sketchbook pages from a few years ago
It is December 1970something or early80something - and the Christmas copy of the Radio Times (TV listings magazine) - yes, the Christmas Radio Times has arrived under the coffee table at Drayton Gardens. The family all browse through. No child is allowed to declare a special interest because it will be up to the adults to decide ultimately what channel we watch. But there will be moments when no one is actually watching and I might just be able to choose a thing….
This is before the internet, of course. When television was a thing in my life, a daily feast.
Back to 1970something or so. I flick through the Radio Times looking for my favourite Christmas treats. My most favourite are strange little animations made in places far away like Czechoslovakia, Hungary - countries behind the iron curtain - which I really do believe exists as a vast yet somehow semi-opaque metal wall that divides the continent of Europe. The animations are often rather short but spellbinding folk tales full of dark imagination, and I love them and hope, hope, hope there will be at least a few this Christmas. They are the magic of Christmas for me. They are often not stories about Christmas, which is over in a flash and always a bit of a chocolate-induced coma. No, these stories are about a dark winter world that lives outside of time and that goes on and on…. These finely detailed, often quaint and yet disturbing, shadowy animated worlds are just for me. I can become quickly immersed within and yet haven’t much of a clue what the story is about exactly. There’s a surrealism to these tales, but I don’t know about surrealism as an Ism just yet.
There are stories of lost kingdoms, dark woods, animal musicians and enchanted snowstorms. All such a heady experience, watching one of these short animations had an almost hallucinogenic on a young person.
These animations were made by various film makers, through state funded studios. These were animators such as Jiri Trnka - a true multi-talented artist who was also a painter, book illustrator. I suggest you seek out his work on YouTube if you are unfamiliar, but perhaps best not start with The Hand - though I definitely recommend that as a masterpiece.
Sometimes, one of these short animations would pop up unexpectedly, especially on BBC 2. The announcer might say: ‘We have a short interval until our next programme so here’s a folk tale from the USSR….’ Perhaps the BBC got them cheap, or something, I am not sure how they ended up on our telly screen but was so glad when they did.
Some of the animated tales were so dark, creepy even, they were not really suitable for sensitive children at all. They were great at giving you interesting nightmares. At least nightmares about decapitated foxes chasing you were a change from nightmares about forgetting to do your homework.
Now, as an older adult, I enjoy watching again. I understand them in different ways and yet enjoy the idea of simply immersing myself for a moment without getting too analytical. I can see how these folk tales and odd characters, wintry landscapes, crooked cottages and magical beings have inspired me, in a way that is not conscious but just exists as part of my memories….
So, if you find yourself unable to watch The Wizard of Oz (it was on every single Christmas back then) or White Christmas for the umpteenth time - may I suggest you seek out some of these gems over the festive season. Also, alongside the eastern European animators take a look at the work of the German animator Lotte Reiniger, who made the most exquisite silhouette animations - she made the first feature length animation (before Disney).
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Next Wednesday will be my last update before Christmas. I will be offering a special selection of wintry paintings. I had hoped to also offer a few more stitched portraits but alas I am unable to use my sewing machine at the moment. It is partly my own doing - I have over done it. I know I must pace myself, as this is intensive work that requires fixed concentration and both hands holding fabric firmly as I stitch. The strain to my neck and shoulders can be intense. I have made efforts over years to sit properly and I do take regular breaks. However, I have hurt my left arm enough that it now needs to rest for a while. Fortunately, I can still paint and hand stitch and do a little knitting - though even these things I must moderate and be careful about. I am having to re-evaluate how and what I do.
So this is my long-winded way of saying there will be no stitched pieces in this final update. I hope that, given rest, I will feel able to resume machine drawing in the new year.
Thanks always for reading
I remember the excitement of the Christmas Radio Times - we only ever had it at this time of year so it really was something very special indeed! I've also learned the hard way how important it is to take care of ourselves when we use a sewing machine. I hope your arm feels better soon x
Between the ages of six and nine I lived in Germany, a land of enchanting Christmas traditions. I remember our first Christmas there. One night we heard boots clomping up the stairs followed by a knock on our door. It was Kris Kringle, dressed in a shabby red costume with a large sack over his shoulder. All I could see was switches sticking out of the sack. He asked if the children had been good or bad— apparently there were also lumps of coal in that sack. I waited for my parents’ response…. 😬. They assured him that we had been good, so there was candy and small gifts handed out before he said Fröliche Weihnachten and good night. Years later I found out that it was our German landlady!
We did not get any English speaking channels so our TV was never on. However, I was an avid reader and devoured my book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Those were enough to give any child nightmares, and yet I could not stop reading them. I do wonder about the attraction.
Please do rest up and take good care of your arm. Your offerings are so varied and plentiful and you always return to your favorites, so there are bound to be more wonderful stitchery projects coming our way. I hope you can fill your days with holiday cheer! 🎄✨