Puppet Making (Part 1)
(click on images to view them full size)
How it all began.
It’s funny how interconnected things can be - like my husband finding a puppet making studio that gives classes and is affiliated with the father of a guitar friend of his. Add to this him getting the notion that this would be a fun thing for us to do with a couple of our friends - none of whom are into puppet making, but they were still up for it as it sounded fun and creative. Those are the kinds of friends who are important to have in your life - people who are up for something off the wall and new just to be able to hang out and have some fun together.
Juanita’s creative studio where the puppet making magic happened. (EXIF data iPhone image)
Now if you’ll recall I’ve done a few posts about not feeling very creative (I wrote about it here) and I historically have felt all sorts of resistance inside myself when I think about doing something new - it’s that resistance to feeling uncomfortable and outside of my comfort zone that is a good indicator to me that this is something I should pursue. I still feel the resistance and I still feel the discomfort, however I’m less likely to say no and then regret that decision later - so I was all in (hesitatingly) for puppet making.
We set up a time to work with Juanita at her studio for three Saturdays in February - a great time of year to do something different and be creative.
Our First Saturday Session
The four of us showed up on the first Saturday morning all full of nervous energy and excitement to see what would happen. Of the group two were engineers (myself included), one very creative electrician with a lot of woodworking skills and a part-time abstract artist - a bit of a motley crew for sure. The plan was to make sand bag puppets as these would be the easiest (i.e., no hands or legs - the sandbag forms the body) and we’d only have to make a head out of clay which is then cast and a final polymer mould is made of the face (I’ll get to the details later) which we then paint and decorate with hair etc - easy peasy!
A face taking shape as my husband Kory gets busy with his puppet head. (EXIF data 120mm, f4, 1/200s, ISO 1000 - denoise software used as I didn’t use a flash inside)
Juanita was wonderful about making us feel at ease and getting us started with our big lump of clay. At first I just looked at it and wondered how this would ever be able to turn into something recognizable - maybe I should try to make an ogre or some other non-human form! She gave us books to look through for inspiration, but the other three decided to dive right in and not set expectations by trying to copy a drawing. I saw an image of a wizened old woman and thought that might be a good direction to head, so off we all went - forming our clay.
Maya’s figure started to look almost like the figures carved from stone on Easter Island - a very strong character with interesting features. (EXIF data 120mm, f5.6, 1/125s, ISO1000)
We all became so intent on our work that an easy quiet fell on the studio - music from the 80’s played and we were in the zone. Occasionally we’d move around and see how each other were doing and Juanita came along and offered suggestions or did demonstrations on her piece of clay. It was great to follow along the steps as she guided, but with each of us moving along on our own piece. I kept taking breaks to try and capture some of the action on film - no easy feat with a very cluttered workshop and lots of distractions in the background.
I kept thinking of images I wanted to capture as we worked - the creative juices flowing freely as I itched to pick up my camera while I was equally enthralled with the rather angular and pointed face of my old woman started to emerge. Each of us were making very different faces and despite our novice status - it was impressive to watch the figures emerge.
Next step in the process
Pouring plaster of Paris over the clay face and making sure that there were no air bubbles (we blew lightly on the liquid with a straw to remove the bubbles) around the features of the face. (EXIF data 80mm, 1/125s, f8, ISO800)
After we were all satisfied with the results of our clay faces we moved on to the next step of making plaster of paris moulds of the faces - not the neatest or cleanest step in the process. Between getting covered with fine white dust as we mixed up the white pasty liquid to the rather spectacular breach of Nancy’s mould which resulted in plaster pouring all over the bench and floor - splatters covering her jeans. Not to worry - all breaches were repaired and we left the moulds to set while we had a quick lunch.
Pouring plaster into the moulds - note the small breach with liquid puddling on the board - I really should have been paying more attention than taking photos! (EXIF data 80mm, 1/125s, f7.1, ISO1000)
The day was so mild that we actually sat outside to eat - very unseasonably warm for a February day. We also got to watch a short video of a puppet play that Juanita had made - marvelling at the characters and creativity in the construction of the puppets. Puppet making is not as popular an art form in North America as it is in Europe which is a shame since there is so much creativity and imagination at work in the formation of these figures.
Wrapping up Day 1
After a lunch break we came back to the studio and removed the cardboard from the moulds. Next we had to dig out the clay from the mould - not an easy thing to do around the eyes and some other more intricate areas of the face. Silence fell on the studio as we worked away on our pieces. Finishing up a long day, but feeling really uplifted by how well each of our puppet faces turned out.
Preview of Kory’s puppet face after the polymer step. (EXIF data 80mm, 1/125s, f6.3, ISO1000 - converted to B&W in Lightroom)
Juanita prepped us for the next week’s class - she would cast the polymer skin in our moulds during the week to ensure it was all dry and ready for us next Saturday. We would be pulling the faces out and then reinforcing the faces and making necks and shoulders out of wood (wood working skills and using bandsaws and drill presses) followed by fashioning the back of the head out of paper mache and doing some minor repairs to any areas of the faces that needed it. It would be another busy Saturday, but by now we were all fully invested in making the best puppets we could.
Takeaways from Day 1
I was really surprised how we all got so into the process of puppet making and also how creative and skilled we were with moulding the clay faces. I have not worked with clay or made anything human like in the past, so this was all new ground for me. I found that working with my hands was very satisfying and interestingly I found that working in a medium other than photography really gave me some wonderful ideas about the types of images I’d like to take. I started to see the scenes through a more creative lens.
It is often said that to get creativity flowing it is good to try something completely different and day 1 of puppet making really got me thinking about this.
Have you ever taken on a creative project that is outside of your comfort zone? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or drop me a note directly by clicking on the Connect With Me button.
So much creative energy in the development of each of the puppet faces. (EXIF data 120mm, f5.6, 1/125s, ISO800)
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
