Thursday 25 October 2012

Meet Mac...



For our professional practice we were asked to make masks of our 'alter-egos' to wear during a mock interview. This was supposed to make us feel more comfortable. But i can't even talk to people when I'm wearing sunglasses as I feel invisible, so I didn't really want to make a mask.

Instead I made my first puppet!
I made him in a day (due to the fact i only had a day or i would have spent longer on it, and anyway the pressure spurred me on). I'm glad I made him and although it was sort f on a whim, its given me the kick up the arse to stop faffing and just get on and work things out as I make.

I used what I'd learnt last term about sculpting in foam making my mermaid puppet, and set about sculpting the head in foam. I needed to be able to make the puppet speak so I carved the head with a moveable jaw and hollowed out the back for my hand to fit in. Then I covered the head with calico. The body I made by shaping wadding and covering with calico. The arms and legs were made with rolls of newspaper, wadding, calico and a cord running up the middle to act as joints.

I did encounter obstacles but just used my initiative to physically work out problems. For a while the head looked too lion- like so I  made darts in the side of the face and used Copydex to pinch them together and did the same at the top of his nose to shrink his face.

And here he is: Mac the Cat...!



I need a better photo. 

Fabrication:






After resizing and shaping it looks more like a cat
than a lion.


Covering the head with calico
The calico is stuck to the foam with Copydex




Paws and arms operated with rods. I also added little felt
pads on his paws

The arms and legs: cord, newspaper, wadding and calico

Avec l' oreilles 

Ears made from felt and calico

Mouth made from pink felt and ink

Brown eyes....?

Or blue....?

I chose blue- it seemed to suit him better although they are quite
unsettling- but then so is he.

The body before I covered it with calico. I attached
the arms, legs and tails by threading
the cord they have running through their middles
through the body of the puppet. Once all the calico
was on, i just glued the joins together.
I plan to go over with some stitching on the arms.













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