by Matthew | May 28, 2014 | Bobbledy Birthdays |
I am pleased to share the latest birthday offerings. This card just arrived from Tyler, who saw fit to give his creation a name:
“Water Daughter Potter on Codder”
I urge you not to spend too much time pondering the hidden nuances of the title. Tyler has a well-established reputation for titles that span that largely untapped (yet fertile) ground between absurdism and surrealism, with perhaps a touch of Dadism thrown in for good measure.
Let us, instead, enjoy his drawing itself
Rather than lead with my thoughts, I prefer to let the artist speak for himself. In addition to sending a title, Tyler shared the following observations on his piece:
The red person is jumping into the water, and the purple person was relaxing until he got wet from the splash! The black person is saying, “I weigh 1000 pounds!” That means he’s going to make a GIANT splash! The purple heart is there just because I drew it!”
The End
As is often the case when it comes to appreciating Tyler’s work, I can’t tell whether I like his drawing or his written commentary more. Both are delightful.
I love the blue clouds and the red streak (surely meant to represent the path of the red person’s impending leap into the water) and the bright yellow halo around the ladder and diving board (For emphasis, I assume?).
I love the narrative unfolding among these variously colored people. The nonchalance of the red person. The bravado of the black person. The shattered innocence of the purple one. It’s all so gripping. I find myself glancing from image and story and back again to image, trying to piece together all the elements of the story. Tyler asks so many questions and keeps us invested by leaving them unresolved.
And that purple heart, floating there below the board. The artist/author would have us believe it is an arbitrary inclusion, but I rather suspect that therein lies the key to decrypting the entire scene.
There’s something more than mere jumping here afoot. And I, for one, am going to get to the bottom of it. Eventually.
For now, I’m going to spend a bit more time enjoying Tyler’s work. And then I’m going to go to bed. Because it’s really rather late.
But, before I do, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!
Thanks so much for sharing your drawing and story with us.
by Matthew | May 8, 2014 | Bobbledy Birthdays |
My friends, we have a treat for you today. Club member Melody has made a drawing on her birthday card that can only be described as “wonderful, amazing, hilarious, outstanding, superb, excellent, and fantastic.”
Before I say anything more about Melody’s card, let me share her thoughts on her drawing:
“In the picture, a giant wants to jump into the Muelenbeck pool. And in the pool is a frightened girl, an oblivious person, and the person on the road who is running away is the life guard.”
It’s difficult for me to say what my favorite thing about Melody’s card might be. So let me list all of the things I love, in no particular order.
1) The hugeness of the giant and the smallness of the pool.
2) The oblivious person.
3) The multi-colored nature of the AAAGH.
4) The surprising strength of the diving board.
5) The fearful lifeguard.
6) The garish yellow road on which the fearful lifeguard is running.
7) The sad girl who has lost her scoop of ice cream (presumably because the giant is so big and the pool is so small).
8) The sign that says Muelenbeck Pool. I’m not sure why that detail makes me so happy, but it really does.
We had intended to give Melody a birthday present by sending her a card, but instead, she gave us the bigger present by returning it with such a wonderful drawing inside.
Thanks, Melody, for your excellent drawing skills, your fabulous imagination, and your slightly twisted sense of humor. Next, we really want you to draw the picture that happens five seconds after this one, when the giant has jumped, most of the water has left the pool, and the oblivious person is no longer oblivious.
We’ll sit here hoping that you do.
But even if you don’t…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY from all of us at Bobbledy Books!
by Matthew | Apr 25, 2014 | Bobbledy Birthdays |
A few weeks ago, we sent a Bobbledy Birthday card to a club member named Miko, who lives in Vancouver, which is not very close to Chestertown. And when I say “not very close”, I mean just about as far away as it’s possible to go without falling into the Pacific Ocean.
Not so long ago, if we wanted to wish Miko a happy birthday, we would have had to climb into our conestoga wagon and head west. It would have taken a long, long time, and it would have been very, very dangerous, and we probably would have gotten splinters or blisters or worse along the way.
