Running Away From Home

Okay. You're leaving home for good. You've had it up to here. You get no respect from anyone. Your parents make you go to bed earlier than your older, less mature brother, and they dote all of their attentions on your baby sister. 
     What kid (or adult) hasn't entertained the notion of taking to the open road and running away from home? Or maybe you did so, and returned an hour later, only to find nobody even noticed your absence. If so, then you can relate to The Beginner's Guide to Running Away From Home, an endearing tale of elaborate scheming and creative spirit written by Jennifer LaRue Huget and illustrated by the master of multimedia miniatures, Chris Sickels of Red Nose Studio. It is a story told in intricate 3D illustrations of adventuresome spirit with a gentle reminder that there is no place like home. 

For this book, Sickles embarked on a 15 month journey of his own, illustrating, fabricating and photographing each meticulous character and scene of the story. He carefully flushed out the details of each 3D image with full sketches before creating his small figures. Each red-nosed character takes on a life of their own after he fabricates them from polymer clay and loosely sewn clothing. To create his miniature sets and props, Sickles relies on all sorts of found junk such as scraps of wood, fabric remnants, electrical cords, and plastic seals from orange juice containers; often letting the objects dictate the story. Everything is fair game. He then carefully stages the lighting and photographs each set in order to draw us into his magical miniature world of red-nosed characters. His work is part sideshow and part dreamland, but never far from home. Run away to your favorite bookstore soon and pick up a copy for someone you know.

On this note I might add, that I, too, will be packing my bags and running away from home for a week-long journey of my own. I will however, leave behind a trail of my favorite Independence Day indulgences from the road next week, so I can find my way back home again. Until then, "there's no place like home."