puppetmaker | LJ Idol 5.5 Professional Doll Wiggler and Proud of it

Gonzo: "What's a puppet?"
Kermit (uncomfortably): "Well, it's like a doll that you wiggle to make it look alive..."
Gonzo: "WHAT? Wiggling dolls is WEIRD!" (Exits)
Kermit, to the audience: "I haven't the heart to tell him..."
-The Muppet Show Season 5 with Senor Wences as the guest star

I once asked one of my favorite artists who I had become friends with when he knew he was an artist. He told me that he had always been one. He can't remember a time in his life that he wasn't drawing or doodling. It was as much a part of him as breathing. He asked me how long I had been working with puppets. I thought about it and told him that honestly I can't remember a time I wasn't playing with puppets.

Some of my early memories have to do with puppets. I had some of the Wizard of Oz puppets you could get with Downey Fabric Softener. My favorite shows had puppets in them like Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and Kulka, Fran and Ollie. Then Sesame Street came along and showed me a whole other world of puppetry. I loved the Muppets from the first time I saw them. They were different from anything else I had seen.

As I got older, I learned more about puppets and puppetry. I started building them for my own amusement. My knowledge of puppetry made me a valuable asset to a number of theater companies over the years. I was the go to person for puppets. But I didn’t think of myself as an artist or even a puppeteer, I thought of myself as a dabbler who enjoyed puppets. Which has surprised a number of my long time friends in retrospect.

It wasn’t until I brought a certain puppet to DragonCon that my perception of what I could do changed. I had graduated from the YSD by that time. I was the tech director for DragonCon which meant I didn’t get much sleep for four days but I had a good crew so I could get things done. I had brought with me a puppet based on the DC comic book character Morpheus because Neil Gaiman was going to be there. I hadn’t gotten the time or the courage to show the puppet to Neil. And I might not have if it hadn’t been for the artist Jill Thompson. She saw the puppet and thought it was just wonderful. She asked if Neil had seen it. I said no. She told me that he HAD to see it. I took the puppet to panel that Neil was on. I had it positioned to where only the panelists could see the puppet. Neil started cracking up and saying that is just amazing. The audience was puzzled so Neil had me bring the puppet in. He wanted to talk to me so we quickly arranged a time to meet. He and I met up while he was doing some interviews. He was telling me how cool the puppet was and how neat he thought it was. I said Well Neil if you really like it, I could make you one. I found myself and the puppet caught up in a bear hug. And that was the beginning of a rather long standing friendship.

A couple of years later Neil and Dave McKean were touring for the “Mr. Punch” and they came to the comic book store that I managed. We went out to dinner and were talking about the book which Neil had thanked me in. He told me that he paraphrased something I told him about puppetry the first time that we had met that had stuck with him in the book. I was stunned and pleased that he had picked up something that I had been trying to explain for years to people.

I slid the puppet onto my left hand and it came to life.

I’m not talking about anything fantastical here. You can try it yourself-find a handpuppet, slide it onto your arm, move your fingers. And somehow, in the cold space between one moment and the next, the puppet becomes alive.
Mr. Punch- by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.

After that first meeting with Neil I reassess how I thought of my work. I made more puppets and started showing them in Art Shows at Science Fiction conventions. One of those shows was one of the last Atlanta Fantasy Fairs. I got an artist ribbon to put on my badge and people asked me what I did as an artist. And I would tell them that I made puppets. Towards the end of the convention, the con committee came up and proudly told me that Peter David had bought one of my klingon puppets. I had posted a sign that each puppet came with a half hour lesson so I arranged to meet with Mr. David and his daughter and as he signed stuff I showed him and Shana how a rod puppet worked. I shook hands with him and went home. That night I looked up at my bookshelves which had my favorite Star Trek Novels on top of a stack of books. The one on top was “Q-in-Law” by Peter David. To which I said, “Oh THAT Peter David.” Which was the beginning of my friendship with Peter and we all know where that lead.

I have become an advocate for puppetry. I have taught people how puppets work. I have done lectures about the history of puppetry. I had performed for both children and adults. I have taught people how to make various kinds of puppets. I am known on the Internet in many circles as Kath the Puppeteer. If there is a puppet question, I am the go to person for a lot of people which is kind of nice.

Occasionally I do run into some strange puppet prejudice and some attitudes about puppetry that are odd to me. I can remember for a long time I had a hard time convincing workmanship judges for costuming that puppets were worth looking at and were just as complicated to make if not more so than putting 1000 bugle beads on a garment. Some art show directors looked upon puppets as crafts not art and they didn’t let crafts into their art shows. I once sent copies of catalogues from art museums that had puppet exhibits in their temporary galleries to one art director to make my point.

On another note, I have to say that I really dislike the art vs. craft argument that has been going on for years. I consider most crafts as works of art and much art is rather crafty in its own way. Yes, I do understand that some forms of crafts are just creating copies of one object but what are limited edition digital prints? I find it funny that there seems to be a strange backlash in the craft community. There was recently a doll show that refused a number of dolls because they didn’t consider them dolls but works of art/sculptures and as such were not allowed into the show according to the rules. And then there are craft shows that don’t let puppets in for some really strange reasons including that they are not crafts.

I am proud to declare myself a Master Puppeteer. It is just part of who I am and has always been a part of me.

This was written for the Lj Idol 5th season. If you liked it, even if you don’t like puppets, I hope you will vote for me this week.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

millysdaughter.livejournal.com

I consider puppets to be artworks. I also think dolls can be artworks. I have seen that art-vs-craft battle many times, and I think that line is very very fuzzy.
However, when **I** slip the puppet onto my hand, it does not come alive. It requires a special touch to achieve that wonderful result. I will remain seated in the audience, because those of us who are designated for the section to "clap and cheer" can also add to the joy of the show.

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Journeys of a Puppetmaker

LJ Idol 5.5 Professional Doll Wiggler and Proud of it

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