Puppet Making (Part 2)
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Pulling a face.
Pulling the polymer face from the plaster mould. (EXIF data 120mm, f5.6, 1/200s, ISO800)
The second Saturday arrived all fresh and full of creative potential and we pulled up to the studio excited to see how the face moulds turned out. Our first job was to carefully extract the polymer face mould from the plaster form using various tools and gently prying away from the edges - the eyes and nose portion was the toughest to remove as we didn’t want to pull too hard and rip or tear the polymer which was still quite soft and malleable.
Slowly but surely we extracted the faces and excited exclamations could be heard from each of us - we were thrilled with how the faces had come out - the details and textures were captured so well. You’d think we were done with the level of satisfaction expressed by everyone.
Fashioning structures/shoulders and finishing the head.
Me using a drill press to make round slots in the shoulders and head structure. (EXIF data iPhone image courtesy of K. McIntyre).
The key to making a sandbag puppet is to have a lightweight, but structurally sound head which is attached to a stable neck and shoulders section. There is also the need for a dowel at the back of the head for the puppeteer to hold onto and maneuver the puppet to give it animation.
This meant woodworking tools - we could almost see those in the group exuding confidence with power tools and those who are a bit more challenged when it comes to using things with fast moving blades (sheepishly raising my hand). However we were all game to learn and give it a try. First up was bandsaw fundamentals and cutting all of the wood pieces to length (after figuring out approximate sizing from the newly released face masks). This part went mostly smoothly - a little bit of finessing required to get some rounded shoulders and rounded head cross member to fit inside the face mask.
Then came the belt sander to smooth off the edges and finally using the drill press to make holes for the dowels to fit into each other - some good wood glue and the structure was all put together.
Head and shoulder structure installed with paper mache around the back of the head - messy work! (EXIF data 120mm, f5.6, 1/200s, ISO800).
The final step for the day was to lightly stuff the face with crumpled up paper and then layering the back of the head with strips of glue saturated paper to form the back of the head. You could have heard a pin drop in the studio as everyone was studiously working away fashioning the heads around the wooden supports - suddenly the puppets started to emerge as characters. Considering the lump of clay that we started with - this was a major step in forming a functioning puppet.
I was rather surprised how this step changed the shape and demeanour of each of our puppets - mine took on a rather sinister look when tilted downwards as shadows formed under the cheekbones and eye sockets. Maya’s took on a very wise look born of years of family wisdom passed along, whereas Nancy and Kory’s puppets had looks of joy or at least bemusement.
Last day - Paining the Face - Hair and Accessories (aka the fun part!)
My wizened old lady was starting to take shape. (EXIF data 100mm, f5.6, 1/200s, ISO800 - photo courtesy of K.McIntyre).
Our last Saturday seemed to arrive so quickly and by now we were in the groove of the routine - quick stop in the kitchen for coffee and a freshly baked muffin (yum!) before heading to the studio to start the final stage of painting and then hair and makeup/accessories. This is the part where all of the creative ideas come together and the puppets take on a life of their own. I will be honest that I was a bit apprehensive - my elderly woman looked so promising and I was worried that my lack of artistic skills would ruin the effect. Little did I know that we would all do fantastic work and create unique puppet people.
Finished old woman face. (EXIF Data 100mm, f6.3, 1/200s, ISO800).
Juanita spent time showing us how to mix different paint colours to get facial pigment colours - reminding us to mix enough so that we wouldn’t have to try and guess at the mixture again. First the base coat which was easy and then came the variations in hue to get different shading and textures to come out. Highlight the cheekbones and chin - shadow under the eyes to give depth - oooppppps! that didn’t work out how I wanted - no matter just paint over it and start again - wow how much fun is failing when you get a do-over! Gradually I started to relax and recognize that I couldn’t mess this up - my puppet was unique and bringing her to life was a fun project - no harm would come if she wasn’t perfect - wow that really was a blow to the perfectionist in me - but a good lesson.
Sewing puppet bodies. (EXIF data iPhone image).
Painting the eyes was a bit tricky and we even used a photographic trick of painting catch lights (white highlights in the iris of the eye to give a sense of life and sparkle) in the irises of the eyes - lots of little touches and finally the heads were ready to be left to dry while we rummaged around the bins of yarn and other goodies for hair and embellishments.
Note: I managed to sew the sandbag bodies of the 4 puppets during the week before our last class and I’m glad that I did as we were able to focus on the painting and decorating part more.
Bringing it all together
Final trim of the nose hairs and eyebrows. (EXIF data 100mm, f5.6, 1/200s, ISO800).
Once the faces were all painted we applied hair and accessories after filling and attaching the sandbag body. It was so much fun to see everyone’s work come together. We were a bit sad for the three Saturday's to come to an end. Juanita is a very talented puppet maker, but she is also a very skilled teacher - patient and humorous as well as enthusiastic (what a cheerleader for our progress!!) and encouraging. She really made the sessions fun and enjoyable.
A very jolly fellow. (EXIF data 120mm, f7.1, 1/125s, ISO1200).
Puppet making may not be in any of our full-time futures, however we learned some wonderful new skills and we also had some great time together bonding and laughing. Now we’re just going to have to figure out a puppet story that includes an old woman, a jolly fellow, a Mayan warrior and a forgetful fellow who reminds me of Doc from Back to the Future - should be no problem at all!
Focusing on different kinds of creativity
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when we started this project - as a side note: my photography has been going through some changes lately, but not really crystallizing into anything substantial. I’ve struggled to find motivation and inspiration to get out with my camera and despite having a weekly creativity prompt to work with - I’ve been coming up lacking (in my opinion - the Judge has been present and active!).
What I found with doing this totally out of my comfort zone activity and going into it with zero expectations was a gift to myself. I’m usually the one who gets all worked up and anxious about doing things right or doing a good job and for some reason with these puppets I approached it completely differently. I went in with the goal of having fun and hanging out with my friends.
Shifting my mindset allowed me to be more open to trying new things without some preconceived idea of what would be good or rubbish. Juanita’s advice to not try and make some beautiful face - focus more on character - was really good as it built in the possiblity that there would be imperfections in the puppets to reflect their personalities.
Letting go of expectations freed each of us to embrace playfulness and curiosity - if something didn’t turn out the way we wanted that was ok - just accept, rework it or start again. I have talked about the importance of play in another blog post and how it expands our creativity. This was clearly happening for each of us, but definitely for me.
Four layers of images including 2 from Iceland, one from Saskatchewan and one from a neighbourhood walk. (composite of 4 images edited in Lightroom and Photoshop).
Just three Saturdays of unscripted play seemed to unlock some interesting doors for my creativity. Suddenly I was heading out for short photography walks - even if I didn’t stay out for hours that was fine - I was going out with specific ideas of images I wanted to capture. Then I found myself searching back in my photo archives (I have a few stored photos from the past 10 years) and finding gems that I wanted to work with along with recent photos to create collages - a new direction I’ve been heading.
This is something new for me and while I’ve got lots to learn with the new editing tools I’m using - I find that even that part has become play. If something doesn’t turn out as I wanted or expected then I just undo or start again - transferring some of the skills I’ve been relearning from the puppet making workshop.
Oh and yes I did do a photoshoot of all four puppets when they were complete - bravo to Maya, Nancy, Kory and me - we did great! Thank you also to our teacher Juanita - you rock!
The final puppets from our workshop - all unique and full of personality. (EXIF data 120mm, f8, 1/125, ISO1200).
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
