Puppet-A-Day

Wrapping up 2011...and Figuring out my Bananas, Bunnies, and Clementines for 2012

2011-12-29T16:02:00.000-05:00

The other day, my older daughter was wrapped up in her world of new, cool electronic gadgetry that found purchase in our home over the holidays. It's a tough balance as a parent trying to figure out how much screen time is "right" for an eleven year old. I am not in the camp that says a kid should just self-regulate. I think that children do not have enough foresight or awareness of the passage of time to do this.

(Of course, many adults are also unable to do this, but that's another story!)

Back to this story.

So, once again, I prepared to launch into a lecture. She rolls her eyes...and I shift gears. I go into the kitchen, grab a quart sized mason jar, a banana, a clementine, a pint's worth of dried beans, and a small stuffed bunny.

Now, perhaps you have seen the demo where they take a jar or a vase and have to stick a bunch of different sized balls (marbles, ping, pong balls, whatever). The challenge is to fill the jar with all of the objects. Most people trying this will put the smallest objects into the container. This doesn't work. It's a metaphor for time management. I found this cute clip on youtube -- love that they use M&M's!

So, I made my eleven year old attempt to stick the banana, the clementine, the bunny, and the beans into the jar. I told her that the banana was all the stuff she needed to learn. The clementine was the work she needed to do to grow her special talents and gifts. The bunny is joy and exercise. The beans are things like playing video games, listening to CDs, goofing off, email, etc...

She started by trying to stick in the banana first. It didn't fit.

Now, did I mention that I just randomly grabbed stuff? I mean, really, I just grabbed it without pre-measuring.

But I had a brilliant solution. "Yes. Sometimes you have really big things you need to fit into your day and they must be divided into manageable sizes." And I sliced the banana into three chunks.

"Try again."

This time, she placed the beans in first. The rest of the stuff wouldn't fit on top. "It won't work, Mom!" Eyes were rolling. Again.

So, I showed her. First you put in your banana chunks with your clementine. Then you slide the bunny in and fill in the beans around everything. The amazing thing is that it all fit perfectly -- I could not have squeezed in a single bean. Pretty good for randomness, right?

The eleven year old rolled her eyes some more. Her sister (age 5) found this really funny. "That bunny is all squished up with beans and bananas!"

The point was made. The banana and clementine were eaten by the five year old.

But what, you ask, does this have to do with Puppet-A-Day?

Well, it's all about time management, right? Gosh that's a hard one for us self-employed and creative types with kids. Or that's my excuse anyway. I want 2012 to be a year of big rocks (taking care of my family, my business, my creative self...) first. We'll see if we can get the blog back to a medium rock status...working on it!

And if you would like ro read more, I found the original story on another blog. Read away -- and Happy New Year!

With, of course, lots of M&M's filling in all the extra spaces.

#102: Peek-A-Boo!

2011-07-09T23:44:00.001-04:00

I saw this ad in a magazine and ripped it out. I've been staring at it for days...

Sorry it came out so yellowish -- my camera has been acting up. I can't get it to white-balance properly. (Grrr.) I really felt this needed to be made into a puppet...I have liked some of the past "baby inspired puppets" -- especially that creepy baby one!

This one is simpler. Just a rod that flips.

Enjoy!!

Day #99: Filed for later...

2011-06-18T14:31:00.000-04:00

Enough said!

P.S. Excuse the out-of-orderness....I had some upload issues!

Day #101: Not Vegetarian Friendly

2011-06-17T21:50:00.000-04:00

You were warned. If you are a vegetarian, you can pretend this is some sort of tofu-tempeh treat. Our locavore friends will be happy to know that this if from Faith Farms and is from pastured pork.

Quick Update

2011-06-16T17:10:00.002-04:00

You probably think I fell off the wagon again, but I have actually been studiously building puppets and photographing them for this blog. (Really!)

My fabulous red laptop, however, decided to go on strike (or something). She would not boot up. She turned out, but then I would click on my little icon and nothing would happen. For days now, I have been turning my computer on several times a day, crossing my fingers, saying a little prayer, sprinkling Holy Water, chanting, whatever. Today I must've done something different, because it actually worked.

So, for those of you who have been following along consider this an apology for the deluge of multiple post notices that are about to appear in your inbox.

Fingers crossed that my computer will continue to function for today!

P.S. I will be backdating the finished posts for continuity's sake. Then I think I will pick a week and call it "Summer School," where I can really catch up!

P.S. Update to my update: I've been trying to upload video clips...blogger has been slow and uncooperative. So things are taking much longer than I would like. My apologies!

Day #97 and #98: The Magic of Velcro (two birds, one stone)

2011-06-11T23:48:00.000-04:00

Technically speaking, I made four puppets, not just two. Well, maybe even more than that. We had birthday parties this weekend for good friends of my youngest daughter. I could've just gone out and got them something at the store, but I really wanted to do this instead. (I hope they like them!)

A few years ago, I took a workshop and learned about this fabulous velcro-compatible fabric. The "hard" side of the velcro will stick to it...so if you make a plain puppet...

Tabula rasa.

With a little bit of Velcro, you have endless possibilities!

Everybody loves pirates, right?

Lovely braids!

Pensive.

More pensive!

You'd be mad, too, if the other puppet got the pink braids that are longer!

The eyes, mouths, eye patches, hair, and whatnot are all removable and switchable. Huzzah! I hope they have fun with their toys! There should be many adventures!

So, for those of you who hang out here...feel free to chime in and let me know if I am cheating by calling this "two" works.

Day #96: A Little Bit Nuts

2011-06-07T16:50:00.000-04:00

I was finishing up at the studio and contemplating what I could do for today's post. I was thinking about all the materials at the studio. Wondering what I could use. I looked around...

A bunch of nuts, bolts, nails?

So I came up with an idea that really didn't work out. I took a wingnut and tried to make an object puppet. I wanted the nut to be like a fish fin on a bolt. I tried, but it didn't really work like I wanted to.

But I think an important part of any process is coming up with ideas that do not work. Ideas that are, well, bad. Before you can be good at something, you need an opportunity to be bad at it. Brainstorming is mostly finding bad ideas in search of a route to a better idea.

As you can see, it didn't work.

But there are many more ideas out there!

Day #95: The Ubiquitous Paper Bag

2011-06-06T21:55:00.000-04:00

I didn't plan on posting a paper bag puppet, but my youngest daughter made this fabulous creation. I, um, think it's an insect? See the six legs?

Day #95: Twister

2011-06-05T21:03:00.004-04:00

There has been a lot of stuff in the news with hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes...My older daughter is terrified of tornadoes. I blame it on Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Well, I was looking at a slinky the other day and wondering if you could make a tornado-ish puppet from one. I decided an experiment was in order.

I was not satisfied. I found a different type of wire -- a big bundle of it -- for Twister 2.0!

Better!

Day #94: Skull Appreciation Day (by Tegwyn)

2011-06-04T20:36:00.001-04:00

We made it out to Gallery5 for the "Skull Appreciation Day" show and art-making event. The show is full of skulls, skulls, skulls galore! All designed, created by many different artists from throughout the country. This morning they had all kinds of skull-centric art and activities for children and families. Both of our girls participated, and our youngest made a skull mask.

And a mask is a kind of puppet...

Day #93: Eggin' You On...

2011-06-03T21:41:00.000-04:00

My children are often in inspiration to me.

OK, it's true that they often make doing art difficult, they make messes all over the place, they draw on the carpet, they "cause confusion and delay." (If you don't know the reference of that last phrase you are likely not a parent.) But, yes, it is ultimately all worth it.

We had some leftover Easter Eggs that morphed into puppets. Here is the basic evolutionary journey:

Eggs in a helmet. Shiny!

But then the eggs became more...

And then they became very, very scary. (Beware: Graphic violence towards tiny plastic bear in a play-do sleeping bag may be too much for some people's sensitivities!)

P.S. I am painfully aware that I SHOULD be on Day 120. Bear with me...I hope to catch up.

Day #92: Feeding the Soul of the Artist

2011-05-25T22:55:00.004-04:00

Perhaps I have been under a rock, but I recently read (and re-read) "Art and Fear." This is an amazing read! I had read some excerpts from the book, but now I've read the whole thing. Twice. I highlighted, underlined, and scribbled in the edges. I want to take passages and blanket my studio wall for inspiration. It was like deeply nourishing food that tasted like chocolate. Make sense?

Recently, artist Patrick Dougherty visited Richmond's Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Patrick builds giant, outdoor installations of native plants -- mostly saplings. I was fortunate enough to attend his artist talk, which echoed so many of my underlined passages from "Art and Fear." I was pretty jazzed up about that! A few days later, I had the pleasure to volunteer for a few hours as he built (with the helping hands of many, many volunteers) "Diamond in the Rough."

I really enjoy his work (end result), but I equally enjoy his process. The level of community involvement required is a work of art on an entirely different level.

As an artist, I sometimes feel like I am working in a vacuum. It's me and a roomfull of raw material that I am responsible for transforming into my work. Yes, yes, at least I have puppets to keep me company, right? (And Pandora...let's not forget Pandora!) Sometimes I even have assistants come in. Sometimes my kids join me (then I can guarantee nothing much will get done). But it's really still all up to me.

Sometimes you can be your own best friend. Other times you can be your own humongous roadblock.

I feel fortunate that there is a component of my work that involves going out into the world and physically sharing my work. That is my real end product. Yes, I can make puppets, but they need to perform or what's the point?

My point today is that getting the nourishment and support you need is part of the work of the artist. Things that feed my inner artist: time talking with other artists (thank you), walks, exercise, libraries, nature, climbing trees, yoga, Carmina Burana, reading to my children, chopping vegetables (really, it's true!)...

Day #91: A Real Lemon

2011-05-24T23:44:00.000-04:00

Really!

I was squeezing lemons. Who knew?

Yep. When life hands you lemons...make puppets!

Day #90: R&D

2011-05-23T00:10:00.000-04:00

I've been looking through books on wildflowers and native plants for the region in which my new show (in progress), Little by Little, is set. It's tricky because there are so many choices! The Appalachian region is teeming with life and full of micro-ecosystems.

While wandering in the woods, these were everywhere. I like the shape of the leaves -- great for giving something an interesting shape to give it a uniqueness that works for the new show.

I'm look for flora with visual appeal and textural variation -- and it has to be accurate. We were camping last weekend and just happened to be near the AT. I had my books, walked around, and found an interesting specimen: the may apple.

The leaves act like umbrellas for the single flower.

These plants carpet the floors of many a forest. They come in single leaf or double leaf. The double-leafed varieties will bear fruit. First a flower, then the "apple."

Pretty neat!

You can see the "apple" forming in the center!

I've been looking for fabrics/techniques to re-create these for one of the scenes that just happens to be perfectly times with when these interesting wildflowers are flowering....fabric stores are just as dangerous as bookstores. (OK, even more so!)

Day #89: Carrot-top!

2011-05-22T23:55:00.000-04:00

I'm used to finding oddly shaped carrots at the Farmer's Market. Not this one! Straight from the Trader Joe's bag...it's Carrot Guy!

Had to add that kale "bonnet" to give it a bit of, um, decency.

Love it when they come out of the packaging just like this. Puppet-made!

Day #88: On a wing and a prayer...

2011-05-21T00:11:00.001-04:00

I worked on the owl wings some more today along with a sample for the backdrop. The wings are tricky -- I mean, they have to fly (always neat), but I want them to look featherish without using feathers. I am hoping this wool will do the trick.

Inside part of the wing in progress. I had to fold the edges of the darker side to get the clean edge.

This is what the other side looks like now with the edges folded.

One finished wing, the other still in progress.

And a sample for an idea of how to handle the background...stay tuned!

Day #87: Winging It!

2011-05-19T23:41:00.000-04:00

Our new show features a Great Horned Owl as one of the major characters. I've looked at bazillions of images -- they are pretty amazing birds. They have great expression and loads of texture and color. I feel lucky that they were the best choice for the show as an owl local to the region in which the show is set.

The wings are a key feature in this puppet, of course. They need to be expressive (like the hands of an Italian!). To begin our process, we looked at wing structure and made a mini-wing out of paper.


Rey drew this. Didn't she do a great job?

We looked at lots of youtube footage featuring birds in flight. We also watched "Guardians of Ga'Hoole." OK, so we used the project to justify our watching of the film -- but it's great for looking at owls. (And I totally loved the credits!)

I am making this puppet using wool and wet-felting it. This is the primary wool roving that will be featured in our creature:


Jacob roving dyed with natural dyes. Purchased last year with this owl in mind at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Fest!

Then I began laying out the fibers...Pandora was playing an '80's station...

See -- there Iam!

These will be big wings -- but the fibers will shrink a bit, so not quite this big.

Melanie is working on some raccoon parts in the background. Pool noodles are awesome. It's great that they are a TOOL.

We scaled up a bit to compensate for the fiber shrinkage...let's hope our guesstimates are accurate!

Ready for the next step...tomorrow!

And tomorrow...we will wet the whole thing out, flip it, lay out side two and begin ROLLING! (I have a pool noodle, and I know how to use it. Watch out!)

Day #86: Puppet Pondering

2011-05-19T22:10:00.000-04:00

Well, we returned safely from the wilds of West Virginia and western Virginia (not to be confusing). We had performances in Charles Town, WV and then camped near Brucetown, VA.

I spent a lot of time in the woods and learned about lots of things...which I photographed. I, unfortunately, could not locate the camera with the photos. I just found out that it's because the camera was never unpacked from the truck.

Oh.

I guess that would explain that.

So I have been riddled with guilt and angst about not posting on the blog. I must confess that I have had a tough time coming up with puppets that I could execute in one day that were interesting to me. It was fun and mentally challenging, but it has become draining. But I want to honor the spirit of the blog by continuing to work at it and complete my days of posting.

Today I visited with my friend and fellow puppet-builder and puppeteer, Terry Snyder. We both talked about our processes and how fun it was to see how other people worked. The process involved in the act of creation. How you take "stuff," work with it, work with it, work with it, until it becomes way more than "stuff."

Then I remembered Rule #6 for Puppet-A-Day....that I could change the rules at any time. So...here we go!

There will still be puppets -- have no worries! My focus is going to be changing to more stuff about process. Documenting in more detail the puppets featured in the show that I am building. I've actually photographed much of this process that I have not posted on the blog (because I saw it as unrelated). Well, now I see it as very related. Now I can have a day devoted to owl wings -- a day for the face -- a day for the body -- a day for the rod -- a day for troubleshooting -- a day for the mechanism -- you get the picture. I think this will actually be potentially useful for other puppeteers. And I like the idea of documenting stuff.

Most of all, it is imminently "do-able."

I will still intersperse some wacky stuff in here (for fun), but I will mostly post up "a day in the studio life of a working puppeteer and puppeteer."

And, yes, I count this as a "day." After all, part of the process is thinking about your process!

P.S. If I double up on my posts for the rest of May, I will catch up. Wish me luck!

Update!

2011-05-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

Out in the wilds of western Virginia, at the moment. It's raining, so we made a trip into town.

"What are you doing out there?" you might wonder. A couple of things. We had performances at a school in Charles Town, West Virginia (not to be confused with Charleston, WV!). They went very well, by the way -- great school with great kids.

But we stayed on because (1) we are attending a work weekend at the summer camp that our older daughter attends and (2) I am researching wildflowers of the area for the new show.

Yes, yes. I can do that in a book. But it's actually nicer to see them in person, and make sure I am being phenologically accurate.

Huh?

Phenology is the art of timing within nature. The trees that set their buds at a specific time, the eggs that hatch at a specific time, the birds that migrate at a specific time. Timing. (The key to comedy, my husband would say.) And very important to have accurate in the show I am building. As the show is very setting-specific, I have to make sure my science is as accurate as possible. There is nothing like having a show based on science and having someone correct you post-show. (And if a kid knew something specific...they would tell you without any filtering!) I haven't had that experience and am eager to avoid it!

Hopefully, the rain will stop, and I will have a chance to study wildflowers in the wild. I have my guidebooks, my camera, and am ready to go!

I haven't had much in the way of access in the past week, so it's been tricky with the blogging. I have, however, been continuing to document "stuff," and will be able to do double-posts ALL of next week!

So...stay tuned!

Day #85: Dinner and a Show (Farmer's Market inspired!)

2011-05-05T14:57:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, my family headed out to the Byrd House Farmer's Market. It's one of two markets we frequent and always fun! We have a number of friends who farm and grow veggies (and are even trying our hands at it ourselves this year), but most of our stuff comes from Charlie and Gina Collins at Victory Farms.

My daughters love, love, love, love "Charlie's carrots," as they call them. We visited the farm last year and the girls were picking them out of the ground, rinsing them, and devouring them on the spot. (They are not so enthusiastic with other carrots, I must say.)

My sister-in-law spotted a lovely carrot at the market that is the inspiration for today's post: a "two-legged" carrot! I carved up part of a zucchini for the head.

Perhaps I should've taken a "before" picture?

Well, this is what we really did! (Thank you to my older daughter for being the videographer on this one!)

Day #84: Rebirth and Butterflies

2011-05-04T22:07:00.001-04:00

Continuing with yesterday's theme...Well, a variation, perhaps. Yesterday was death -- today rebirth! I can't think of a better image than the butterfly.

Butterflies are amazing. I'm going to have lots of them in the new show we are building. Tiger Swallowtails and Monarchs! We will have them in both 3-D and in shadow.

Today, I made a quick mock-up of a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. The mid-section is actually made from a "dead" pen.

When I was about nine or ten, I was really into butterflies. I thought maybe I would become an entomologist and travel the world collecting butterflies, discovering new species. Surely I would become famous and have a species named after me! I read up on butterflies. I memorized all the types listed in our home encyclopedia. (This was, you must understand, before anything like Google -- or even the internet! -- was even an idea for mere mortals.)

I collected all kinds of supplies. I was ready. Ready to begin collecting butterflies. Spring was in full swing. We were living in Virginia Beach at the time, and we had irises and zinnias in our backyard. I was ready. I had a jar.

I spotted one. A Tiger Swallowtail. I got it! Right in my Mason jar! I was prepped to do "the deed." Make it a specimen. Pin it. But I just couldn't do it. I saw it fluttering and beautiful and realized that I would never be a butterfly collector. I released the butterfly, released my dream of becoming a world-traveling scientist, released my vision for the Heidimius Danettacorus (or some other Latin sounding variation of my name)...but still embrace my love of butterflies.

Happy Spring!

Day #83: Death and Dishwashers

2011-05-03T20:19:00.004-04:00

No, I did not fall off the face of the Earth. I kinda felt like I needed to, though. I've been under an onerous deadline that I just had to let go and re-evaluate. We've been building a new show and have had a number of setbacks. I had been trying to catch up and work crazy hours; then my creativity felt like it was dying. I overdosed on studio-time.

I killed it by working too many hours.

So today's post is Death. Well, Death as a finger puppet! Charming, huh?

I had forgotten you could overdose on creativity. That pushing too hard kills the joy. I love working in the studio. I relish the opportunity to work with my hands and create. I love bringing a story to life: from the idea to the script to the fully developed show, and then to the audience.

Well, last week I worked too many hours, too full-on, and stressed out enough that I did it. I killed the joy. Fortunately, it's a temporary situation with an easy remedy: time away from the studio. Time to recharge my batteries.

Being away from the studio, I had time to reflect. I remembered other times where my creativity had dried up: stressful times. Times when I was not getting enough sleep. After the birth of babies. Final project time in college. I remember one year really well: the year I sprained my neck by banging my head on my window sill after being woken up by the neighbors across the street. It was around noon. I had just pulled an all-nighter, turned in my project, and was falling asleep. Unfortunately, this was the exact moment that the band across the street was practicing "Enter Sandman" ad nauseum. I still can't hear Metallica without thinking about that day.

I did not intend to take off as much time as I did, though. I was planning on heading back this weekend when my husband decided that we should go ahead and get a dishwasher. Wow.

Now, we cook a lot in our house. We make things from scratch -- I love to cook! It's another creative outlet for me and one that is something that puts me in a somewhat "Zen" state of mind. I don't have to think much when I cook. I just mix up ingredients, taste, adjust...until it's right. (I need to get to the state where building a puppet show is like that again.)

Back to the dishwasher. So my husband worked hard all weekend and then all day Monday -- then we went crazy washing dishes. Pushing it to the limit. Washing the enameled coverings for the gas stove and everything! (Gosh, going crazy in your 30's and 40's is so different from your 20's!)

I have been thinking about Puppet-A-Day and going through some books of mine. I've decided to start up a new thread to include great puppets for teachers and librarians with tips on using puppets. I have lots of info on this and have done workshops. I think it only makes sense to document some of this stuff in the blog.

But today (and maybe even tomorrow) I want to recognize the Death and Rebirth of my creativity.

Day #82: Strawberry

2011-04-26T22:50:00.000-04:00

My mom will be the first to share how, as a child, I would not eat strawberries. Not with a fox, not in a box, not here or there or anywhere! Fortunately, I've grown out of it. Today at the farmer's market, there was a strawberry that looked remarkably like it SHOULD be a puppet.

I can't decide if it looks best in right or left profile....

This would have probably haunted me as a child given my strong aversion to strawberries. My four year old just wanted me to hurry up already and take the picture so she could EAT IT!

Day #81: Coming Soon!

2011-04-25T22:51:00.000-04:00

Technical difficulties...this is a place holder. Need to get my puppet project, camera and computer all cooperating. Stay tuned!

Day # 80: Chick-on-the-road

2011-04-24T20:33:00.002-04:00

Saturday we had an out-of-town gig. Knowing it was going to be a hectic weekend, I put together the puppet on-the-road. As it was verging on Easter week, I made a baby chick. I packed a bag with ONLY some yellow fabric, scissors, a needle and thread. The challenge was to use things within the truck to make the rest. Here's how it went:

I found a ball (thankfully, our children always leave toys in the truck!)

I sewed fabric around the ball...

