This is my first Blog entry. I think this will be a huge learning curve but here goes!  The first bit of a book sets the scene and is usually a bit boring but bear with me please!

I am Mandy Dodd from Rainbow Pottery. 

If you know me you will know that my artistic career has been multi coloured and varied to say the least! I didn't go to uni in spite of the protestations of my art teacher Mrs Heatherington.  I did what mum and dad wanted for me and that was to get a "proper job". 

But in spite of that inconvenience I managed to keep my hand in art wise and started entering competitions at  Ealing Town Hall with quite satisfying success. Then commissions even portrait work via word of mouth in oils. A phone call out of the blue sent me in the direction of the theatre as I was asked to be scenic artist for Starlight Theatre Company. There I stayed for many years designing and painting scenery and props and latterly UV puppets. When I moved to Woodley I continued the theatre work and became scenic artist for Woodley Theatre. Graduating on to writing two full scale puppet pantos and making scenery, props, puppets, training puppeteers etc. By that time my children Stef, Matt and Kip had been born and each of them helped paint scenery, work a puppet, perform on stage etc.  We did the Lord Mayor's Show with gigantic puppets made to a piece devised by the kids including a UV scene. Stef was a giant bird that hatched from an egg, Matt was a giant crocodile and tree and Kip was a fluorescent drum playing monkey in the UV scene. Great fun.

The puppetry took off in 2000 when Cathy Valentine of Circus Scene decided we could devise a traveling show and What a Doddle Puppets was born. We performed to the great and good and even performed at Guilfest at the same time as Rolf Harris and Alice Cooper.  Special Needs schools took to us particularly and we devised workshops based on individual needs to enable them to access the National Curriculum. We did interactive shows for Berkshire Blind Society and many local Special Needs Schools including Addington That was so rewarding.

We devised two full scale Christmas puppet extravaganzas and performed them to packed houses in the Oakwood Theatre. Again this was a family affair as Stef Kip and I recorded voices with some other friends. Alland did the sound and music. Matt did publicity, website posters and video recording. Kip, Cathy Stef and I were puppeteers.Allan and I built scenery, Stef helped to paint and we all mucked in to set up the show and take it down at the end. My brother even made a snowing machine for the first show and took great interest in each production.  We did not realise how much fun it would be. The audiences loved it and still ask for more.  Wonderful memories.

I went back to doing stuff for theatre and we made the odd TV appearance with the puppets. (Let me Entertain You. Brian Connoly). Puppeteers were myself, Cathy and Kip.  

We also won a holiday with WestStar for our puppet performances and also won first prize in the overall competition at the end of the year with our "who let the dogs out" and "delilah" medley. Such fun and a free holiday!

The family have been brought up around theatre, art and music. They all took part in Woodley Youth Theatre and some of my most precious memories come from that time... Just as well I couldn't predict the future...