Instead, we put a birthday card into an envelope and write Miko’s address on it and someone else carries it all the way across the country (and across the border into Canada) for us. This is so much better than the 45 hours of driving that Google Maps says would be in store for us if we had to deliver Miko’s birthday card in person (not to mention the 45 hours it would take to drive home).
Thanks to the postal service, Miko got her card, took out her art supplies, and drew us this picture (which, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, her mom was able to photograph and send to us in an email).
Now that we have dispensed with thanking the various modern advances and technologies that led to this moment of me being able to stare at the screen and see Miko’s birthday drawing, let me say how much I like it.
As you can probably see (unless you cannot yet read), the drawing shows Miko leaping enthusiastically from the high dive into the pool where her sister is already splashing happily.
First of all, what an excellent drawing. Also: I am jealous of your goggles. I don’t have goggles and wish I did. My kids have goggles, but they will not share with me. They say my head is too big. They are probably right.
Second, your drawing makes me think fondly of trips to the pool, which I have not enjoyed for a long, long, time because we had a long, awful winter here in Chestertown. Did you guys have a tough winter in Vancouver, too?
Here’s hoping that you and we will both be back in the pool soon. Thanks for sending this drawing to remind me of the fun that lies ahead.
Hello from far, far, far away!
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!
by Matthew | Mar 16, 2014 | Bobbledy Birthdays |
A few days ago, this drawing landed in my email inbox. It is from a little girl named Anna who has just turned four years old.
I would like to offer a few speculations about this excellent drawing:
1) Anna really likes the color purple.
2) Anna only has one marker, and it is purple
3) those purple blobs in the pool are either
3a) friendly otters
3b) terrifying sharks
4) the pool could be full of grape jelly
5) if 4 is true, then the ladder is also covered with grape jelly and probably too sticky and gooey to climb, which means I would probably just jump into the pool instead of using the diving board, which would not only save me from certain peril but would also get me more quickly to my ultimate objective of getting as much of that grape jelly into my mouth.
I would also like to say, without wasting another second on speculation:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNA!
And thanks for sending us your drawing!
by Matthew | Feb 9, 2014 | Bobbledy Birthdays |
We are happy to send a big, loud birthday shout-out to Chloe H. of St. Charles, Missouri, who sent us this fantastic drawing.
As I sit here typing in the dead of February, it’s 26 degrees outside and the swimming pool is a faraway fantasy. Thanks, Chloe, for reminding me that there are warmer temperatures ahead, and with them, diving boards and lily pads and sunny smiles on the faces of frogs.
We love your drawing, especially the diving frog (nice composition!). We hope you had a very happy birthday and that your new year of being you is the greatest one to date.
Your friends and fans,
Matthew and Robbi
by Matthew | Oct 10, 2013 | Bobbledy Birthdays, Life |
We at Bobbledy believe that birthdays should be cheerful, affirming occasions. Cakes should be delicious, presents should be plentiful, and cards should arrive in cheerful red envelopes. It goes without saying that these cards should never, ever be cut in half.
And yet it came to our attention just yesterday that when club member Huck’s Bobbledy birthday card arrived, it was not quite all there.
Apparently, a ninja (or possibly a giant robot with helicopter hands) intercepted Huck’s card somewhere between Chestertown and California.
Apparently Huck (a sturdy young fellow with amiable parents) maintained a cheerful birthday attitude in spite of the badly damaged card. We admire him for his fortitude. As I write this post, Robbi is placing a new, fresh, completely intact and undamaged card into a bright red envelope, late perhaps, but with the very best belated birthday wishes.
What lessons can we take from this sad affair?
Unfortunately, we can find no stationery stores that sell ninja-proof envelopes. And even though I might be brave enough to stand up to a normal giant robot, the ones with helicopter hands are just too much for me. And so…we cannot promise that this will never happen again. But if it does, we hope that you will send us pictures.
Thanks, Steve (excellent dad of stalwart Huck). Thanks Huck! Sorry about that.
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
