Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Special Guest Elf

From the North Pole, via Iceland and New Jersey, my guest this week is Mo'a. Mo'a was asked to define Puppet.

Puppet, n. Middle English .....poppet = doll
.....possibly from Anglo-Norman....poppe = doll
French.....poupee = doll.....German.....Puppe = doll
French....pupille = pupil
German... Pupille = pupil

Pupil.....Middle English......from old
French......pupille......from Latin.....pupilla =
little doll, pupil of the eye (from the tiny image
reflected in it) = doll


So no matter how you see it, we all have dolls in our eyes.

About Mo'a: According to my thumbnail math, Icelanders are .05% of humanity but based on my anecdotal survey, they make up roughly 10% of the blogosphere. Mo'a came to the U.S. for college and was persuaded to stay, somehow. She is an artist/sculptor and mainly a doll-maker. Here's my Christmas tip to all of you: Do not confess to not owning any art and look at her professional website while you still feel badly about it. Her figurative sculpture and dolls are all dipped in a thick solution of magic and enchanted with Icelandic witchery. The pictures in this post are all from my current collection of Mo'a originals. The Jolasveinar currently featured on her blog are traditional mischief-makers who nicely compliment the iconoclastic ones that also live here. Her Gryla is someone I could bring home to meet mom. I should confess, I bought her Jolasveinar to be Christmas present for the kids in my life, but they fit in here so well, I've changed plans. Sure hope Payton, Jake and Stevie like coal.

Mo'a's main blog, Leikur Og List(?) presents Moa's love for her art and other artists. She almost makes a fella wish for talent. If you look back, the same magic she puts in her dolls also goes into her woodwork. And into her relationships with other artists and bloggers. Mo'a plays well here, there and everywhere she goes. She didn't get to be one of Santa's elves for nothing. Thank you, Mo'a for gracing this blog and this house as a guest, and for having just enough edge on your humor to make me believe once more in Santa's helpers.

How to be a guest on this site: To be anointed, I will need your email address and permission. So, were you to send an email to dpascover at mac dot com and say in the subject line something like "OK, ok I'll do it," that would definitely work unless I thought it was spam and deleted it. On an upcoming Wednesday, after posting that week's guest I would then send you an email with a word not in The Devil's Dictionary which you could then spend the next three days writing a definition for and return to me with a graphic or two of your choosing. The only rules are no profanity, no novels and anything else I make up. If you've done this before, I may ask you again if you're around a lot. If you've done this before and not been heard from since, just let me know that you want to be a guest and then disappear again.

38 comments:

Charlene Amsden said...

Ah! I love reading Mo'a's comments. I am certain I will enjoy reading her blogs. I am going now to do that!

The amoeba said...

PUPPET, n. A caricature, manipulated by an outside agency. See BIG OIL.

I'm surprised Minka's not here yet. But also happy, in a way. 'Cause when she does arrive, these two will go off into their secret code and we'll have no clue what's going on. As if we do anyway. But ... oh, enough! A toast to thorns.

:)

Anonymous said...

*swoon*

i ADORE Mo'a... *and* her magical work, and i'm thrilled to see her doing a guest turn here, today! lovely intro, Doug... and great definition, Mo'a!

O'C, you're right, between Monika and Miz Bohemia, the rest of us will be lucky to get a word in edgewise, today. not that i'm complaining, mind you, but it might be necessary to pull a few strings later, in order to join in.

Mo'a said...

*blush* and stop it I love it :)

Thank you Doug.....I am speachless.

However, since I am here....Gryla, Doug? I have questions for you.

1. Have you washed in the last 100 years?
2. Do you like spoiled meat?
3. Do you go to bed in January and get up in December?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, I will buy you a ticket to Iceland.

Miz BoheMia said...

WOOH TO DA HOOH!

It is my dearest LOVAMÓA!!! She is MINE, MINE, MIIIIIIINE!!!! She is FABOO! She is an artist with a sensibility and an ability and a gift beyond any I have ever seen and she makes me swoon and she makes me smile and laugh and feel giddy and happy and loverly because I LOVE LOVAMÓA!!!!!

WOOOOOOHOOOOOO on a fabulous guest post and a brilliant and funny and cheeky definition FO SHO!

Puppet... what bohemians are to LovaMóas...

Did I mention I LOVE her? LOVE I TELL YOU! LOVE!

Hermano, your taste in guests, friends and women is impeccable! FO SHO!

Anonymous said...

Mo'a! I'm literally running out the door for a class trip. I had to see who the guest was and well had to say hello.

I will be back to give this post and you your proper due. How exciting! xox

Signed, G-nonymous who didn't sign in.

Anonymous said...

Finally, a real artist to dress up the place. Of course, having said that, we are all trolls anyway. :)

Beautiful and inspiring works of art.