I was really flummoxed by not having brought anything to be the beak. Looking around the vehicle, I found an extra long yellow Lego! I decided that my spool would have to work for the head structure as it was all I had.

Wings that flap by finger power!

The chick.

Fabulously authentic footage! Bumpy with radio background -- huzzah!

Day #79: The Tardis does a fly-by at our studio!

2011-04-23T10:00:00.013-04:00

If you don't know who Dr. Who is, you can probably skip this one.

A few weeks ago, I did a tribute to The Doctor with a TARDIS puppet. Tonight is the Dr. Who premiere for Season Six, and I am taking the night off and watching TV. But I really do need a night off!

For today's post, I had to revisit the TARDIS and make some improvements. In doing so, I created a new piece.

First I had to cut a door...

Then I cut out some arms from a magazine and rigged them up on a spring. One arm for Amy, one for the Doctor. This is the rear view from what will be the interior of the TARDIS.

I took a plastic tube (salvaged from the innards of a dead pen), and ran some fishing line....

And...tah-dah! Go make a puppet (or at least watch Dr. Who...).

Day #78: Everybody Needs Fans!

2011-04-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

Yet another in our serious of "Could This be a Puppet?"

Of course!

And for those of you out there who might be wondering what really happens in a puppet studio, I have some pics below from today's work!

I am preparing the owl's exterior. I am creating a lovely textured fully felted surface...but there are lots of steps to getting it done just right. The owl in the show is a Great Horned Owl; they have lots of fabulous colors and textures...so I need to make some lovely colors and textures!

First, I took three types of wool (left to right: Cormo, Navajo Churro, and a touch of Merino), and I blended them into the color you see at the right. The Churro is very sturdy and used primarily in rug making. It gives structure to the felt. The Cormo and Merino soften it up a bit and give a lovely color. I already did a swatch, so I know it turns out right!

Layers waiting for lots of rolling. Do you see the fabulously organized boxes of fiber in the background?

Then I laid out two pieces. On the left is twenty thin layers of coppery colored Merino; on the right is the Churro/Cormo/Merino blend -- five layers.

Day #77: Ode to the Slinky...

2011-04-22T23:58:00.000-04:00

I know you have a good imagination, so we will all pretend that this was posted on Thursday, OK?

Spring is in the air, and I am in the studio with springs! I met with a VCU class the other day, showed them some of my puppets and talked about the materials used to make them. While talking, I realized that nearly all of the puppets I had brought had slinkies in them!

Today's post is dedicated to the fabulous Slinky -- the first of many springs used in building puppets in my studio.

First I had to drill tiny holes in the wooden balls. (We all have our vices...)

I glued the two balls to either end of a Jr. Slinky.

Day #76: Snail's Pace

2011-04-20T23:55:00.000-04:00

I am thinking I should have a category of puppet called, "Things I picked up randomly and turned into a puppet." Or stuff that I discovered its "inner puppet."

Things have been moving along in studio-land. I have a number of puppets in a sort of amoebic form...almost becoming. There's a phase in building a puppet show where you feel like you will never be done. I've lived through it before, so I know it's not true. (I will be done!) It's like a phase in pregnancy called "Transition," where everything just seems like it's falling apart, but really it's a sign that you are almost done.

So I feel an odd sense of both panic and relief. Simultaneously.

But, back to the snail.

I walked in the door, looked around, and grabbed a Scotch tape dispenser. It's one of the funky ones that looks like a purple donut. I pulled out the white tab...yes!

Hmmmm....do you see it?

SNAIL!

So, this is another object puppet possibility. Love to discover those. Especially under the pressure of having just walked in the door!

Day #75: Randomly Inspired Object Puppet

2011-04-19T23:23:00.000-04:00

I literally was doing laundry when I spotted a fireplace tool and a pair of binoculars. I decided they were destined to be together...at least for this creation. I don't know what this should be called. Is it a bug? A bird creature? Let me know what you think!

Jaws of death...

...or harmless creature?

"It" can also just stand right in front of the fireplace!

Day #74: Even Creepier than the Spider...

2011-04-18T23:58:00.000-04:00

...or so I've been told!

This was created from some magazine cut-outs, a glue stick, and some cardstock!

Day #73: For the DJ in my brain who insists on playing "Boris the Spider"

2011-04-17T22:53:00.003-04:00

Isn't it crazy when you get a song stuck in your head -- especially when you have no idea WHY it is in your head. It sort of makes sense when the songs we play for our girls get played by the DJ-in-my-head, but why is the DJ spinning "Boris the Spider" today?

I dunno.

I did find a cool spider "molting" in my studio the other day. It might sound crazy, but I really love spiders. They are fabulous bug-munching arachnids and they are such great characters in folklore and mythology. They have been credited with bringing fire to humanity (Cherokee) and bringing stories to people all over the world (Ashanti). Their webs are just amazing architectural creations, and spider silk is fabulously strong and can be quite beautiful when woven by humans.

But still, Boris the Spider? All day? In my brain?

So today, even though it bordered on the creepy, I took my spider molting and hung it from a string to create a shadow puppet on my stage mock-up. Sounds kooky, but I actually consider a good omen that a spider molted right by my mock-up...


Stringing up the spider...

Creepy, crawly, creepy, crawly...

And frustration of frustrations, blogger won't let me upload any videos right now -- not yesterday or today. I'll keep trying and update when I can. (I recorded it with the song stuck in my head and everything!)

Fixed!

Day #72: Spring is humming in Appalachia!

2011-04-16T23:58:00.012-04:00

Mid-April is the time we work on our taxes. We prepare our gardens and taste the hint of summer. In Appalachia, it is the time when the hummingbirds return!

Today is a tribute to the hummingbird. I made a mini hummingbird...it's about the size of a nickel.

I found a bunch of neat facts about hummingbirds. Our new show features a hummingbird, so we wanted to know as much as possible.

Hummingbirds are the tiniest birds in the world, but their brain weight (4.2% of its body weight) makes it the biggest birdbrain!
A hummingbird's brain is 4.2% of its body weight, the largest proportion in the bird kingdom.
Hummingbirds are can remember every flower they have been to, and they know how long it will take each flower to refill.
Hummingbirds can hear better and see farther than humans -- they can even see ultraviolet light! They do not have a sense of smell.
A hummingbird's tongue is grooved like the shape of a "W" with tiny hairs on the tip to help lap up nectar.
A hummingbird's heart beats up to 1,260 times per minute; the heart beats 250 times per minute at rest.
A hummingbird's metabolism is roughly 100 times that of an elephant.
An average sized hummingbird will have about 940 feathers.
Females will lay a clutch of two eggs; the babies are about the size of a penny.
Hummingbirds can fly both forward and backwards; they can hover, fly sideways and even upside-down! A hummingbird wings will beat about 70 times per second. Hummingbird's wings will beat up to 200 times per second when diving.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds have been known to travel 500 miles over the Gulf of Mexico to breeding grounds. This trip takes about twenty hours.

Hummingbirds need to eat on average 7 times per hour for about 30-60 seconds; they will visit an average of one thousand flowers per day for nectar. Many plants depend on hummingbirds for pollination.

	Not the best clip -- tricky manipulation while recording!

Day #71: My Fantasia

2011-04-15T23:28:00.000-04:00

I love the segment in Fantasia of the Sorcerer's Apprentice. You know, the part where Mickey Mouse uses magic to bring a broom to life and have it do his chores? Well, I wish I could have brooms just doing the work of cleaning, scrubbing, or whatever around the house. Maybe they could wash all of my dishes? That would rock.

I know, I know. Enlightened people are into the whole "chop wood, carry water" philosophy of immersing yourself in your daily tasks as a form of meditation and living in the present moment. I would just rather have most of my present moments engaged in not cleaning. Spending time with my family, time outdoors...and studio time!

I was wishing that cleaning the house were like operating puppets. Of course, I'm still doing the manipulating and moving, even if I can attach a string...but I can fantasize! I can even attach a string:

OK. It's actually harder to do it with a string.

But there is the reality...it's really just me. Cleaning. And cleaning.

I realize that were I manipulating this as a puppet, I would still be doing it. I guess it would just be more FUN if it were a puppet...

Day #70: Flying Thomas! (A four year old's fantasy come to life...)

2011-04-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

My younger daughter is crazy about trains. Totally. I don't know exactly how it all happened, but it did. She has a ridiculous number of trains (the "Thomas" variety -- thank you, Craigslist!) and knows all of their names. She gets so frustrated when you mix up Thomas with Edward or Gordon. (Sorry, they are all blue!). Don't mix up Percy or Henry either!

I love the way she plays with trains. They have conversations, they talk, they interact, the have arguments -- they relate! And she will do it all while wearing a pink tutu.

Yes, pink. Her favorite color.

We were talking this morning and somehow the conversation moved to trains. Somehow? No seriously, every conversation moves towards trains. Well, today we talked about how cool it would be if trains had wings and could fly. So I had to make this:

Flying Thomas!!


Made with yarn and a plastic coat hanger, because that is what I had at home.

Tricky to manipulate while holding a camera...

But I did manage to get some footage! Can't wait to show my daughter in the morning; she will be so excited. I just hope she doesn't want me to make all of her trains fly...I'm not sure we have that many coat hangers!!

Day #69: A Scarf Marionette

2011-04-13T21:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I whipped up a marionette from scraps in the studio. But there is a type of marionette you can easily make from a square of silky fabric -- a great introduction to marionettes. The scarf marionette.

I've made scarf marionettes before, and thought I should get around to putting one up on the blog. Here we are!

One piece of fabric, wooden balls, head ball, string, dowel rods...

Tricky to capture motion when you are manipulating the puppet and holding the camera!

I thought about placing directions here, but I found some online... Directionss for making one of your very own! Great for children!

View from above...sort of.

Day #68: Studio Marionette

2011-04-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

We will begin with a history lesson, of sorts.

In French, the word "marionette" refers to any kind of puppet. In English, "marionette" specifically refers to string puppets. The origin of this word goes back to the early Christian church when there would be processions of string puppets of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and other Biblical figures. So the word "marionette" translates to "little Mary," as in Jesus' mother.

Today I was going through some supplies and found this:


Huh? Did I mention that I really don't work with marionettes?

attached to this:

Double huh?

What on earth?? I have no idea what this is or where it is from. I mean, I know what it is -- a dangling light bulb cover. Aluminum. Why was it attached to the string and hanging from a mini-controller? Well, it looked like the start of some weird marionette...so, why not?

Some rope and part of a yogurt container -- voila!

Day #67: It Came From My Husband's Desk (version 2)

2011-04-12T02:48:00.000-04:00

I was baked. Or better yet, I had baked. Two loaves of bread, two pizza crusts and crackers. Yep, crackers. The crazy things you have to do when you discover you cannot eat gluten.

I was heading to bed waaaaay too late. And I still needed to post. I sat down at my husband's desk and glanced around. I didn't think I should cut out the picture of Lanny McDonald from his 1999 ticket to the Torotonto Maple Leafs vs. the Washington Capitals game no matter how desperate I was...though I could see how quick and easy that would be to make into a puppet!

Tempting, but...

