Connecting to Play
My dive into puppetry came from a love of visual and performing arts, a desire to keep one foot firmly rooted in my childhood, and the idea that playing shouldn't end when you become an adult. The marriage of playing and art is extremely beautiful and should happen every day.
My grandfather carved marionettes, sculptures and toys for his kids and grandkids. However I do believe it was my Auntie Pat who made me my very first puppet. It was a black crocheted lamb puppet that I still have. My mom, a doll-maker/nurse extraordinare, had me help her make puppets when I was about 15 or 16 years old. I remember the discovery process back then. There were no patterns available, so we just had to wing it.
23 or so years later, part of the year I'm a Sesame Street puppeteer, and the rest of the time I build puppets out of a lovely studio (a beautifully well-lit, colorful work space in the heart of a pie-factory-turned-artist-studios). I have bins, shelves, and drawers of socks, eyeballs, rods, and fur, foam, and fleece. I'm surrounded by family treasures and art and puppets and supplies--all in a bright, cheerful space, warmed by the Arizona sunshine.
My hope is that, even if you don't ever end up having me send you one of my little guys, I want you to wander away from my shop having smiled; having laughed at my weird or corny sense of humor; having been delighted by something you saw; having your day brightened in some way.
Thanks for supporting the arts, your local puppetry scene, and me!
