Puppets In 3D

These posed photo fairy tale books totally take me back to a time when puppets weren't meant to be ironic; when plush kittens in gingham dresses sharing a danish, with bulging green eyeballs didn't seem all that creepy. The 1960–70s were glory days for Froebel-Kan & Rose Art Studios, makers of these '3D' fairy tale books from Japan. Amazing lighting, with colours so vivid it's like pixie stix for your eyeballs. I was lucky enough to come across a 1970 copy of Three Little Kittens at Value Village for just $1 (the V.Village on Lansdowne is usually pretty picked through, but this gem had somehow fallen behind the videotapes... I spied and snagged it. Like the ninja I am).

Three Little Kittens

The attention to detail in these books is incredible... I can imagine some people may find them super strange, but I just think they're mindblowing! Check out some of these other brilliant covers and spreads from the book series: 

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

Hansel and Gretel

It's so stunning and ridiculous, and we should do more of this: telling stories with puppets and figurines!

Hmmm getting a bit too excited here. In 'Real Life', I really don't think I have room to start collecting tiny teapot figurines and little fake trees. My mansion (aka basement apartment) will hate me if start a new collection of stuff. And trust me, seeing a shelving unit cry tears is truly disturbing. 

How about this: We should continue to find ways to tell stories that endear and intrigue others, create worlds that are somehow fantastic and sincere (rather than the alienating and artificial feel of bad computer generated work). I guess that hand-making is a timesuck... but this makes me treasure it more. And I'll take any opportunity to use the word timesuck.