Oh well. I looked around some more. Scissors, bills, keys, wallet, batteries, juggling balls, mouse pad, bottle caps...Hmmm....rubber bands...


Hmmm...

A little video-recording made by my husband (um, thanks, hon, I know it's really late!):

Goodnight!

Day #66: Whoooooo almost forgot to do this tonight?

2011-04-10T23:20:00.000-04:00

Oops. I was leaving the studio and realized there had not been a post yet! I quickly cut this out, pulled out a shadow screen, taped on a rod, and snapped a photo. (Thanks, Katy, for holding the puppet!)

Day #64: Breakfast Theatre

2011-04-09T11:30:00.001-04:00

Puppets: Part of your complete diet!

Ahhh...if only I were able to devote hours each day to this blog.

Today we will take a trip into Heidi's brain. This will be a bit of imagination theatre on your part, because I want you to envision the puppet act that I saw at the breakfast table today.

There was one lonely leftover pancake. So sad. We were all full. The pancakes were great -- I've been working on my gluten-free variations. Today I added chestnut flour that my sister-in-law brought back from France. It gave everything an extra special touch.

But there was one left. I hate to waste it, so I wondered if I could make a puppet...

This is what my brain saw... Imagine a beautifully laid out breakfast table. Pancakes, maple syrup, a bowl of fruit and some almonds. Coffee. Tea.

Cue music. (Something classical with flute.) A banana moves upright and peels itself. The peel wanders over to the plate of pancakes and taps it with one of the peel pieces. One of the pancakes "stands" up. The peel separates and morphs into the legs and arms...and hair...

Two little almonds then leap from the bowl along with an apple slice. They bounce along and leap onto the pancake to make a face. The puppet does a pirouette, wanders around the table, burns its peel on a bit of hot coffee, explores the breakfast table...

I could go on and on...

I would have to build a break-away marionette (of sorts) to make this work. I'm sure if I was having breakfast with Phil Huber or Joe Cashore or Albrecht Roser I could totally have pulled this off!

Play with your food and have a great day!

Day #64: Cast-Off (well, actually, ON)

2011-04-08T18:12:00.001-04:00

I've collaborated on several of my posts. Today's post I created with some "help" from my four-year old.

Yep. That's my girl!

I must preface this by saying that my youngest daughter knows no fear. She is an active child who loves ice skating, gymnastics and climbing over everything. Our couch is a balance beam and a diving platform.

So, guess how she broke her finger? Doing one of these dangerous things? No. She simply fell off the couch while watching a movie with her sister. (TV is dangerous.)

She has been a trouper. We didn't even realize she had broken anything right away -- the child has a crazy high pain threshold and doesn't like anything to stop her. She never complained about the pain, but the big purple bruise and swelling finally swayed us that she needed medical attention. Now she has a lovely pink cast -- the inspiration for today's puppet!

The cast was set with her hand "bent," so there is a great angle and a spot to put a long tongue. I used a bit of yellow wool roving for hair and found some eyeballs from my "stash." Voila!

My husband was quick to point out that the cast wasn't even an hour old before it became a puppet!

Day #63: Spring!

2011-04-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

It was such a beautiful, glorious day. Sunshine. Flowers. Yep! It was a great day...but I spent most of it indoors working in the studio. Mixed bag.

On the plus side, I did receive a package in the mail -- so at least I had new goodies to "play" with at the studio. (Fiber fans will understand when I say I have the softest Cormo roving in the most luscious shades of dark moss and chocolate....Mmmmmm.... Really, it's just amazing that I haven't drooled all over the keyboard just typing about it!)

Um, back to the post.

I took a bit of colorful pencil-thin wool roving...

Day #62: Charmed, I'm Sure...

2011-04-06T18:51:00.000-04:00

I saw this today and became inspired...

...to make this!

Pretty campy, I know, but sometimes desperation is the mother of inspiration. Special film credit to my ten-year old!

Day #61: Raccoon Prototype and Cool Torso/Spine Mechanism

2011-04-05T23:48:00.000-04:00

A lot has happened in the studio today -- but it's a lot in the sense that you can look at an ocean and only see the top. Most of what we've been doing has been under the surface. Under the surface of the puppet, so to speak.

A fun character in this show is the raccoon. We need some very specific movements from this puppet. Well, OK, we need very specific movements from all of our puppets, but the raccoon is a standout sort of character. The raccoon needs to do a lot. Walk on all fours, stand upright, sniff, wiggle its backside, and swish its tail a bit, for starters. It might not seem like a lot, but we've been working on the torso of this puppet and have come up with an interesting way for it to function.

As with most of our prototypes, we use random stuff like cardboard, tape and plastic bottles.

I must give Melanie Johnson credit on this one -- she and I have been working on this concept together, but she is the one who has been doing the assembly work. (Thanks, Mel!)

I must also give credit to Rey Mehlhorn for working up so many great concept sketches!

Working on the raccoon...

First, the raccoon is a rod puppet. It will be operated by two puppeteers for part of the show, but can be operated by just one puppeteer for some segments. The "spine" of puppet has a spring in the middle of a dowel rod. The puppeteer holds the dowel rod with the spring segment, giving the back and torso a great deal of articulation. It looks like we can also control the backside wiggle, too!

Hmmm...this is where I was going to insert the picture of the torso/spine mechanism...but it seems that ever-diligent Melanie has absconded with said puppet mechanism. I think she took it home to tweak it some more...and I guess I will just be thankful she's doing that and post the picture in the space below when she brings it back!

[Insert Photo]

Day #60: Winging it!

2011-04-04T23:04:00.000-04:00

Today I have been working on an owl prototype. My materials are cardboard and duct tape.

Gotta start somewhere!

Before I make the "real" puppet, I work on the proportion of the puppet and basic movement. Of course, the movement of this puppet isn't exactly basic. In the works are blinking eyes, rotating head, and wings. Wings that fly!

OK, blinking I can do. Rotating head is easy. Wings? Not just flappy wings, but realistic flying wings.

I've spent a lot of time on You-Tube today. There are great visual references, which is what I need! These are the "wing-tips" I am saving for future reference:

Computer animated flying bird

How Bird Wings Work

The Avariel

Articulated Wings in Motion

Four Bar Mechanism


Hmmmm....

Day #59: Flea Circus

2011-04-03T22:24:00.000-04:00

I was in the studio snacking on some raisins when I came up with this idea. Perhaps I'll do more of these in the future with staging and props!

Day #58: Go Rams!

2011-04-02T23:41:00.000-04:00

They didn't win "the game," but they had a fantastic season!

Day #57: Doctors and Scientists Shocked as Woman Gives Birth to Puppet Child in this Exclusive Report!

2011-04-01T22:50:00.000-04:00

A Richmond hospital became the buzz of the scientific and medical community today when a local woman gave birth to a living, breathing puppet.

Exclusive photo of Mary Annette!

"It was the strangest thing," reports a nurse who spoke under condition of anonymity. "There was no umbilical cord, just a mass of strings. Then this wooden structure came out -- one of the orderlies got a splinter!"

Doctors are baffled and unable to explain this strange event. "We're not sure how to fill out the paperwork on this one. Filing the insurance paperwork is going to be a nightmare!"

The mother reports that she had strange, unexplained cravings throughout her pregnancy. "We brought the crib home, and I kept sneaking downstairs to gnaw on the railings. My gums were in terrible shape, but I couldn't help it."

The baby, Mary Annette, weighed in at six pounds, five ounces. "We're not sure how to properly measure her length," reported the attending physician. "The strings are rather long."

The parents are thrilled with their new daughter. "She has great movement. We already figured out which string to pull to make her close her eyes and sleep! Most children grow up pushing their parent's buttons, but we will definitely be pulling her strings."

Happy April Fools' Day from Puppet-A-Day!!

Day #56: In the Doghouse at the Farmhouse

2011-03-31T23:13:00.003-04:00

I've created puppets for this project in my studio, at home, and in moving vehicles. Today's creation happened in at Urban Farmhouse, a great farm-to-table restaurant in Shockoe Bottom.

There was a gathering of 365ers (a bunch of people in the area doing their own unique and fabulous 365 projects) at Urban Farmhouse, and the energy being around a group of creative people is really amazing. Today's project was born of this gathering.

I had the pleasure of sitting between Noah Scalin of Skull-A-Day fame and Madonna Dersch of Happy Homemaker. During the course of the conversation I was illustrating something with my hands and had the idea to create a "hand puppet" that I'm sure has been manipulated on many a restaurant table. The ubiquitous "hand dog."

I don't know if what I was doing is really called that, but you get the picture. Kids do this -- especially making the dog raise a back leg so it can mark its territory, right?

But I was fortunate enough to be sitting next to Madonna...and we were both inspired! You see, Madonna is making houses and structures of all types in all sorts of media, both 2-D and 3-D. She has made houses from oranges, houses that would be great for Hobbits, and she's doing a great series of houses where she has a different house for each letter of the alphabet -- even Q (I told her they would make a great children's book).

I bet you can think of some sort of structure that goes great with a dog. Ta-daah! Two blogs in one fell swoop.

I didn't imagine we could actually pull this off in the restaurant, but Madonna had a bag that reminded me of Hermione's purse in Harry Potter Book 7 -- a bag that had an invisible expansion spell put on it so she could keep all of her books (a whole library's worth!), clothes, a tent, and all sorts of things necessary for young wizards on the run.

Me: Hey, does that sketchbook have any new houses in it?

Madonna: Not really. It's still pretty new. I only have some basic sketches in it.

Me: Wow. It would be so cool if I could actually make a real dog right now and you could make a doghouse! Then we would be done with our projects for today.

Madonna: We really should!

Me: But I need some scissors...

Madonna: OK. (She pulls out a pair.)

Me: And markers...

Not only did Madonna have just a few markers -- she had several zipper bags with a wide variety of markers. Even metallic markers!! (Seriously. Even metallic markers.)

Me: Um...glue?

She had two glue sticks. I was set.

And we both set to work.

The sketchbook became both doghouse and puppet stage. (See the glue sticks to the right?)

I'm so glad we were able to collaborate on this. It was so fun to talk with other 365ers about the joys and frustrations of doing these yearlong creative commitments. I look forward to doing it again!

After we left the restaurant, I headed to the studio for a little bit more work. I needed to shellac something so it would be dry by tomorrow morning. While there, I made a little video of my "hand dog" in action.

I'm going to have to get a bag like Madonna's for puppets on the go.

Day #55: Mouse Guts

2011-03-30T19:49:00.001-04:00

I love to show people puppet innards!

The mouse mechanism is pretty simple. It didn't start out that way. As per usual, when you start out designing something it always has more strings/rods than it really needs. The objective is to simplify the movements to what a puppet really "needs" to as informed by the script.

The mouse needed to scamper along, "sniff" it's nose and whiskers, and wiggle it's butt.

To do this, I based the mechanism around a really large spring.

The spring forms the "neck" of the puppet. This allows for a bit of bounce as the puppet moves. It's mostly hidden from view.

I also embedded some wire into the fabric to have a point of attachment for the fishing line we use for the puppet controls.

