Thus begins a new journey for Nymbol. A Blog. All this technology and so little time. Small fingers and claws make typing a difficult task so updates may come from other sources but know Nymbol has a very big influence in everything written here. He is currently making himself a cup of some nasty looking tea while spouting off all the things I should be typing. I will not and cannot say most of it but will do my best to condense into something palatable.
Where did Nymbol come from?
Nymbol is a creature that came into our lives a year ago last Halloween. I had done a drawing of him that that called out to me like no other I had done. It flowed out of me like no drawing ever had. I merely put pen to paper and my hand moved. It was very much like watching someone else draw. After it was finished I knew it was too good to just leave on the page alone so I put him in what I thought was a humorous situation. My wife called me laughing out loud two days later when she got it in the form of a card I chucked in the mail to her. Nymbol was off to a good start. I stuck it up on my wall but somehow I knew I needed to do more with it. From the page Nymbol started to make fun of me. Taunting me to get off my butt and do something. I actually looked over at it once and said "stop it" out loud. With just a little over two weeks to go before Halloween the idea slammed into me like a glass of icewater. Make a puppet yelled a voice in my head. It seemed so obvious but that makes no sense at all. There is nothing obvious about making a puppet. I had been working in this direction for many years but didn't know my skill set would align in such an odd way. Combine one part illustrator, one part shoe designer, One part leather mask maker, One part halloween geek, one part bike mechanic, three parts dad (who had been reading stories with puppets) all whipped together with imagination and this is what you get. See,...it makes no sense.
My design criteria was pretty simple. I wanted Nymbol to be made from all natural materials. Leather, glass, metal, bone. No plastic, no manmade crap of any kind. In 30+ years I want my kids to fight about where Nymbol will live next. I don't want them to open a box and see a yellowed disintegrating creature. I want them to see something they remember fondly and can still use to engage their children or grandchildren. This is most certainly a reaction to using all the "wonderful" materials and foams we put in footwear.
How the hell do you make a puppet when you have never done anything like that before?
Look at other stuff that is already done.
I went to the store and bought one of those colorful puppets you can change the eyes, ears, arms and legs on. I traced the pattern and started from there. I took me about 5 seconds to realize I was going to blow that one out of the water. From that moment on, the next week or so is a blur. I would get home from work "on time." Rush through dinner and beg like a 3 year old to be excused. My hands shook from the excitement of creating something and wanting to keep going. I made some mistakes, swore under my breath,gave more than a couple blood offerings, (very sharp leather stitching awl) and kept moving forward. After almost everything was done I was struggling with the hands and feet. They were too bulky, difficult to stitch and looked horrible. I started them over. It was then that a moment of inspiration struck and I discovered a new way to pinch the fingers and claws. I jumped up and showed Sam. Given the amount of time I had spent on this Nafarius project and not doing anything else around the house, she was unimpressed. Nymbol was on his way and my excitement was not lessened.
On the unseasonably warm weekend before Halloween Nymbol was ready to be painted. I stood outside with my airbrush and painted and texture my brains out. The most amazing thing happened during the next phase of Nymbol's birth. I had removed his eyes during painting and when I popped them back in I jumped back in shock. I felt like he was staring at me. I put him on my arm and walked into the house just before dinner time. Before I knew it Nymbol was talking to my girls and they were laughing. In celebration we were going to go out for hamburgers. "your bringing nymbol aren't you??" asked my Izzy. I hesitated. After an unimaginable internal battle I said "sure" with what must have been a very wide eyed look on my face. I had not thought this part of it out. Like it or not this puppet demanded to be brought out in the world. Puppets and stories shared with my kids was one thing. The rest of the world was different. Instant "spinchter pucker."
Our first trip to Burgerville proved to be insightful in so many ways. The first and most important was that kids loved him instantly. A small gaggle hovered around our table engaging my newly born little friend. Laughter was nearly a byproduct of his presence. We also learned that most adults could not see him. I say this seriously. Many adults would walk by with kids in tow and were so taken aback, oblivious, uncomfortable or into there own world that a small green creature eating french fries was invisible. This is an amazing magic. Over the next couple days I put this to test and found to my amazement it was absolutely true.
The next day was Halloween. I prepared the entry I glanced back into the back yard to the hole where our cherry tree used to stand. It had been leaning heavily to one side and threatened to take out our neighbors shed. It had one of those hollow, creepy looking holes that was eating at it's core. An answer came to me. We had just cut down Nymbol's home and that is why he needed to stay with us. The story was creating itself.
Halloween night. After a little practice Nymbol was ready to greet trick or treaters in our entrance way. He stayed home while the rest of the family headed out for their own treats.
Nymbol did not quite get the concept. He ate most of the candy left for the guests and tried to substitute some dirty old socks. He opted for tricks trying to preserve what candy was left. That is a concept he understood but seemed to be lost on the costumed wee ones coming through the door.
"no treats, only tricks here!" he would say.
The kids just stood there dumbfounded. A dirty sock thrown in their direction did not help but it did get a good laugh. It was addictive. Eventually Nymbol would give them a piece of his dwindling treasure.
There was much laughter and more visitors than ever. The age of cell phones meant that Visitors were calling their friends to make sure they made it by our house to meet Nymbol. He was a hit.
There were a couple stunning observations made that night. Boys under a certain age want to punch Nymbol in the face or hit him over the head. Apparently, this happens a great deal and he wasn't phased.
Others offered him a finger to smell or bite.
"I don't know where that has been? Why would I want to bite it?
These all seemed like honest questions. How many people offer their finger for you to bite? Is this some sort of lost mating ritual? I really don't know.
It took Nymbol a week of so to come down from the high of Halloween. In that time Nymbol told stories to the girls every night.
Adding to the growing list of things I didn't expect was to have ready was his entire back story. He told what he remembered but there are still questions. One thing has proved for certain. This small green friend was putting the wheels in motion to change our lives. Writing now, a year later, I can't believe it. What I do believe is that magic still exists and you only need to believe in order to see it.
