I remember when I created Hampy, then the first clay model, then in 2010, my first stuffed version of him, with a Halloween costume on. But through the years since his inception in 1980, Hampy has been more than just a character to me.
Hampy, to me, was like Pinnochio to Geppeto, only he never became live like Pinnochio. However, in all his presence, he was and is live. The creativity he allows for me is what makes him a living creation.
So here is a cute story about my Hampy. This is him… the original creation of my “stuffed version”.
I had him with me for three years before my puppy decided his head would be fun to chew up. I kept the stuffing and his clothes in a bag. I kept promising I would recreate him.
Life gets in the way of things at times. You get busy building businesses at the same time as working a full-time job and you just intermittently start doodling your favorite character, but there is still that emptiness of a bunch of stuffing in a bag in a box that is waiting to become a figure again. Like the making of Pinnochio and if Geppeto’s pets had destroyed him, I am sure he would feel a bit hollow. 🙂
Okay, maybe not all of the same, but there are parallels.
Hampy has also been my Jiminy Cricket. When I think about what I should do, I literally think “What Would Hampy Do?” now that someone has asked me if I ever asked that. And it made sense to me to do that, because I always sketch out my thoughts through Hampy.
So here is my “new” version of him.. Quite well recreated, I say. But I am going to get him out of his Halloween costume in the next month and into the clothes he should be wearing as my creation. He needs proper shoes too. I am quite hampy with this. 🙂 And his pup is Boo – need to create my Ragfuss too. I’m on a roll!! 🙂
My dream is to make sure that Hampy does make it out there and reach others with his ability to make people “Hampy”… that is a happy….
So like Geppeto, I have my character… may not be live, but he is alive… in creative fashion. 🙂
Hampy 