Mouse in the studio! It will take a while before I can show movement footage; I like to attach handles and paint all the rods at once. (Saves time!)

I hope you've enjoyed seeing how we get from here:

to here:

Day #53: Eeeek -- a mouse!

2011-03-29T23:50:00.000-04:00

Ta-dah! Mouse! I went a little bit crazy with the whole shutterbug thing.

OK, you're thinking, "No biggie. It's a mouse."

Well, this mouse is a very special puppet for me, because it is the first totally "felted" puppet I've ever created. I've been working to "green" up my puppet building for a while. I have been building lots of soft sculpture puppets, which are created using a foam rubber base. The foam is covered with fabric, which is glued and carefully hand stitched. That's not how this was made.

This puppet is made from pure wool -- most of it local wool from sheep raised in Virginia. There's a touch of Navajo-Churro (from Vermont) in it, too, and a dash of wool from Kentucky. I get a kick out of knowing from where each fiber comes. And I am super-psyched that I didn't use any foam rubber or any toxic adhesives in creating this puppet.

Felting involves taking wool fibers and turning them into a fabric. You can create 2-D forms and 3-D forms.
The mouse was wet-felted using a resist. The ears and tail were created separately and sewn on. The eyes are made using glass beads and the whiskers are waxed linen thread.

I've used wire for some of the internal support, but the wool is very sturdy. I felted the snot out of it!

I like the fact that I can directly sculpt with the wool AND that I have more control over the color. So often, for other types of building, you are at the mercy of whatever types/colors of fabric are out there. Making them with wool gives me much more control over the color.

My daughter wants me to name him "Despereaux." Kids always want puppets to have names and get very upset when they don't have one!

I really need to add those screw eyes to the rod.

I'll post up info on the mechanism (puppet innards) tomorrow!

Day #53: Nosy, nosy, nosy

2011-03-29T00:08:00.000-04:00

Alternate title: Being Needled

I am so angsty that my little mouse is not yet done. I forgot a cardinal rule: just because a puppet is small, does not mean it is simple. Sometimes, a smaller puppet can be much more complicated to build because you have to fit mechanisms in a much smaller space. You have to tweak things on such a minuscule scale that you feel you might never, ever finish. That's where I am right now. Puppet building purgatory.

Yesterday I was looking for my needle-nosed pliers. Now I have them. (They were in the traveling repair kit.) I had to resort to this puppet...

And it even has a moving mouth -- the bottom jaw, at that!

Tomorrow: Racing to the MOUSE finish line!

Day #52: Talking Trash...

2011-03-27T21:47:00.001-04:00

I am so close to finishing the mouse. I'll post up some update pics below. I think I actually would've finished, but I really, really need some tools that I can't seem to locate. I'll have to fix that -- need some needle-nosed pliers!

But...today's post!

I really did not want to pause what I was working on today; I did not want to stop working on my mouse. Fortunately, I found inspiration in an unusual place: a trash can.

My daughters know that I can make anything "talk" and ask me to do it all the time. My younger daughter especially likes me to make trash cans talk. There just so happens to be a fabulous "talking" trash can in the building where my studio lives.

I brought it to life a bit more today!

(Trashiest puppet ever! Sorry about the sideways view...)

And here is my mouse...

Experimenting with eyes and ears...

Eyes, ears, whiskers!

Fingers crossed that I'll find my needle-nosed pliers and finish tomorrow!

Day #51: It Came from my Husband's Desk...

2011-03-27T00:11:00.001-04:00

A few days ago, my husband shared (in a most public forum) the lovely story of how I had him call my cell phone to help me locate it only to find it in my, um, pocket.

I don't know if this counts as the revenge that I promised, but today's creation was spawned from my husband's desk.

I have to say that this wasn't that much of a challenge -- I could clearly create a dozen or so puppets from his desk. I'm sitting at it right now and can see three juggling balls, dead batteries, coins galore, a mint, a money pouch, a twist tie, a metronome, wine glasses, an empty Virgil's Orange Cream Soda (ew), sunglasses, keys, a lady bug our daughter made (it's really cute), more keys, a yardstick, a lollipop wrapper, a baseball, a dead cell phone, protective eye-wear, a nerf ball (OK, I think I put that there), nail clippers, a cuticle remover (his, not mine), and (of course) office supplies like pens, hi-liters, paperclips, speakers, and paper. That's the abridged version. Oh, there is also a casting of a deer's hoof print.

Mint man! Mint head, paperclip body with twist ties as needed.

Mint Man hanging out on top of the paperclip box.

To the left you can see the giant ladybug our older daughter made when she was around five years old!

So today I made a paperclip, mint-headed marionette-ish puppet. I say "ish" because I didn't make an actual control rod. It sort of reminds me more of a suspended limberjack. What's a limberjack? It's a puppet/rhythm instrument that looks like a dancing man on a board. Check the limberjack link for a really great example!

P.S. Just to be clear: This was fully created on Saturday, but my camera battery was dead and needed to recharge.

Day #50: Blink!

2011-03-25T23:17:00.000-04:00

Working on a mock-up for the eyeball mechanism inside the owl puppet.

Knowing when to use a mechanism and when not to use a mechanism is a true form of wisdom. I'm always very picky about what I use -- always taking my cues from the script.

What does the puppet NEED to do?

You can make a puppet do all sorts of things; it's making good choices that can be tricky. I mean, you need to make sure that you have the right number of hands and fingers to actually operate it, right? Our owl puppet will need to fly onto the stage (wings that open/close/flap=one hand). The head needs to turn...and I'd like the eyes to blink (that's the other hand doing those two things). I still need to figure out if I have enough fingers to give him a moving beak....but that's another post.

I like to work out my mechanism issued before they are inside a real puppet. (This is especially helpful because half the battle can be figuring out how to get them inside the mechanism -- or knowing what stage of the build you need to incorporate the mechanism!)

It's a prototype, and we like to "recycle" when we make these.

Here is the part of the bottle we will be using for our owl puppet mock-up. I have a giant collection of Styrofoam balls that have been passed onto me. I really hate Styrofoam. I won't buy it new, but I will use it if it is received as a "hand me down."

Speaking of recycling stuff -- old, dead pens have a great plastic tube inside of them that is great for puppet mechanisms. They perfectly fit the wire. (If you are in Richmond and have old pens and want to pass them onto me -- please do!)

Puppet Innards

P.S. For those of you who visited yesterday, I feel I must state that, yes, I did think about the amazing Dr. Who episode called "Blink" when I titled this one!

Day #49: Ode to the Doctor!

2011-03-24T23:25:00.000-04:00

I should preface today's post this with a confession: I really enjoy BBC shows, and Dr. Who is one of my faves. I just found out --

"WHAT? Have you been living in a hole??"

Err...yes. Well, no. Just my studio.

Going back. I just found out that there is finally a scheduled time for the new Dr. Who. It is one month from now on April 23rd. In honor of the Doctor, I have created the campiest puppet EVER.

Enjoy! And thank you, Melanie, for stopping by the studio and doing the video!

The TARDIS.

Credits:
TARDIS Puppet by Heidi Rugg
Lighting by Heidi Rugg
Light Direction by Melanie Johnson
Videorecording by Melanie Johnson
Sound by Heidi Rugg
Backdrop by Heidi Rugg and Melanie Johnson

Day #48: Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar

2011-03-23T22:57:00.000-04:00

Spring is in the air! Thought a giant, fuzzy caterpillar would be appropriate.

As I've said before, I don't always like the word "cute" for puppets. This puppet is just that. No getting around it! Made with two strands of feather boa, two thin pieces of bamboo, a touch of wire (for attaching the boa to the rods), and two big eyes I had in my "stash" of eyeballs.

The only problem with working in the studio and then taking the pictures is that I can't do video clips while manipulating puppets at the same time. This puppet actually coils nicely around your neck (in a cuddly, non-python sort of way).

Yep. Cute.

Day #47: Creepy, crawly...

2011-03-22T23:26:00.000-04:00

I love spiders. I realize that this is really weird.

I was a docent at the Natural History Museum for a while and gave tours to the spider exhibit to Kindergartners. It was a temporary exhibit and totally creepy. The colors were what really did it. Black. Gray. Red. Yikes!

But I learned a LOT about spiders and the many kinds of spiders. There is even an artist with a 365 Spider Project that I enjoy -- she makes a spider every day out of a variety of materials. They are lovely creations: delicate, detailed, intricate, beautiful. Spiders can be all of these things.

But to so many people they are creepy.

We have a rule in our house to NOT kill spiders. This is difficult to explain to my children's friends when they come over. I often have to rescue spiders. I remember when a friend of my older daughter came over to play. She was not too keen on the cute funnel spider that had made its home in the radiator of our bathroom. Oh well. I had to take it outside or risk an accident. She was ever after suspicious of our bathroom!

So today we have a spider: the simple glove spider. Two gloves, two hands and go!

Attack!

Day #46: Based on a true story

2011-03-21T23:36:00.000-04:00

I was in the studio working away and wondering what to do for the blog today. I'm itching to post up one of the new puppets, but they still need some tweaks (and they need to be dry!).

What to do?

That's when the phone rang. It was my ten year old daughter, calling past her bedtime.

"Hi, mom."

"Hi, Sweetie. What's going on?"

"Um...I lost my tooth and Daddy is asleep already."

"OK...you lost a tooth?"

"Uh-huh."

It dawned on me a moment later. "You are worried that if you don't tell me that maybe the tooth fairy won't figure out that you lost a tooth tonight, huh?"

"Um....well...uh-huh."

So tonight I will get home and need to make a special delivery to underneath my daughter's pillow.

Before we hung up, my daughter asked me what my puppet was for the day. I told her that I hadn't figured it out.

"Maybe it could be about my tooth?" she suggested. "Maybe you could even make a tooth fairy puppet!"

Of course, I can totally make a tooth fairy puppet. Thanks for the inspiration! So here we have it -- our sparkly tooth fairy.

Wings!

(For those of you who have been visiting a while, you might recognize the head...yes, it's the same head from Gramma of the Little Red Riding Hood finger puppet series! If you remember, I had to attach the head with Velcro so I could "disguise" the wolf!)

Good night! I am heading home to figure out what the going rate is for a molar...

Day #45: Wild about rod puppets

2011-03-20T23:23:00.001-04:00

I've had fun putting together all the Little Red Riding Hood stuff, because I enjoy stories and their various structures. But, structurally speaking, I love rod puppets most of all.

I spent a good chunk of time in the studio today and I knew that I wanted to build a non-glue-stick puppet today. Rod puppets are my forte, but they are usually time-consuming and detailed and...wait a minute! Surely I could think of something that I could put together somewhat quickly, right? I mean, that's what all the stuff that I have in my studio is for, isn't it?

I will say that my studio is pretty well-organized. Supplies are categorized and accessible. I have a great studio.

I took stock. Dowel rods -- of course, I have lots! And tubes...and paper cups...and lots of fabric...and cardboard.

Great texture on this sponge-painted fabric made by some former students.

