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April 2009 Blog Posts (15)

Zut!

Failure is a necessary step in success, right? I carved a dog head for a latex puppet, but I didn't do a good enough job covering it with plaster to create the mold (thin spots that broke open and air pockets) and ended up with a total loss! Time to revise my mold making process!

I also emailed Noreen Young about purchasing a copy of her DVD to improve my methods. I have an idea brewing and I want to do it right!

And finally my on-going struggle: puppet maker or… Continue

Added by Mike on April 29, 2009 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

To make a stage of a suitcase...

I have this green suitcase.

And I have this 'stage'. From the front:

And from the side:

The four pieces fit into the suitcase. But I need to get them to fold and unfold instantly. In the picture they are only stuck together with tape. The MDF boards are very thin. So how would I screw hinges into them? Maybe I could glue hinges onto them? I… Continue

Added by CabbagePatchPete on April 29, 2009 at 9:00am — 2 Comments

Well, here we go!

This is my first day as a Puppet Hub member and I'm oh so excited! I've spent the last couple weeks developing a new "partner in crime" and he is well on his way. I first became interested in ventriloquism as a child when I fell in love with the work of Shari Lewis. I've dabbled on and off throughout the years, but now I mean business! I plan to attend the Vent Haven ConVENTion for the first time this year. It's going to be a great summer!

Added by Mike on April 27, 2009 at 10:44am — 1 Comment

Easter 2009 Calvary Chapel Signal Hill/Downey Shows

Downey - 10:20am/Apr 11

Signal Hill – 10:00am/Apr 12

March/April was a very ruff month, we now have our own building so we spent three wks remolding the sanctuary, and I had an accident and hurt my shoulder running into a metal door frame. My daughter wrote a script about St Bernard getting caught by the dogcatcher. BibleBetty uses all her money in her piggy bank to get him out. All the puppeteers worked very hard on the church so we weren’t able to practice as well as we should so we… Continue

Added by biblebetty on April 26, 2009 at 7:35pm — No Comments

For Seattle area Puppeteers.

On May 16, 2009, the Puppeteers of Puget Sound [http://www.geocities.com/pofps/]

will be hosting a Day of Puppetry for Puppeteers in Ballard.

This is a day dedicated to showcasing the work of local puppeteers. Showcase

performers will be announced on the website [http://www.geocities.com/pofps/]

May 1, 2009.

The event itself will occur at the Sunset Hill Community Club

[http://www.sunsethillcommunity.com/ ] on May 16 with daytime… Continue

Added by Puppeteer_Elly on April 25, 2009 at 1:16pm — No Comments

December 2008 Calvary Chapel Signal Hill/Downey Shows

Hi everyone:

It has been awhile …. Had a lot going on, My Daughter had surgery, my father past away, got hurt really bad while trying to remodel our new church. But I’m back!!!! In December we did four shows. First and second shows were on Saturday. We were going to perform at Calvary Chapel Downey at 7:00pm (have dinner) then drive to Costa Mesa to perform at 9:30pm for Angel Tree.

(Angel Tree Christmas dinner works by connecting parents in prison with their children through the… Continue

Added by biblebetty on April 24, 2009 at 11:11pm — No Comments

Help me!

...if you possibly could, fine puppet friends.

I'm on the LAST DAY of a competition to help my company, Primal Visions win a business grant from Intuit - I'd love to have people vote to add to my chances! I think I am the only artist type entered in the competition, and I'll wager the only one who makes puppets.

You do need to sign up to vote, and I know that I'll lose most of you already because it makes it a pain in the butt to do. Got an old spammy email account? ;)… Continue

Added by BlueHyena on April 24, 2009 at 5:16pm — No Comments

the prisoner

To be controlled with one arm via a rod in the back of his head, while his feet are weighed down.

I made him once, and he worked perfectly. Just a few blocks of foam held together only by the skin (sock and t-shirt material. The pieces gradually fell apart, so I decided to get some thread and string and attach everything together.

The movement was lost. I have yet to find a way to keep his bits… Continue

Added by CabbagePatchPete on April 23, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

Window continued

This was an older prototype. Just an illustrated piece of foam on a wire stand.

And here's how I'm standing up the new one. On springs.

So far I think it's a bit lacking in character and the springs don't allow for as much sideways motion as I'd hoped but it will do for… Continue

Added by CabbagePatchPete on April 23, 2009 at 10:23am — No Comments

Oh, we can blog on this site..

This looks like a good opportunity to keep a record of my progress. Especially since I don't have Word or Photoshop or any o' that.

Here is my window drawn onto foam.

.

But I want a 3D window, so..

Here's the outline of that same window. And a block of foam I want to use as...

...the window sill.

And now I've rolled two bars and slotted 'em in.…

Continue

Added by CabbagePatchPete on April 21, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

check it!

www.spencerlott.blogspot.com

not really a blog, just a sort of online portfolio

Added by Spencer Lott on April 14, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

WOW A blog... never devoured this before.

Apparently, today is Fri, April 10th and Southeastern Minnesota is finally getting temperatures in a normal range. It is wonderfully nice outside. This blog is way to trite. Lets move on to something less common...

Sand Buckets. You know the ones for the beach or the sandbox. They weren't always round cylindrical shapes, but also cheater shapes with molded castles so that sand castles were made way too easy. Our thin plastic shovels always broke as we never had used them for digging, but… Continue

Added by overdrivenbrass on April 10, 2009 at 3:58pm — No Comments

Design night

tonight I spent designing a few new puppets. I have quite a few custom pattern puppet designs, but I lack the spine to go out on that tightrope quite yet. I've only worked with pre-made patterns so far (thank god for projectpuppet.com!) The first two puppets I ever made were sans-pattern and came out these giant horrible abominations nature and since then it's been patterns for me. However, I can no longer resist the pull of advanced work and my next few puppets will be a test of my skills… Continue

Added by Mary Kate Rix on April 9, 2009 at 1:00am — No Comments

crayon puppets

Help!

Does anyone know how to make crayon puppets?

Added by Lillie on April 7, 2009 at 12:11pm — No Comments

Jungle Bird Puppet, Toucan Foam Puppet

Here is another superb foam hand puppet. This toucan puppet was crafted entirely out of foam. Extremely light weight and a joy to operate. with a ridiculously large beaks, these jungle birds are beautiful to look at. I did a performance at the San Francisco Zoo using this Toucan hand puppet recently, Toucan was the only animal puppet in the whole place. I don't have a… Continue

Added by californiapuppets on April 6, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments