Update: Big Ideas Conference, Luton

See below for updates...

Hello there, this is a post to let you know two things: One, I shall be starting a new puppet build next week for a show in Leeds which I shall be putting the pictures up for in time, and excitingly, I shall be attending The Big Ideas conference event in Luton tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to, especially with the line up of visiting artists and speakers - War Horse, Pif Paf, Big Man Walking, The Lion King, Blind Summit, Rampage, and many more - plus talks and seminars there will be hands on workshops and networking events as well as the opportunity to play with some big puppets - all in all, I can't wait. I plan to take some pictures and to give a status report when i get back, so check that out - Until my next post, thanks for dropping by.

Update: I am returned from the conference, which was a hectic couple of days fuelld with great amounts of enthusiasm, and a lot of inspiration! Some great companies were attending, and I could go on for a long time about some of the workshops and events - I must say a huge well done to Linda Lewis and Emma Leishman of the Puppet Centre Trust who did sterling work all weekend, and for myself, I managed to meet some great people, see some great puppetry, and find out a lot of things which really informed and inspired me, so can't say fairer than that! I have some pictures which I will add below

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea this week

Hello there, some quick updates for you. I've been away and then leapt straight into a new puppet build for Birmingham Rep's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the young Rep, which starts tonight (Thursday). It was a nice project to do obviously involving fish, specifically a shark and giant squid puppet for two key scenes. The commission was to build them in a similar method to the dog and vulture puppets for Phaedra's Love . Using this method for the new puppets worked out rather well, and I was able to try out some new mechanics ideas for the movement of the swimming shark and attacking squid. Although I was happy with the results, and I hope they come out well for the show, I'm already thinking of how I would refine the design for potential future models. Hopefully there will be a chance to try out some more designs for new projects over the next year. That's my current build over, but have got some new puppet designs lined up for the coming couple of months as well as other news, so keep checking back, and if you are around, go and check out 20,000 Leagues at the Rep, it looks great. Meanwhile, I'm going to add some pictures for the Shark and Squid models, and hopefully will be able to add some production photo's later. I also include some building photo's too, although I'm trying to cut down on them...

Dog 2 finished and new news

Hello there, back again with some new news. I am currently working on a set for Leeds Theatre Group's 'An Ideal Husband' which will be on at Sevenarts theatre in Leeds from the 6th to the 8th of May. More pictures of that after it has gone up. In the meantime, Here is the second section of the second Dog puppet build. When you joined me last, I was attempting to find all the materials to make the puppet from the local area, however, for the body I had to make a concession and get hold of materials from the store. I needed something which could act in the same way as the pipe I found for Dog 1, but couldn't bet on finidng something just right at that time. In the end, I went for a sheet of wire mesh which I could shape well, which would be light and easy to fix to the frame. I coupled this with some felt and stuffing from a sacrificial pillow of mine. Other than that, the mechanisms worked in the same way as the previous dog. here are the pictures. I've also included some more pictures of the original dog and the Phaedra's Love model box and set.

Dog 2 and set news

Well if the counter on the right is correct, there are at least one or two people regularly visiting to take a look here. (Hello if you're one of them. Why not leave a comment?) Meanwhile, I am preparing the set drawings and models for presentation for Phaedra's love and Bad House, but in the meantime I thought I'd write a quick blog about the dog. The head was formed pretty quickly, and I made the neck using some hoover pipe I found. However, the body became a problem. I discovered I wasn't able to find something appropriate to use in the local area's various skips, and realised i'd have to rethink it slightly. The problem is when I found the first piece of pipe it dictated it's own design, but was not the definitive design. Therefore, for the new, larger dog, I am using the same design structure, but am attempting to model it out of mesh this time which shouls be lighter, and easier to mould. It won't be as strong, so may require a wooden frame to bulk it out a bit. Fortunately, There is plenty of wood about. meanwhile, here is a progression of the dogs head from face up. His face was modelled first, and I have just finished papier mache, which really brings the item to life, seals in the design as it were. here are the current progress pics, and I will update on the next body stage, as well as set models and drawings. Oh and look out for the crafty use of milk carton corners for ears...

Reuse, Recycle, Repeat

Hello there, a quick update to let you know some news, I will be doing two new set designs for shows at scarborough this year, of which i hope to put up some production process photo's and will be building a new Dog puppet for Phaedra's Love, which I may be operating myself. I will again put up some pictures of the progress on that, but wanted to write quickly about my preference for using recylced materials. I am a self confessed hoarder, and I can scavenge a bit too, which is worrying for the amount of stuff I have, but handy for getting raw materials for building. The area in which I currently live is very good for things like this, as I can often go out and find what I need for nothing on my doorstep. I went out for a quick walk around the neighbourhood this morning, and found the wood, polystyrene and piping I need to get started on the new dog (see picture below). The only thing I am missing is a body, although i may end up creating a new on which will be lighter than the previous one, based on a wooden frame instead. I will update this over the nest week or so as I begin to build. Check back for new updates as we go on. I hope to continue to resue and use found materials in my scenery and props too.

Dog and Vulture build 2, and Phaedra's Love for NSDF

Ravenrock's Phaedra's love was met with a fantastic response last week, and the excellent news is it has been selected for the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough this year, so fantastic news all round, and hopefully an opportunity to meet others interested in similar ideas. Meanwhile here are some pictures that I am indebted to Nick Coupe for, thanks Nick.

Vulture Puppet build part 1

And here is part 1 of the Vulture puppet build...again, i'll try to explain it as clearly as possible and will follow up with more pictures soon.
Firstly the head which is a block of polystyrene with a milk carton making the beak - they really are useful things for making, i've found...

Alongside the dog head.
A piece of dowel for operating and hosepipe for the neck...

Meanwhile the body and wings. I thought I might do some sort of flapping wing mechanism, But ended up feeling I would have to make a full set of wings from scratch if it was to look right. It proved to be one of the most technically rewarding builds I have tried. I began by tearing apart an old umbrella to see how the folding arms worked, and basically attempting to recreate this on a larger scale. I used aluminium U section as it is light and easy to cut and drill.

I Cut the U section and made laid it out to make sure they would all fit together...

Here they are with the remainder of that length of sign post I found...

Next I had to round off all corners and drill holes so each piece would not grind against the other

With the pieces cut I could begin assembling each wing

One wing assembled, without the last piece of dowel which will be the larger span of the arm. This section does the basic movement, and can be as big or as small as you like, depending on purpose.

Ready to mount on the body. You may notice the channel cut in the back of the post which will allow the dowel to slide back and forth without being in the way

Now you can see my ugly mug demonstrating the wings in action:

Now all we have to do is to make the frame for the body...
And we are ready for covering! The next step for Dog and Vulture will be posted soon.