Sometimes I get my inspiration from fabric. I love fibers and textiles of all sorts! I have several pieces of hand-painted, sponge-textured fabric that were made by students I had done a residency with about a year and a half ago. Great kids -- and they loved anything that had to do with painting! We made these really large giraffe and zebra body-puppets. I still had some of the fabric. Ah-hah!


Well, OK, but does it really move?

The method behind the movement of this rod puppet is pretty straightforward. There is a dowel rod attached to the head. Surrounding the rod is a tube that is connected directly to the body of the puppet. This means that the head and the body can be moved independently. It's very simple and we've used this for a number of puppets -- mostly in our Little Bread Hen show for all the chickens and the sheep dog.

Enjoy the video -- especially the backside wiggle at the end!

Day #44: Happily Ever After? (Contains puppet violence)

2011-03-19T23:18:00.000-04:00

Let's be honest, "Little Red Riding Hood" is a pretty gruesome tale. Wolves, strangers, dark forests, big teeth, devoured grandmothers, and an axe. Not your typical Disney special.

In 1976, Bruno Bettelheim wrote a book called The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. It's been a while since I read the book, so I will just quote from Wikipedia (please excuse my laziness...it's late!).

In the book, Bettelheim discusses the emotional and symbolic importance of fairy tales for children, including traditional tales at one time considered too dark, such as those collected and published by the Brothers Grimm. Bettelheim suggested that traditional fairy tales, with the darkness of abandonment, death, witches, and injuries, allowed children to grapple with their fears in remote, symbolic terms. If they could read and interpret these fairy tales in their own way, he believed, they would get a greater sense of meaning and purpose. Bettelheim thought that by engaging with these socially-evolved stories, children would go through emotional growth that would better prepare them for their own futures.

Point is, Bettelheim makes a case for the necessity of sharing dark stories such as "Red Riding Hood" with young children. How else will children develop and be able to confront the darkness within our world if they do not have the basic archetypes within their consciousness to grapple with it or to even acknowledge its existence?

For today, I think you know what's in store...We've seen Little Red, The Wolf, and Gramma so far. That leaves us with just the Woodsman.

I feel I must state that no real wolves (only a symbolic, archetypal wolf who really deserved it) were injured in the creation of today's post. The next few images are as graphic as it gets in the world of finger puppets. (You have been warned!)

And they all lived happily ever after...except, I suppose, the wolf.

THE END.

Day #43: ...What Big Teeth You Have!

2011-03-18T17:09:00.005-04:00

Today's post is a tribute to Georges de Mestra. Who is this? Well, this is the Swiss gentleman who invented Velcro back in 1941. This man did not know it, but he revolutionized puppetry! Seriously, what puppeteer could imagine having to hang curtains with hook and eye and other contraptions.

Friend to all puppeteers!

A puppeteer friend of mine even suggested that my husband and I name our firstborn child "Velcretia." We, um, didn't go that far.

But for today's project we are continuing with out "Little Red Riding Hood" theme. These are all finger puppets made from studio scraps placed over the plastic tubes from leftover glue sticks. We've done Little Red, The Big Bad Wolf, and Gramma. Today we have:


What big teeth you have!

"Gramma."

The fun thing for me was that this puppet involved a little bit of Velcro and not much time. I took the wolf finger puppet and decapitated it. (Yikes!)

When I made Gramma, I attached her head with Velcro. So all I had to do for today was switch heads and -- voila! -- new puppet! Now I can even do scary things like this:

Very scary...

Which leaves us with just one more character in this story...

Day #42: Gramma...

2011-03-17T22:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm continuing with my glue-stick-tube series from "Little Red Riding Hood."

C'mon...you totally knew this one was coming!

Yep. Gramma!


The cast so far...

And tomorrow...???

Day #41: The Big Bad Wolf!

2011-03-16T22:59:00.000-04:00

How could we have "Little Red Riding Hood" without...

The Big Bad Wolf!

They should look scarier, don't you think? (A bit more Grimm!)

Day #40: Recycled Riding Hood Finger Puppet (and Rat Update!)

2011-03-15T23:17:00.000-04:00

It's tough blogging about puppets and fun stuff when the world is falling apart and people are in real danger. I have been racking my brain trying to think of something to do that's related to what is going on, but my brain just locks up and I am unable to move beyond the horror of reality.

I guess I'll just stick with the basics.

I had a productive day at the studio working on my rat/possum experimental puppet. It's coming along quite nicely.

Eyes, eyelids in place -- working on the mouth.

For my puppet posting du jour, I was inspired by a glue stick.

I use these in workshops, but I always feel horrible about the plastic waste involved. I picked one up today and noticed how very, very perfectly the external tube fits nicely over your finger... I looked around the studio a bit more and located a ping-pong ball.

I'm sure you see where this is going!

I have lots of scrap fabric that needs a purpose, so I gathered up some of that, too. Voila! Little Red Riding Hood.


Perfect Fit!

If you stick the finger puppet back on the glue part, it even stands up. I was able to use leftover materials for this (most puppeteers have ping-pong balls, scrap fabric, glue sticks, and other weird stuff on hand at all times!).

Day #39: A Radishingly Beautiful Ballerina

2011-03-14T23:27:00.000-04:00

Well, yesterday's ballerina was a bit of a...well, a dog. During dinner tonight, I noticed a vase of seedpods. I love seedpods; they look so alien, some look so bizarre. These particular seedpods look like this:

If you know what this actually is, please let me know. I just like the way they look!

As I was looking at it, I noticed that if you were to invert the shape...it looks a lot like a tutu. What can I say? I just have ballerinas on the brain. I do have two daughters and my house has been swathed in pink crinoline for a while!

It took me a bit of rummaging through cupboards and the fridge before I found the perfect head: a radish!

I strung her up so she will spin -- my daughters will have fun with her in the morning.

Day #38: Dancing Avacado(g)

2011-03-13T23:59:00.002-04:00

We just returned, just walked in the door, and I still needed a puppet for today. I had no ideas and feared I was back to my paperbag back-up plan. I walked into the kitchen to look around desperately, and this is what I saw:

I love avocados. I wish they grew on trees in Virginia. That would be awesome. But look closely at the mesh bag...do you see those two holes on the top part. I don't know why the manufacturer put them there, but I had a genuine "Ah-hah!" moment of clarity. I knew what to do.

I cut off the mesh part, flipped through a magazine, cut out an image, and applied tape.

Ta-daah!

I took the extra meshy material and made a tutu. The holes from the top photo are under the tutu and meant for fingers!

In action!

Now I really, really need to go to bed!

Day #37: Flower Power

2011-03-12T23:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend we are away from home to celebrate the life of my husband's maternal grandmother, Jan Belle Isle Robinson. She was an extraordinary woman and will be dearly missed. Today's puppet is for her:

Felted mohair and wool, beads, and raw silk were used.

The puppet is a hand/glove puppet.

It moves really well!

I was hoping to take some more video footage, but our hotel connection is really slow. I will post some up when we get home. (Soon...)

Day #36: Styro-mania continues (It's a croc...)

2011-03-11T23:54:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I was working in a makeshift studio in my basement while packing for a trip. Today I created a puppet in a hotel room in Jersey! I brought a box of basic supplies (the usual: glue gun, bamboo, fishing line, sharpies, scissors, needle/thread...) into the hotel.

I began as I did yesterday:

Packing styrofoam from a bunch of boxes in my attic. I have lots of this!

I used two pieces of the mysteriously shaped foam. I had fun making this -- teeth, eyes...

The shape really worked well for a crocodile head, and it was fun adding lots of detail.


...nostrils!

Love the red background...hotel wall!

Day #35: Styro-magic -- a Whale of a Tail

2011-03-10T23:59:00.000-05:00

We were cleaning out our attic a few months ago and threw out a bunch of stuff. While sorting and purging, I came upon a whole bunch of weird styrofoam packing thingies (that's the technical term) that look like this:

Sorry for the speaker jack...it's because I'm multi-tasking. I'm blogging while doing laundry and packing for a trip. I'm working on top of my giant freezer in my makeshift home studio:

Not ideal, but it works in a pinch.

So I had a big bunch of these weird styrofoam pieces...I was sure I could do something. And so I did. Several somethings, actually. Here is my first creation:

I took off a sliver of the styrofoam and made a tail...

...I used bamboo for the rod and added string for a moving mouth.

Close-up of the tail.

What else could this be? (Tomorrow!)

Day #34: Puppet-gami

2011-03-09T23:56:00.000-05:00

Full disclosure: I found the instructions for this puppet project on-line. (I didn't want to have to fall back on my paper bag puppet just yet.) I'd goofed around with stuff like this before, but I actually thought I should follow directions for once. I also really wanted to post up something fun for kids to make.

And you can be a lot more creative than my mock-up!

It has a pretty nice rebound spring!

This is best suited for ages 8 and up. Some of the folds are tricky -- especially towards the end. There are a number of sites that have this particular project, but this was the one with the best, stey-by-step instructions. The paper folds create a "hinge" that actually some push back to it (like using a compression spring to keep the mouth open).

Day #33: RATS -- I left my camera at home (Part 2)

2011-03-09T23:19:00.001-05:00

Seriously, rats.

I couldn't believe I had left my camera at home. I was going to be working a really long, late night at the studio and no camera.

But "rats" is a good name for this post anyway. It wasn't supposed to be a good name for a post the post about working on the mouse puppet -- but I had done my math poorly. So now it was the perfect name.

Math?

I'm using felting techniques to create these puppets and wool fibers shrink as you work them, so there is some math involved. I knew I might have some technical difficulties on my mouse puppet, so I was working on a "rough draft" and using a different type of wool.

Uh-oh. I should've known better because different fibers can have different shrink rates. I was looking at about a 50% shrinkage...but really I was only going to get about 42% from this wool. Usually, I sample fibers and test the shrink rate. But most are about 50%, so I decided to chance it. [Note to self: bad idea.]

I realized early on that the puppet was not going to shrink to the size I wanted (grrr....), so I altered plans and started shaping it into a rat form. Can you see the rat? It can be tricky to identify a puppet/character (unless you're making it -- then it's easier) when it's still in the process of being created.

But I'm making lemonade from my lemons. I need a puppet I can mess up on a bit without worrying about it. Now I have it. Yes, it was supposed to be a little mouse. It's going to be a giant rat. Yippee!

Now for the fun part!

Eyes....I love putting eyes on puppets; it's when they come alive for me. It's when they get their personality. I tested several types/sizes of eyes. I played with eyelids. Here they are some of the combinations I checked out:

Too big?

Too small, but almost beady...

Closer...

Hmmm....

Playing with eyelids...

Hmmm....

I was going to call this post "They Eyes Have It," but I'll settle for "Rats!"

Stay tuned...

Day #33: I left my camera at home

2011-03-09T00:29:00.001-05:00

...stay tuned for part two, where I take an actual picture!

Day #32: Pacific Trash Vortex Jellyfish

2011-03-07T23:48:00.003-05:00

It's fun to recycle and create puppets. Today I was stuck at home, recovering from a nasty stomach bug...and I had to use what I have at home. We have stuff at home...but I must confess that I absolutely abhor plastic bags. We try so hard to avoid plastic, but it doesn't seem to matter because we somehow keep collecting it. We bring our own bags to the grocery store, but still our collection grows. And grows...

