I like giving vouchers and tickets as Christmas gifts, particularly as the Santa Claus myth is pretty much, particularly this year, dissolved down to a ritual and manner of speech. This year I wrangled distance learning from puppet-maker corina duyn, who is in ireland. She has done very interesting work on the intersection of disability and puppetry, which of course interests me (although we do not consider autism a disability.) Here is a very good piece about her:

The kids watched quite a few videos about Corina’s work before we got started on the process of making marionettes, as I did not want them rushing through it at all (something they tend to do). Along with their class vouchers, they had received sculpting tools, and pairs of eyes for their puppets. We have not gotten to the eye portion yet. As of this writing, Béla had some issues with the paper clay and is a step behind Claudia, whose head is drying up next to her radiator. Béla will be starting his clay over on the head again soon. (He has had a very short fuse lately, whether it’s for making perfectly crispy salmon skin, tin foil doll clothing, or clay puppet heads. If things are not perfect, tears are not far behind, so we are working in short sessions.)

I posted pictures to Facebook last night and was delighted to see this comment from a friend of Corina’s. I know that she must rest often — one of her videos said that she does her work in twenty minute increments and then rests — and I felt this was brave and wonderful, and this comment really said it all. I was proud that it was my children who were helping keep the home fires burning, as it were.

We will continue with updates on the puppets as they progress!