Marionette Gallery 19 - Part of Beauty and the Beast

Fresh of the press.... no not really. Fresh from the workshop.  This creature is the little helper of the Beast from the well know story Beauty and the Beast. It will start touring in 2015.  The first time I made an unpainted figure. The wood is half rotten and worm eaten totara, a native timber of New Zealand. You can notice that nicely looking at the hands. In essence it is a shoulder piece with the two hands attached by strings. The head is free floating and can move up and down as well as sideways by manipulating the control. The idea was to have something a little bit scary. No reason to freak out your audience. This figure moves just brilliantly and expressively. It will be a real joy to work with. You might say it is just an elaborate 3 string marionette and you would be right. Why not try your own. Enjoy the process and the handling of such creatures. Cheers  Norbert

Puppet Collection 3 Turkey

                                                                             

Way back during the big Festival in India I met Hayali Torun Celebi the master shadow puppeteer from Turkey. We got on very well and he agreed to sell me the beautifully crafted puppets and story board. Coloured leather, they are a pleasure to look at and handle. There is so much one could write about shadow puppets and its history in these parts of the world. More than 300 years is a lot of history and under puppetry and politics there could be a lot to be said to. Karagoz and his friend did not hold back in comments to current developments. I wonder what they would have to say to the conflicts in the area in 2014. But here its just an introduction to maybe starting your own collection. Puppets of all shapes and kinds are an interesting part of world history. 

Marionette Gallery 18 - City living

His latest position was as a security guard at the art gallery. He came in existence as I contemplated cities and what it does do to people. Well it drew a long bow in the development but this sort of cubist figure is a joy to get on stage in a variety of shows. It still surprises the audience as they might suddenly realize that everything is possible with those marionettes. At the end they are not real people but creations of our creativity and there are no limits to it.

THANK YOU

It is nearly a year ago that I started this blog not knowing what to expect and where it might take me. So far it was and is rather enjoyable and its great to share. About my hometown, yes those brilliant days do happen here, though Wellington is very much known for being windy. No wonder as it is in the roaring forties. But as you know by now there are puppet activities happening here. After nearly a year it is time to thank you all for your interest in checking out my blog. Cheers  Norbert

Marionette Gallery 17 - The trouble with women

Yes for me carving and creating women marionettes is not easy. Man, well you just churn them out and everybody will appreciate the character. With women characters you just have to get it right. Let me show you some of the early versions and the struggle it took for me to get to a nice, not over the top, convincing female character. After all these years I assume with my latest production to be finished, Beauty and the Beast it is about right. You will have seen them in other blog entries.

This curly black haired beauty was one of the first ones ever to see the light of day. You will be able to see from where the strings are attached, she could sway her hips. Nice little effect when she comes on stage. Though not a sustainable character for a show I thought. To over the top and a few technical hitches.

Here is a female character I created for -Fading memories-. With the apron, the idea was the housewife of the 30s, to fit into the script. Ponytailed and bright eyed, made for the show and I would have to think where else I could place her for another stage experience.

The resolute grandmother worked well. Maybe just another memory of my childhood appearing during the process of creation. She had parts in a variety of shows, Russian? Not really, all women wore head scarfs in my childhood, yes things change though she looks quintessential grandmother to me. For today a gray haired pair of cyclists might be appropriate? For each character it is hard to come up with a strong personality, convincing looks not to much over the top and not to flat. Believe me there were a lot that ended up heating the house.

Marionette Gallery 16 - The veteran in a wheelchair

War is a messy business. The heroes are dead and the survivors continue with mental and physical scars that come home with them. Growing up in the 50s there were enough WW2 veterans you could see in the streets. In wheelchairs like my grandfather, not the fast zippy hightech ones of today, but cumbersome vehicles of wood and steel. The old prosthesis and crutches left a legacy with me. Years later this figure emerged. Covered with the old blankets one hand missing and half the face gone. Or is it only a symbol for the inner pain? The fingers make the victory sign, still alive and wont give up.
Technically it is a rod marionette and it can be wheeled at enormous speed across the stage. As the wheels turn the hands go back and forth it conjures up a multitude of emotions in the audience. He was part of Fading Memories, a show of forgetting and not forgetting. Though wanted to put him in some standard role so he gets more acting time for himself.

Marionette Gallery 15 - Early creations

These two figures are some of the early creations of mine. My carving skills were very much in the beginning of their development and I started with a wood turned head form. That three dimensional shape got modified by adding the nose and carving into it. Looking at it now, the hands look rather crude though with a certain charm on their own.