Have you heard about the Pacific Trash Vortex? Accounts vary in terms of the size of this giant patch of garbage that has coalesced in the Pacific Ocean. The size of Texas? Twice the size of Texas? Bigger still?

Well, point is that it, well, is.

Very scary.

So today's puppet is a tribute to the amount of plastic that we have in our house and to this growing "island" in the Pacific that I hope will never actually appear on any map.

Day #31: Finger Puppet (literally!)

2011-03-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

This is what you post when you have finally succumbed to the dreaded stomach bug...wish I had more to share. (And hope I haven't share the bug with anyone I know!)

Day #30: The Humanette

2011-03-05T23:07:00.001-05:00

Wow. I finally stumped Wikipedia. There is no entry for Humanette, which just goes to show that this type of puppet is a bit obscure! Humanettes are a human-hybrid puppet. Typically, a puppeteer will use their own head and attach a miniature body to it. They can they manipulate the hands and/or body in order to bring their character to life.

The Humanette!

I've seen this kind of puppet used in cabaret shows, but one of my favorite uses was in a show called "Salmagundy" by Perry Alley Theatre. In this performance, Bonnie and Andrew Periale tell several stories and during one of the tales, Bonnie plays the daughter of Andrew by becoming a humanette. She portrayed a delightful young girl and it was done so perfectly; the show was zany and loads of fun!

I need to give a bit of backstory...I was really stumped tonight. It had been a long day (writer's conference, park, birthday party of a friend...busy). We had fabulous homemade pizza for dinner. Yum! I kept thinking about today's blog and coming up with nothing.

It was getting pretty desperate. I even started looking around for a paper bag (I am going to have to do it sometime this year, right?). Then my kids start chiming in with lots of suggestions. My ten-year-old came out with a stuffed dragon and was moving it all around.

"That's great, sweetie, but I didn't make it," I said.

"But you could make it move!" she exclaimed (with a fabulous demonstration).

"Well, yes...but I am supposed to be making the puppets or adapting them. I would be cheating if I just wiggle a stuffed animal around. It has to be something I made."

I stared at my daughter for a moment. I thought about how, technically, I had contributed more to the creation of my daughter than I had to the stuffed animal she was holding...AH-HAH!

Oh yes...I was going to turn my daughter into a puppet!

I grabbed a lovely handmade dress from the sock-monkey (thank you, Julia Hebner). I took a pair of stockings, stuffed them, covered them with white gloves, and inserted them into the dress: arms!

We found a black shirt and were all set to go...a humanette is born!

My daughter is quite the drama queen. Seriously. Just see for yourself!

I'm not sure she wanted this one up...

Grumble, grumble...

(Um...she's not exactly camera shy, is she?)

This is my favorite!

Day #29: Busy Bee at the studio today

2011-03-04T23:58:00.001-05:00

Bumblebee from "Little by Little."

We were busy bees at the studio today. We created several bumblebees using needlefelting and wet-felting techniques. The tiny puppet is very solid and "bumbles" along quite nicely!

We only got around to adding wings and a rod to one of the bees. I don't always like to use the word "cute" when talking about puppets, but this one is, well, really cute, huh?

We finally managed to figure out how to do a video clip -- we'll keep working on these and incorporate some more soon!

Day #28: Skating on Thin Ice...

2011-03-03T23:22:00.000-05:00

Just returned home from a fabulous dinner at The Nile -- an Ethiopian restaurant here in Richmond. Before heading out, I wondered...could I make a puppet from Injera (the spongey pancake bread they serve). I totally meant to try it...but we, well, sort of ate it all. Oops.

So we will have to do it again and exercise more restraint...or order some to go?

For today's puppet, I walked in the door (from our fun double date with friends!) and looked around. I noticed my daughter's skate guards. Hers are pink and made from terry cloth. I've made a number of puppets using regular terry cloth and stretch terry -- it's a great nappy fabric; you can easily hide stitching.

Pink Skate Guard (Cover for the blade)

Searching for inspiration, I picked up her skate guards and started playing around with them. I ran upstairs, grabbed a sock, found an elastic hair-tie, and dug around for my sunglasses. The result: a crazy flamingo-esque creature! Works for me.

Assembling the ingredients...

I folded the skate guards to create a beak.

The mouth moves!

Hanes...

Stylin' with the sunglasses!

We had such a great night.....and Mango sorbet for dessert!

Day #27: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss -- and a different type of "hand" puppet altogether

2011-03-02T22:47:00.000-05:00

In our house, we have read lots of Dr. Seuss, and The Lorax is one of our favorite stories. When our older daughter was two years old, she requested it EVERY night for months in a row. My husband and I can still recite most of it from memory -- and we were always totally busted if we even tried to skip a page. Even at two, she had an amazing steel trap of a memory.

I didn't realize it was Dr. Seuss' birthday until it was almost noon. As soon as I did, though, I knew I had to acknowledge it in the blogosphere. But what to do?


You never see the Once-ler -- only his hands.

Since The Lorax was a favorite, I felt that I had to include that. One of the things I love so much about that book is the way you never see the face of the "bad guy." When the Once-ler is shown, you only see his hands. But you learn so much about his character just by looking at his hands. Ah-ha! A different kind of hand-puppet -- one where the character is referenced only by hands. Interesting...


So for today's puppet (and in tribute to Theodore), I made some green gloves to recreate the Once-ler. I had some great fabric in my stash that worked perfectly!


The whole family at work -- with hands galore! (No faces...)


My daughter's knitting project (the same daughter who used to request this story over and over again!). She does some great stitching.


I think it's actually scarier that you cannot see the Once-ler's face. You cannot look into his eyes; he cannot look into yours. There is no chance to connect on a personal level.


Hands can portray emotions -- like excitement!

I think I could write a dissertation on the faceless Once-ler and mega-corporations (and how Dr. Seuss had incredible prescience), but instead I will just note that you can create a whole character just through use of the hand and gestures. For your typical hand puppets, the hands of the puppet are important for communicating so much, too. Think about it. The face of the puppet is static...so how is it communicating? Oftentimes, it is through arm/hand movement and gestures (and body movement and gestures) In Japanese Bunraku tradition, the use of gesture has so much meaning and importance that each hand has its own puppeteer! (That's a slight oversimplification, but I would have to dedicate a year or more to explaining Bunraku...and you have to spend thirty years training before you can operate the right hand of the puppet.)

But we can all agree on this: Let's give Dr. Seuss a big hand!

Day #26: Puppet X-Ray (a hand puppet tutorial)

2011-02-28T23:59:00.001-05:00

The hand puppet is a deceptively simple type of puppet. You just stick your hand in it and -- ta-daah! Right?

If you were to look beneath the puppet, you would see how things really work. So, here it is: an x-ray look at a hand puppet.

When manipulating a hand puppet (or glove puppet, as our UK friends like to call them!), a puppeteer uses some sort of fingering technique. I've illustrated the most common ones below for today's post: a simple "Nerf" ball with an opening for fingers.

Head on the index finger. Thumb and middle finger make up the hands. A pretty common style to use. Biggest drawback is that you can't really pivot the head, you have to pivot the whole body.

This one is uncomfortable for me, but it works for others. Index finger holds the head; thumb and pinkie finger make up the hands.

I've never used this technique before -- but you can get a great reach for the hands on the thumb and pinkie without having to stretch too much. Downside is the thick neck.

My personal choice for most hand puppets. You can control the head nicely with the two fingers; the thumb is one hand, and the ring and pinkie finger make up the other.

I find this style a bit uncomfortable -- but what works for one person, might not be best for another.

Day #25: Spoonerina (or Today I Spent Too Much Time in the Kitchen...)

2011-02-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

It's going to be a long night. I'm waiting for some bread to rise right now, and then I'll still need to bake it. I think I've finally mastered the art of making homemade, whole "grain," gluten-free bread. I used to bake fabulous whole-grain sourdough bread. I was even using the fabulous rye starter from Bread and Puppet of Glover, Vermont. I've had to unlearn that art and pick up a new one, though. One where I take really weird flours and combine them to make something that approximates the "flour" I had grown used to using.

It's quiet in the kitchen. Really nice. The girls are asleep. Sam is asleep -- necessary because I think he has come down with a nasty virus. (Again.) Ew. Tomorrow will be a loooong day, too!

So today's puppet is kitchen inspired: a lovely spoon ballerina made from plastic mesh (from bags of lemons and avacadoes), three rubberbands, a Sharpie, and, of course, a spoon!

Voila!

Mesh Tutu

Lovely mesh "hairdo!"

Day #24: Ooey-Gooey (a brief philosophical discussion)

2011-02-27T23:52:00.006-05:00

Ooey Gooey was a worm,
A mighty worm was he.
He sat upon the railroad tracks...
The train he did not see.

Ooey gooey!

-Ogden Nash

I should not try to watch the Oscar's while working on puppets. I lost track of time and now I have FIVE minutes to finish this post!

I was a bit stumped as I, once again, had to make a puppet away from the studio and all of my supplies... A brief look around led me to some Play-do. Not the ideal material. But we've made excellent sculptures with Play-do in our house. (My older daughter has sculpted beautiful roses.)

The red Play-do called to me. A worm, naturally.

The only problem is that, in truth, you cannot make puppets out of Play-do. I made some rods by robbing a sushi made, and was able to stage some puppety looking photos.

The "saddle" of the worm.

But, like I said, this really isn't a puppet.

It doesn't move well; puppets are supposed to move.

So I made another worm. It doesn't look as sculptural. It's not as photogenic. But it moves well and would function much better as a worm in a performance.

I confess. I robbed the sushi mats to make these rods.

So which is the better puppet?

Day #23: Slinkin' Around...

2011-02-26T22:37:00.001-05:00

Nerf-ibi the Python

Today's puppet is inspired by another fan favorite from "Trickster Tales." Namibi the Python always gets a response from the audience! She slinks onto the stage, draping her body over the tree... We love it that we can hear the children who make excellent comments. "Is that one real?" is one of my favorites.

Anansi the Spider with Namibi the Python

Our Namibi is made the same way as "Nerf-ibi the Python." The body has a metal slinky that has been stretched out inside it and covered with fabric. The head is a Nerf ball with a felt tongue and marbles for eyes. Fun and easy to do with kids!

SSSSSSS-sssssssss.....

Day #22: Pleased as Punch!

2011-02-25T23:36:00.001-05:00

"That's the way to do it!"

Our older daughter has a lovely Punch and Judy bank that she purchases about four years ago from the gift shop at The Center for Puppetry Arts. The bank is really hefty and has a moving frying pan.

As I was pondering what to do, my eyes rested upon the P & J Bank...no baby! Oh my -- of course, Punch and Judy need a baby. So I took a peanut, wrapped it in swaddling tissue, and ta-daah! Baby!

The history of Punch and Judy is quite interesting -- and I've had the pleasure of seeing some fabulous Punch "Professors," as they are called. Glyn Edwards was one of the profs that I met; he performs all over the UK with his wife, Mary. This history, though! Wikipedia actually has a good history of Punch and Judy, as does "The Punch Page."

