Wuppie Power

Before I devoted my creative zeal to bronze sculpture I was in search of an art form that didn’t cost a weeks worth of groceries. Something I could do without tools or studio space. I was visiting my friend Steve in Topanga Canyon one day and he told me about an art fair he had rented a booth at. He made these cool little kinectic wood contraptions, very intricate with wheels and gears, when you turned a crank at one end, it would move the levers and sorted gears along the 15 inches to the far side where a tiny American flag would briskly wave. Whimsical and profound. He asked if I had anything I would like to add to it, it was three months away so had plenty of time to come up with something.

Oh Joy! A new challenge. I set my mind to working on what I could contribute. On the way home to Eureka, where I had recently moved, I began thinking about the feelings I had when walking through the majestic and mysterious Redwood Grove near my house. The essence radiating from the woods was comforting, It felt inclusive being in their private antideluvian universe. There was a powerful longing to belong. It struck me if I could make something to capture the spirit of these magnificent green gods, this could work.

As yet only a thought, but it was if those spirits read my mind and were calling out to me to give them a voice. It felt serious, like it was predicting something solid and meaningful. This might have been how J.K Rowling felt just before creating Harry Potter. Giving birth to a new entity, one potentialally with the power to heal and influence. Something to inspire feelings of unity, what can I say, it was the sixties and my hippie thoughts always turned to grandiose visions of love…it could also be contributed to the verdant power of Humbolt weed.

Since my skills had become focused on something affordable, I chose to experiment with yarn. True to my obsessive nature, I learned how to comb natural sheep’s wool, then spin it, using a wooden spindle, and with nature’s endless renewables, I had a supply of free resources, tree bark, marigolds , leaves, buds, walnut shells etc. to dye it with. Beautiful results. dusky greens, mustard yellows, and rich browns. Natural all from plants. Perfect material for capturing the woodsy spirit.

My acumen for following crochet patterns was non-extent, so taught myself how to weave and crochet random art pieces, mostly landscapes but that got boring and was just wasting my supply of hand spun wool, so I started procuring yarn from recycled sweaters, I was becoming a familiar face at the local thrift store, the wonderful ladies started putting aside interesting bright wooly things for my perusal. The journey was symbiotic because the whole time I kept hearing this little voice nagging at me. “’It’s time! Let’s do this.”

I rolled all my bright colored recycled yarn into balls, mixed with the natural rough hewn wool, to set about giving these wood spirits life. All I needed was a pair of sissors and a crochet hook. At the time, I had only command of one stitch, the basic chain stitch, so set to work starting with a circle adding other colors until I had a fat cylindrical shaped striped body.

It was already showing some attitude. And as if my hands were magically guided, I was stuffing that pudgy shape with a recycled pink nightgown, the overflow on top spilled out and this glorious little face appeared, it was kind of grumpy with a large nose, it made me laugh so I knew I was headed in the right direction, we had finally met. I neatly trimmed the excess fabric and tucked it inside the shell.

I stitched it in place, and made it a matching pointy striped hat to complete it. There it was my Woodland Spirit come to life. The best word that fit was it was winsome. I made three more. Different shaped hats, striped and all grumpy, not sure why, because their spirits were not at all angry. Almost as if they had a point to make and needed stern looking faces to be taken seriously.

When I went back to Marin County I stopped to see Steve and ask if he thought my new idea would work with his art. I sat my go-to bag down stuffed with the Wuppies. Sitting at the dining table, he said “so show me what you’ve done,” and cracked open a beer, I took out the first critter hidden under the table, and slowly inch by inch exposed its grumpy self fully to Steve and sat him right on the dining table.

His reaction was not what I expected, I thought he'd think they were cute, maybe even charming. But his roaring belly laugh was so startling it’s still redolent in my mind. “Oh my god….” Trying to catch his breath,“ and mopping up the beer he spewed laughing. I pulled out the other three and put them alongside. Something about these characters was casting a spell over poor Steve. He laughed so hard he was crying. Wow, potent magic was happening here. He bought all four for himself, he simply had to own them. Sadly they never made it to the fair.