Puppet: Dancing to the merchant's tune. *sound of credit cards ringing*

Anonymous said...

by the way... when i said "great definition", i meant i loveloveloved Mo'a's use of circuitous logic, in helping us to understand the "true" meaning of Puppetry.

in the beginning, we merely appreciate dolls/puppets as things of beauty and/or toys, but soon we become students anxious to learn *more* about the inner-workings of dolls/puppets, and ultimately, we become dolls/puppets ourselves, directed by the hands and/or whimsy of those more talented and/or devious than we are. or something like that... uh, i have it worked out in my head, but i need a little help getting it on paper and/or into a comment.

Anonymous said...

That was a brilliant and enlightening definition -- and you've made an excellent choice, Doug, for today's guest: the kind and generous and marvelously expressive Mo'a! A two-fisted blogger who never fails to delight the eye and warm the heart.

Mo'a said...

Quilldancer: Thank you for coming over to Leikur og List......
which in secred code o ceallaigh, means Play and Art....

Neva...where is the little Penguin...eg sakna hennar herna....Oh, um what was I saying again....yes, yes, Neva,your kind
words on my word make me swoonswoonswoon, `)

MizBohemia, LovaMo'a is blushing, blushing I tell you and lovelovelove you back.

G, probably doing something very fun in the city....here I am in the f...... woods. City envy :)

Brian no you the artist.....

Al *blush* you say the nicest things.

mireille said...

Those are wonderful faces in your art, Mo'a. I especially love the black panther (?) who looks a bit like my Bucky ... it's good to find out more about you! xoxo

TLP said...

We're all just puppets on a string here.

Nice intro, again, Doug. I checked out Mo'a's art and one blog. Good stuff. Very interesting.

Doug The Una said...

Quilly, you're in for a treat.

O Ceallaigh, I hear you. Berlitz is as tyrranical as BP.

Puppybrose, I have a feeling you'll know which strings to pull on the marionette.

Mo'a. yes to all three. You have my address.

So, hermana, you like Mo'a ok?

G, drop in any time. As anonymously as you please.

Brian, she gives the joint a touch of class, huh?

Puppybrose, don't underestimate your own deviousness.

Al, we're good on the apostrophe, now?

Mo'a, we know why you'd strut. Quit blushing and strut.

Mireille, and it's good to know your dog is a cat. This was your spot, last year.

Isn't it cool, TLP?

The amoeba said...

... Leikur og List, which in secret code o ceallaigh, means Play and Art....

Many thanks for the translation, Mo'a. 'Cause it sure sounded to this dude like "Eggnog And Consequences".

:P

Minka said...

Móa...thetta var nu bara aedi! Loksins ertu herna til synis! Frabaer frammistada!

hey you guys...sorry i am late. My mom had to be driven aorund town to attend all sorts of Christmas related buffets and I was the designated driver.

Doug, Those Jolasveinar look great on your shelves, they good be your Christmas gift from you ;)

I know what I am talking about, am doing it every year!

Móa: Gledilega hatid!

Anonymous said...

I have admired Mo'as work via a doll artist group for some time and now visit her blog often to read her stories and see her wonderful work. I am often intimidated by such talented artists as Mo'a, but her warmth and friendliness instantly puts me at ease. She's a very special person!
Peace-
Linda

Anonymous said...

Doug, don't you think that our caves look so much nicer with fine art gracing the walls? Very classy.

Mo'A. I just write, you create. As the French say, l'artiste et vous. Mai oui.

Mo'a said...

Mireille: I just hope your Bucky has better culinary preference than his look alike....The Christmas Cat.

TLP: Yes we are....Thank you and do come back and often :)

OC: May I call you OC now that we are talking?.....I better not have much eggnogg this season.....already have a swelled head would not want other parts swell due to eggnog....that was the concequence you were thinking about.....Perhaps I should rename by blog....any Ideas....anyone.

Doug: Stut, are you sure?....Gryla and the Jolakottur (Christmas Cat) would pale in comparison....to the monster you might be creating.

Minka: Loksins, eg var ording hraedd um ad thu mundir ekki coma....OC and everyone go ahead and talk amongst yourselves....
I do miss the big hoopla around Christmas in Iceland....all the parties and pastries....Gledilega Hatid til baka.

Linda: Your art will stand up to anyone elses...you are multi talented.
Don't you think this group is fun?

Brian: Writing is something I would love to be able to do as well as you....and writing is an art......Mais non l'artiste et vous.

Doug The Una said...

O Ceallaigh, perish the thought.

Minka, thank you for not blaming me for the late post. I bet you were ready at the normal time.

I agree, Linda. And welcome.

Yaeh, Brian. The "Elk with spear" motif was getting old wasn't it?

Mo'a, what better honor?

Anonymous said...

This is an old poem, but it fits with the trolls on your site.