The Happy Family

My husband wants us to build a Punch and Judy show...we shall see!

Day #21: Beastly Traffic

2011-02-24T22:03:00.001-05:00

Loooong day today.

Today's post is dedicated to those who have known the pain of traffic jams.

OK. None of the magazines had miserable looking people. Just use your imaginations! The sunrise was beautiful today...

The alarm went off at 4AM (and I had just finished up yesterday's blog right around midnight!). We had a performance scheduled at an elementary school in Norfolk this morning. Our departure time was scheduled for 6AM. This allowed for a great deal of "tunnel traffic" padding in our schedule. Little did we know that the military bases in the area were doing special maneuvers of some sort and had tightened up security. Let's just say that the five-mile stretch between I-664 and the tunnel took us almost an hour! The total 95 mile trip took us 3 and 1/2 hours. Yikes! (And we were able to actually turn off the truck more than once as we sat on the highway-turned-parking-lot.)

We remained in contact with the school throughout the ordeal, and they were very understanding. A school in Norfolk would have to be understanding with such a large military presence. A number of parents and teachers experienced similar delays.

We arrived a shocking one hour and eight minutes after our anticipated arrival time. We were all a bit grouchy (it was waaaay past breakfast time -- and breakfast was in the trailer with the puppets). But we managed to get the show set up quickly and were ready to start just twenty minutes past our scheduled time -- huzzah! (Special thank you to Sam and Melanie who really, really stayed focus to get set up in record time!)

I will say, it was a great performance! I think there is something about stress that keys you up a bit and increases your focus.

We were pretty stressed out, too. It has been YEARS since we were not ready to begin a show at the scheduled time. I think I was pregnant with my first child the last time we had a delay; this was well before my husband and Melanie joined the company. Once I got horribly lost heading to Keysville, VA -- but that was before the advent of GPS.

Today's puppet is really toy theatre! I have taken some of my younger daughter's cars, made little people from magazine cut-outs, and created a crayola backdrop to go along with it! I thought about making a mini-cranky (we were all, in truth, quite cranky) to create moving scenery for the background...but our time in traffic was not really spent moving much. (And, let's be honest, I have to get up early again tomorrow morning...sleep is good.) Maybe this is just a form of puppet therapy for me...

A much more interesting reason for a traffic jam: DINOSAURS!

Those people should look a bit more worried...if this were a horror flick, they would be doomed!

We did drive past Williamsburg...I was inspired!

The beautiful sunrise was a treat -- our silver lining. After setting the toy theatre up, I decided that the traffic jam would be much more interesting with dinosaurs. I mean, traffic jams caused by too many people are rather trite...but dinosaurs would be cool. Traffic Jurassic!

Tomorrow we leave the house at 5:30am and head North on I-95 for three performances in Manassas...wish us luck on the traffic front! (And no dinosaurs!)

Day #20: Moody Judy

2011-02-23T23:41:00.001-05:00

Today was a busy day with two performances at two different libraries in Chesterfield County. We performed African Trickster Tales, which is a very high energy show! At the second show, the children were all very fixated on one of our characters: The Sky God.

The Sky God is an interesting puppet because he has a head that spins to show his current emotion. He is either very, very happy....or very, very angry! This is a character children react to very strongly. In fact, before the show began, I was talking with a mom and her daughter about the Sky God. The family had been to the show before, so they were familiar with the puppets and the story. The young girl had decided she was very afraid of the Sky God -- but she did end up watching the show and having a blast!

At the end of the show, we often do a show-and-tell with the puppets. My other performer, Melanie, and I take turns bringing puppets out in front of the stage. Today we were amused because every child wanted to see the Sky God above all other puppets. But we show him last -- the finale!

Today's puppet is inspired by the Sky God puppet whose head spins. To create our "Moody Judy," I started off with some basic household supplies: two paper plates, the paper tube part from a wire hanger, a marker, a chopstick, some rubber bands, and my husband's bright red Swingline stapler!

Step One: Take the paper tube (or you can use PVC), and cut a segment of it off. Rejoin it with a rubber band to form a "T" near the top.

Step Two: Cut the two paper plates into identical circles with necks.

Step Three: Secure the necks (from both plates) around the pointy part of the chopstick using rubber bands, a stapler or glue.

Step Four: Draw a face on each of the visible sides of the paper plate. Make sure each face looks like it's the same character -- just with a different mood. (The more drastic the change, the better!)

Step Five: Put some hair on her, too.

Step Six: Insert the chopstick with the paper plate head into the "T" configuration. (Now there's a sentence you don't see every day!)

Step Seven: Find some fabric or thin paper to drape over the puppet's body. Cinch the waist with a piece of string.

Voila! Spin the chopstick at the bottom while holding the tube, and you can spin the puppet's head without moving the body along with it! If you really want to be clever (I'm not staying awake that late!), you can add arms!

Not bad for being away from the studio and having to search my home, eh? (I'm practicing my Canadian accent.)

Day #19: Angling for a cuppa

2011-02-22T23:24:00.000-05:00

Watch out Nemo...

I know, I know...Today's puppet is really strange. I think it's because I was at the studio today doing some cleaning, organizing, and rearranging. After the retreat at Pocosin, I returned to the studio and everything seemed to be in a state of disarray. I also had time working in a different studio space while at Pocosin, and it made me rethink how I want my space to be arranged.The way I build puppets has been evolving, and I realized that I needed to set up the space to reflect this. It's still a work in progress, but it's progress!

But, back to the tea-ball. I made this scary angler fish using a tea ball, some wire, and lots of beads that my sister-in-law gave to me when she moved out of her condo in Boston. (Thanks, Katy!) It took a lot longer than I expected (which is, I suppose, to be expected) to finish this one. It was tricky getting in between the thin wire on the tea-ball.

I found a box full of lights...

Udderly ridiculous!

A cozy place to rest your head!

The wall we allow children to paint on during our open studios.

I did have a productive time today -- and it's the kind of productive time that will help me be more productive later this week.

Day #18: Sock 'em!

2011-02-21T23:55:00.000-05:00

You knew it was coming, didn't you? I mean, we couldn't have a Puppet-A-Day blog without...the sock puppet.

Yes. A real sock puppet.

Our "guest blogger" for this evening was created using one of my husband's socks (shhhh!), some rubber bands (inside the puppet to secure the sock), and some pipe cleaners I smuggled out of my daughters' room a few minutes ago (also, shhhh!). If you look closely at the back of the laptop, you can see a lovely reflection of the laundry waiting to be folded on my dining room table...

I wish I create puppets that could do my laundry -- that would be awesome.

If I ever learn how to build that, I'll be sure to make you one, too!

Day #17: Give A Hand!

2011-02-20T23:46:00.000-05:00

I just returned from the most amazing weekend at Pocosin Arts Cabin Fever Reliever. I haven't been this sleep deprived since my youngest daughter was tiny -- well, that or college final projects! Those were the days...

I took a workshop in 3-D felting using resists taught by Lisa Klakulak. What boggled my mind is that her teaching is just as excellent as her work. (What I mean is that her work is stellar AND so is her teaching -- the skill-sets do not necessarily co-exist.) I learned and synthesized more about the felting process on the first day than I have in the past year. Part of it is that there is a value in learning from a person rather than just a book. Direct experience is so key. The other part is having an instructor who person who truly knows her art inside out and upside down. I was in the studio early each morning and left late at night (past midnight!), and so were many of the other students. It was great being creative in a group setting like that with so many ideas jumping around the room -- it was alive with creativity!

"Hand" Puppet!

So, for today's puppet, I want to "give a hand" to my instructor and my classmates who all taught me so much and made for an incredible long weekend. She's made with eyeliner, red ink, black sharpie (that I tell my children they should never, ever use on their skin), and a purple fringed doll vest. And a hand, of course!

This is a felted vessel that was made using raw wool (merino) over a resist and lightly shellacked.

Now off to bed to catch up on my sleep as best as I can...

Day #16: More Shadowplay!

2011-02-19T16:55:00.000-05:00

OK. It's true...I am off on an artist's retreat right now. I am sure that Maude and I are having a great time, even though (gasp!) I actually do not have internet access. I am sure I will make something utterly amazing while I am there. So bear with me, please, as today we have: more shadow puppets!

Grrrrrr!!!! Watch out for those teeth!

Two friends: a duck and a friendly doberman.

Day #15: Shadowplay!

2011-02-18T16:44:00.000-05:00

You know it had to happen sometime this year. Here we are with the ubiquitous shadow puppet! We'll have more shadow puppets up this year, but we will start with the kind done with your own two hands.

The ubiquitous shadow bunny!

I would like to take a moment to talk about shadow screens. You can use sheets, tablecloths or pretty much anything, but shower curtains make sharp images. The image above was taken behind a shower curtain. The image below was taken from a screen of plain linen -- I like the texture of this one, and it feels a little spooky. The shadows look incredibly different depending on the type of screen you use. For our shows, we have also used Rosco Screen, which is made especially for shadow puppets (and projection of other kinds, too).

Egyptian Cat.

Day #14: Maude and I go on a road trip!

2011-02-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

OK, I'll be honest....this is a puppet I made a while ago BUT I just did major repair to her AND she is accompanying me on a really awesome roadtrip...so it counts. (See "Da Rulz" for more details.)

Maude

First, this roadtrip...I am off to the Pocosin Arts Cabin Fever Reliever XI. This is an artist retreat where you can take an intensive workshop in a medium of your choosing -- they have five choices this year. I am taking an intensive feltmaking workshop with Lisa Klakulak. I feel like I am off to camp! It's exciting to have time for me and a mini-vacation. Don't get me wrong, I totally LOVE my family...I just need a few days off!

Now for the puppet! Maude is a soft sculpture puppet that I made a few years ago. Her body is comprised of foam rubber covered with stretch terry. I styled the wig (I love doing that part) and had fun with her eyelashes, too. If you see me cruising down I-95, check out the passenger seat. I am totally going to put her there!

Eyelashes made from goose biots.

Puppet #13: Dino-rama

2011-02-16T22:31:00.000-05:00

When I was in elementary school, I LOVED making dioramas. I made lots of them. The two I remember the most were the Mayan temple (complete with human sacrifice happening at the top) and the revolutionary war (complete with bloody footprints of the soldiers in the snow).

Toy theatre has a similar appeal. The dinosaur toy theater was made using stencils and some wooden dowels. Some children can be very intimidated by the idea of drawing. They worry that what they make doesn't look like the "something" they had in mind. I think that using stencils could help children get over these concerns and get on with making some puppets and telling some stories!

(Thanks, Tricia, for having great stencils at your Valentine's Day party!)

Day #12: Dinner Theatre, Anyone?

2011-02-15T23:01:00.000-05:00

"I see puppets..."

Is there a national "Play with your food day?" There should be.

Above we have our watermelon angelfish. The watermelon (shaped by biting) has a strategically placed watermelon seed and a wooden skewer. Voila! This was a collaborative effort between me and my older daughter. She did all the biting. I stuck on the eye.

Thanks, Lynn, for photographing!