Dear Planksters,
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are well!
I thought that it might be interesting and possibly inspiring even, to share with you some of the books, films and documentaries I’ve read or watched over the years about various authors and illustrators that have grabbed my attention. Either because I like their work, or, because their name came up when reading about someone else and I became curious! Curiosity can lead to some fascinating discoveries!
I want to start out with the autobiography of Oliver Postgate called; ‘Seeing Things’.
Oliver Postgate, along with Peter Fermin (who provided illustrations for this book) were the geniuses behind ‘Smallfilms’ who conceived, created and executed unforgettable characters such as Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor the Engine etc. I love their work with a passion and am especially taken with the 1984’s ‘Tottie: The Story of a Dolls House’, written by Rumer Godden.
This was one of the first books I read that made me think, “I can do this’ - ‘this’ being, having a go at stop motion, and the reason for that rather bold though wasn’t that I had any knowledge of stop motion and that this book gave me all the details, it was simply the wonderful down to earth, honest and ‘home made’ way that Oliver Postgate describes how he set about animating using objects that he had and things that they made. He made it seem ‘doable’ and to be able to impart that thought or feeling to a reader, is a true skill and a gift, because it set me out on a path of creativity that made me take my ‘home made’ ideas, stop motion, stories and later illustrations, (although never myself!) seriously.
The book is a pleasure to read, and left me feeling empowered to both create and more importantly, to trust in my own ideas and skills. (Check out too the short documentary – ‘Ivor the Engine and the Story of Small Films’(2005))
If you’ve read this (book or blog!), do drop a comment to share your thoughts, and if you haven’t, I would highly recommend it (book and blog!) Also feel free to let me and your fellow Planksters know of any gems you have unearthed that have inspired you or that were just well written and informative!
Sincerely, and with an almost undetectable bow,
Thalamus Plank.
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