First, the heads and hands of the puppets
were sculpted in water-based modeling clay. Features like the eyes, nose
and hair were carefully detailed using a variety of tools such as pencils,
butter knives, and lego pieces.All the puppets for Tales of the Caribbean were hand-made by Puppeteer and Artisan Rob Witmer, using the molding and casting method. The hand / rod puppets are manipulated by visible performers in an adapted Bunraku style, borrowed from Japan.
First, the heads and hands of the puppets
were sculpted in water-based modeling clay. Features like the eyes, nose
and hair were carefully detailed using a variety of tools such as pencils,
butter knives, and lego pieces.
The molded clay heads and hands were half-buried in a box of tightly-packed sand, then plaster (a special kind called Hydrocal 30) was poured into the box, covering the exposed pieces. The plaster was allowed to set, or cure, for 24 hours, until it hardened completely.
After carefully removing the plaster block, the sculpted heads and hands were cleaned of remaining sand. After applying a thin coating of petroleum jelly to the exposed plaster surface, a new batch of plaster was poured over the other half of the heads and hands (the parts that were previously buried in sand).
When the second plaster application cured, the now-encased clay figures were removed by prying the two halves of the plaster molding apart and extracting the clay. The two halves of the plaster mold were ready for the latex casting process. The two mold pieces were clamped together with a bicycle inner tube or a strong elastic band, and after making a hole at the end of the mold, a liquid latex compound was poured in, filling the inside of the mold completely.
The latex was allowed to sit for
roughly half an hour, after which the excess latex was poured out of the
mold. The remaining layer of latex inside the mold (about an 1/8 inch) then
dried (or cured) over a period of a few days.
The mold was then carefully opened to remove the hardened skin of latex, which was shaped just like the original clay sculpture! Excess latex (flashing) was trimmed or sanded away, leaving the casting ready to be painted. A layer of primer (or Gesso) was applied to smooth out imperfections caused by the casting process, and then acrylic paints were applied using paintbrushes and an airbrush.
The bodies of the puppets were made from wooden dowels and connected with wire or plastic tubing and some nylon webbing. The latex hands were glued onto wooden dowels for the puppet's arms. The costumes were sewn from colorful scraps of fabric and glued to the wooden bodies. Thin steel rods were attached to the hands for manipulation by the puppeteer, thus the name Hand / Rod Puppetry.
Each puppet takes about a month of work to complete. Wow!
This page & its contents are ©1998 Toucans & Tales of the Caribbean