Week two continued with more body carving, and then lectures & demonstrations about how Mirek created out kits and the various types of joints used based on puppet design and function. Then we learned about assembling and stringing our puppets to the control. Lastly, we met with the other group to show and tell our puppets. The upcoming August group of students joined us to see what is in store!
After I finished carving the limbs, I focused on the body. For my ballerina design, the only costume piece was to be the tutu; the rest of the details are carved and then painted to add dimension. After completing all of the other carving, I went back to the face to really balance the two sides and create an interesting profile.
The painting process requires several steps: First, the wood is sealed with a coat of watered down clear wood glue. During this step, I glued some yarn into the hair to create additional texture to what I carved. Then, using acrylic paint and water, a base coat of scumbled paint is applied very thinly so as to allow the wood and carved texture to remain visible. Then, highlights and shadows are added in thin layers to really enhance the depth of the form. Nothing about this is realistic, so I used a whole rainbow of colors to describe the highlights and shadows. Everything is painted before assembling, paying attention to not add friction in the joints. I also painted the rest of the "clothes"- the bodice and toe shoes.
Assembling the parts is very fiddly! My dancer puppet has extra joints at the waist, ankle, and wrist so she's very flexible. The neck, shoulders and elbows are leather cord fed through drilled holes and secured with nails. The wrists and waist are wedge shaped pieces of leather, secured with tiny nails. I had to fabricate custom staples to secure the neck to the body, and the knee and hip joints. Rather than using nails, this allows these majors joints to be detached for maintenance or swapping out parts or clothes. As the joints were completed, I had to do a little fine-tune carving and sanding to ensure the joints were moving freely, especially at her feet so she could "go on pointe." Once her torso was complete, I added the tutu, gathering the fabric first and then shaping it to her hip like a traditional ballet basque using little nails (and a stapler).
Once assembled, the last step is to string the puppet to the control rod. There are a series of small eye hooks screwed into the wood that are tied to a T shaped dowel rod. Heavy string at various lengths create the tension necessary for manipulation. I can't wait to see her dance! It was so great to meet everyone and their puppets on the last day.
