From the monthly archives:

August 2011

One Planet, Many Puppets: Masks & Giant Puppets

by Vicky on August 30, 2011

At the fourth workshop of our One Planet, Many Puppets series, the focus was on giant puppets and masks.

We looked at examples of giant puppets, and then explored transforming ourselves into puppets through masks.

First, I showed off my own giant Orca puppet.

Then we looked at clips of giant puppets.

I showed examples from In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre, including the May Day ceremony and dancing skeletons from the May Day parade.   We also saw a clip from the 2010 New York Village Halloween Parade.

But the kids were especially enthralled by the horse puppets from the play, War Horse (which was adapted from the children’s book, War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo).

Then they had fun making their own masks and inhabiting the characters they had dreamed up.

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Maker of Fine Wands

by Vicky on August 13, 2011

Before I go on to write about other recent projects, I must put in a plug for the excellent wands made by my partner, Stuart, who is known in the wizarding world as Magnus Arthfael.

For the special occasion of our Hogwarts @ Hillerman party, Magnus crafted lovely wands for me and for my colleagues.

He chose rose wood for most of them, paying homage to the exquisite rose garden that surrounds our library.

Here are some of the wands from the workshop of Magnus Arthfael, Maker of Fine Wands!

The wand that Magnus made for me is fifteen and three quarters inches long, springy, made of vine, excellent for transfiguration.  It has a whimsical quality, much like that of my dress hat!

Thank you, Magnus Arthfael!

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