Ping Pong's Puppet Workshop

Our Construction Diary
Page 29

September 2, 2001- (Page 3 of 3)

Well, we're coming down the home stretch now, but there's still lots to do.
The head has received two coats of white gesso to seal it up and protect it from moisture. The inside of the head was also spray painted for the same reason.
The wings are next to be completed. They attach to the body frame with grommets and wire ties.
The entire surface of the head is covered with different colored pieced of glittery fabric.
The body is made of different colored feather boas attached to a piece of rope. The boas are woven into the plastic frames to give dimension to the puppet (and to hide the plastic parts).
We've delivered him to Tears of Joy and they've started rehearsing with him/her already. They already made a few changes in the monster to make him work better in the set and story.

The finished head piece

August 30
The finished head piece (fins, scales, whatever) The head has been painted with two coats of gesso to protect the cloth mache from the elements and to provide an evenly absorbing (or non-absorbing) surface to recieve the glue for the fabric.

Bill working on the head exterior

September 1
Bill starting to affix fabric to the exterior of the head. It will be entirely covered with different colors and textures of glittery fabric when it is done. Lots of little pieces of fabric are cut to go over all the valleys and ridges of the head. Most of them are glued to the head with Fabri-Tac glue -- some larger pieces are done with Elmers white glue.

Steve sewing the wings. They are also two pieces of sewable foam covered with fabric sewed inside-out and reversed, then trim is attached.

A finished wing

September 2
A finished wing. Grommets and wire ties hold it to the frame you will see in the next picture.

The body frame

The body frame. The puppeteer will hold it in the center. The hands (claws) will attatch with a rod which will run through the two "crosses" in the lower center. The "u" shaped bend on the left will attach the body to the head, holding it in place, while allowing for quick separation at the proper moment in the story.

The wings attached to the body

The wings attached to the body frame.

The finished head

The finished head with all of the layers of fabric in place.

The puppet as delivered

September 4
The puppet as delivered. Nancy made a few alterations after this picture was taken. The hands are gone, and the head no longer sits on the neck extension. Those parts didn't work in the set, and the alterations provided for more fluid puppeteering.

To contact Ping Pong or the Museum Staff Click Here