'Flying with Strings' part 1: a hoopoe maquette
At the beginning of January I spent a week with John Roberts at his workshop in Devon. An established craftsperson, John is a puppet maker, puppeteer and marionette specialist (author of ‘Carve a Marionette - a step by step guide’ and ‘Making Simple Marionettes’). I have worked with John as both a puppet maker and puppeteer for his company Puppetcraft. It was John who first taught me to carve at the start of my artistic career (check out his brilliant short courses in puppet carving at puppetcraft.co.uk). Now, with the help of my DYCP grant from the Arts Council, I engaged John for some 1-1 tuition, to help take my making practice to the next level. With that in mind I decided to pick his brains on what he know’s best: advanced marionette mechanisms!
I started the new year with a very particular dream: to make a bird marionette. More specifically a HOOPOE MARIONETTE! Why a hoopoe? WELL if you follow my work, then you’ll know that birds have become a signature theme for me (check out my costume jewellery page for examples). Now, forgive me, but I’m going to make an intellectual leap: as both a citizen of the UK and a European citizen at heart, I’m more than a little preoccupied with the notion of freedom-of-movement at the moment (cough-cough-read-between-the-lines-couch-cough). I appreciate it’s a cliche but what better symbol for freedom-of-movement than a migratory bird, that crosses countries and continents…without a VISA!!!
I’ll be writing a little more about the Eurasian hoopoe in the coming months, but for now here’s a snippet: they breed across Europe, Asia and North Africa and are occasional visitors to UK shores. As flamboyant and charismatic birds they feature in the mythology of many cultures. In the Qur’an for example, the hoopoe is King Solomon’s messenger, bringing news from distant lands. To me, their widespread presence makes them great ambassadors for trans-cultural exchange…so maybe I’ll go busking around Europe when this little guy is finished! (freedom-of-movement allowing…)
But for now, back to the making. Hopefully the pictures and videos will speak for themselves. Me and John have been experimenting with prototype mechanisms for the wings, tail, crest and beak. These are ROUGH maquettes, held together with tape and string. The REAL bird is yet to be made…but these mockups have been an important part of the ‘working-out’ process. More important still is the marionette control…which currently looks rather like a space ship or crossbow! I can’t wait to try it out with the final puppet…
This project is just the start of my marionette fever. I’ll be posting regular updates on here and on social media as the work develops. Stay tuned!