Thats how they came into my life and it’s almost as if I was now working for them. The metamorphose was successful. They were a constant in my life, where ever I moved or whatever new art project, they became the subject, using their voice to inspire me and fulfill their own destiny. They were like a collective pet, never needing to be fed or walked. They just had to be made.

They became so popular I found myself working past midnight on Christmas Eve, so a child could have her Christmas wish, and restore her waning faith in Santa Claus.

We had art shows, and craft fairs up and down California Coast and I couldnt make them fast enough, I made entire scenes, miniature dioramas of ice skaters on a frozen pond, a three inch piano player singing with a blue bird. I was commissioned to make a bakery, and a picnic scene complete with ants, all crocheted with a simple chain stItch and some recycled yarn.

After much conferring, a name was needed, I still don’t remember if it was me, the dolls, someone in the family, or one of our friends, we had all been shanghaied into their cult. But it was finally agreed they would be called Wuppies. Together we’ve written stories, a screenplay, a book of alphabet quips for children, called ABC Sillies, it sold on Amazon for a few years, but I think I was the biggest customer.

The calvacade of myths and legends surrounding them made me feel out of my depth sometimes. Like the story about an encroaching evil menace lurking in the cosmic universe. Don’t get me started. It isn’t that they are dark, actually they’re the opposite, they just know things. I often think that’s their raison d'être for wanting a voice, to be a harbinger of change.

They also have a peculiar language, not knowing the common names they just innocently make them up as their own, it requires a certain attentiveness. But remarkably they do make sense. I mean, “Zatch there flits a Milfrat!?” Come on. But can’t you see it all the same?

They’ve been collected by some celebrities, Kenny Loggins added a Santa Wuppie to his eclectic Santa collection. And my friend Ed Freeman, produced records like Don McLean’s American Pie and the Allman Brothers, owned one. When a wild fire was threatening his house, deciding what to save, he grabbed his Wuppie and gold records and got the heck out. I asked why the Wuppie? He said it was the only thing worth saving. Aw…

When I moved to LA in the late 70’s I asked my nieces‘ husband, Ron Underwood, a film director, (Tremors, City Slickers, Heart and Soul, Speechless, Mighty Joe Young, etc.) I asked if he could connect me with a stop frame animator that could turn one of the Wuppies‘ stories into a film.

He introduced me to S.S. Wilson, who co-wrote Tremors and had a home studio with a camera on a trolly set up on a table all ready for a new project. It was all too easy, these Wuppies were absolutely in charge of opening all kinds of new worlds for me. And they had very hip tastes.

S.S (Steve) did a fantastic job making the irresistible soft sculptures come alive, he was so sensitive to their nature and who they were, it really came across in the film. It was pretty clear the little guys had taken charge of things. It was just a ten minute film but it took him 3 months to make it.

I was apologetic for only having $400 to spend but he loved doing it and my nephew, Ron was a good friend so it was once more, a simpatico Wuppie production. He later went on to make Closed Circuit a film about Johnny Five, an escaped, runaway robot. Fun, fun movie.

I’m sorry to say all I have left of the film is the original 16mm roll and a vhs tape and these pitiful story board snap shots: Forgive the poor quality.

I hired a pianist/composer and his friend on electric violin to write a specific score to help animate the players actions. There were no spoken words, just music so at the end when the flower lights up the electric violin played a heavenly transcending melody and faded out. It was quite effective.

They have a new story out called Zatch There Flits A Milfrat! and it was written in their own very strange language but it somehow makes sense.

Vocal Has published it you can read it here. Zatch!

This is how this unusual craft came into being, with such a simple idea it opened the door to a charmed life filled with unexpected achievements. I think I can safely say they have helped me become who I am today, we gave each other life.

Now retired, I’m still around, able to write about our fantastic adventures, still working with the Wuppies helping them express their voices and beautiful spirits. Wuppies are just pure love, and they’ve brought me so much joy, I’ll always be grateful, and I do believe some of their sweet insanity has rubbed off on me.

Meet the cast of characters, in Zatch! There flits a Milfrat. L.to R. Mateo, (wannabe Goucho - folk hero) Raf (wannabe big game hunter) Gus (wannabe nothing) and Fud.(Wannabe ace fighter pilot). The winsome characters go in search of Big Game on their Zoofari hunt!