be too scandalous
for a respectable company to produce... but ya never know, in this day
& age. (Gawd, I'm starting to sound like a Conservative!)
Anyway, onward through the fog and into the Future... Happy New Year 2004!
Jimbobwan, 12/31/03
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