“Nevermore”

Deep as raven, dark has fell,
Quiet night, creep from dell,
On hushed hoof, they overtake,
Wither you go, laughing hate.
To kiss the morn, embrace the light,
Nay, stay enjoy the night,
Dance and sing troubles behind,
Awhile with us, you’ll never mind.

Thanks Mo'a

Just wanted all of you to know, that Dewy and I have Christmas/holiday poems for Poetry Thursday tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Puppette: teensie tiny puppy? (not that you'd know anything about teensie and/OR tiny, Doug...or so you say.)

Anonymous said...

Mo'a, actually you would have enjoyed my little outing. It was a class trip with Julian's class to the Museum of Art in Queens. The children studied a painting and did the second part of their painting (this was the 2nd of two outings). It was quite fun watching the children and how proud they were of their creations.

This was a magical post not unlike you dear Mo'a. Whenever I visit your blog, I am filled with a sense of whimsy and fun and joy. See who needs shrinks? No comments peanut gALlery.

This was a nice surprise seeing you as the Wednesday Guest Mo'a and a fittingly wonderful write-up Doug.

Mo'a said...

Brian: Very lovely poem and fitting indeed....I will be telling about the Hidden people....when the last of the Jolasveinar has arrived....this poem fits them perfectly.

Neva: Awwwwww :)

G: I would have loved being there, I adore children's art and love see them while they are creating.

Sar said...

Mo'a, wonderful guest turn! And I see your assignment of decore is as thoughtful as that of your guest's word Doug. Nicely done you two.

My apololgies for the late appearance. I have a lil one home sickly today but apparently well enough to catch me wrapping her gifts...eek!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Mo'a, I enjoyed looking at your site--I especially covet your anthropomorphic rabbit:)
Wonderful guest spot--bravo!

Anonymous said...

Mo'a it is wonderful to see you here, basking at Doug's place :-) Thank you for your wonderful definitions. I feel so fortunate to have a few pieces of your handiwork for my very own; those Jolasveinar are so cute, every one. Thank you Doug, for the most engaging guest today.

Mo'a said...

Sar: One does ones best :) the bar here is set high.
Amazing how they can sniff presents out...children are so clever.

Actonbell: You know how rabbits multiply....say the word and presto another rabbit. Thank you for your compliment.

Terry: Only problem is my head has become positively enormous.
You are one of three people who frequent WA that have some of my pieces....it makes me happy that they have good homes :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, Mo'a, beautiful art.

Minka said...

Doug, you betcha! ;)

Móa...we could like talk behind people´s back here without them ever knowing, and we would still be typing right in front of them...So, what do you really think of Doug?

Doug The Una said...

Brian, troll poetry is about my favorite kind.

Puppybrose, I'm trying to remember when I made the claim you keep challenging me on.

Thanks, G. Mo'a makes it easy.

Sar, you're never late. But those two times.

Actonbell, I recommend taking the plunge. I haven't regretted it.

Terry, no need to thank me. I know when to say yes, usually.

Mo'a, play through the swelling. I just know you can.

Toldya, Goldennib.

Minka, did you mean that last phrase to be in Icelandic? And don't forget about babelfish. I bet Neva will show me how to use it.

Omnipotent Poobah said...

puppet - A person with someone else's hand stuffed up their butt, but who doesn't believe there is another person's hand stuffed up their butt.

Mo'a said...

Goldennib: Thank you, I see you are a NJ Girl :) Love the Gingerbread Houses.

Minka, Nei,Nei,Nei, we would never do that *whink* we are well mannered Vikings...and I am a guest here.....I will tell you another time ;)

Doug: Thank you for today. I have had a wonderful time....you are a most gracious host, who keeps good company and one who makes his guest look good.

Anonymous said...

Okay, the art is amazing. utterly, amazing. i want the little magical things and i want to go to iceland. i'm a viking, you know. Truly, that is absolutely out of this world wonderful. mo'a is a goddess of dreamy things.

Anonymous said...

Wow Miss Minka you live in the North Poll i bet you know Santa can you give him my Christmas list. I wuold like:
1) a reel moon rock
2) realy big fossels and dinosore bones
3) a Indian Arowheads

P.S. tell santa ive been a good boy most of the time. thank you.

Anonymous said...

Mo'a: I missed that. You are not far from me. I actually worked in your town for ten years.

Doug The Una said...

Poobah, sounds like a municipal philosopher.

Mo'a, thank you. I had a grand time, myself.

Cindra, you should do both. The magical things pictured here are part of the Pascover Permanent Collection.

Boy, sounds reasonable. I'll check the list.

That's neat, Goldennib. Do you have crepe myrtles, too?

Mutha said...

"Awakening" is so beautiful Mo'A!

Anonymous said...

What a cool fox puppet!
Congrats on the write-up, Mo'A.