This is a ladybird glove puppet I recently made for the Riverstone Family Centre’s early literacy program. She has a little leather library bag over her shoulder in which she is carrying a little book!
There are some more photos of her in my photoset at Flickr, and a short video o f her.
I’m working on a windmill prop at the moment. I made the base structure a month or so ago, but am now back to making the blades. The windmill itself is very simple, but it’s size – it will stand 3 metres high – makes it logistically tricky to work on in my studio. It’s coming together nicely, though, and I’m enjoying it.
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Someone asked me how the movement of the Ningyo-Joruri puppet head that I made during Nori Sawa’s masterclass a few years ago worked , so I’ve drawn a diagram on my iPad to illustrate the mechanism. It makes more sense if you look at in context with my photoset from the class, and perhaps with the original blog post.
I made this giant garden fork prop for The Fool Factory recently. There are some making photos in my portfolio at Flickr. Before I handed it over we had fun posing with it like the farmer couple in Grant Wood’s American Gothic painting and various other silly things. It definitely invites comic scenarios.
I’ve been making yoghurt for a couple of months now, and I’m still blown away by how easy and good it is! I got my recipe from searching Down to Earth.
Here’s what I do:
I’ve taken to making this while I am preparing dinner, then it sits by the fire overnight, and is ready in the morning. But I’ve also had success with putting the pot in an esky with some containers of boiling water. And yes, once you make one batch you can use it to make the next.
How to makedo – extended from MAKEDO on Vimeo.
I’d love to have a play with these cool Makedo reusable connectors!
Earlier this year I made the set and props for Flotsam and Jetsam, a production for children which tells stories about living on Australian lighthouse islands in the past. The script was written by Greg Lissaman, from recollections gathered by Chrissie Shaw, the actor. Catherine Roach is the director.
The set is an island, panels painted in a pointalist style, which can concertina into different shapes and be dismantle for touring. The lighthouse is modelled on the historic lighthouse at Cape Otway in Victoria, and Tasman Island in Tasmania was among other sources of stories and images, such as the flying fox access to the island. There were numerous props – seaweed, wooden chests, a porcelain doll, an albatross, and a sea buoy. There are more photos of these in my Flotsam and Jetsam photoset.
Touring dates and booking details for Flotsam and Jetsam are listed at Chrissie’s site. On 19 – 21 August it has a short season at the Maritime Museum in Sydney, and then it will tour coastal community venues in NSW. Chrissie also performs The Keeper, an adult play also based on lighthouse stories.
I chanced on these ceramic precision cutters by Slice the other day in a Howard’s Storage shop. I’d never heard of ceramic cutters before, and I’m still a bit in the dark about what exactly the ceramic material is, but they are very effective. The blade is tiny when compared to hobby knives, ideal for fine work that doesn’t require much depth of cut, and for opening those horrible plastic packs that electronic gear comes in. The overall design is cool and nice to handle, too. OhGizmo has a review of the Slice range.
This suggestion of a seagull skeleton is a prop for a new play I’m working on, but I rather like it as an object for itself. It’s given me some ideas for making some stranger ones when I get some time later.
By coincidence, today I happened across Chris Jordan’s photographic collection Midway: Message form the Gyre, a photographic documentation how albatross chicks on Midway Atoll ban in the middle of the Pacific Ocean often die because they end up being fed heaps of plastic junk. It’s shocking – only look if you are feeling strong.
