RadCon 2009

I got pictures! I had 9 students on Saturday if you count the 5 that came super late and played with my glove puppets...which I do. Interest is good.

Four of the nine showed on Sunday...the three who came the whole time on Saturday: Dann, Mary and Andrew plus one of the late comers. Luckily I had prepared some hands so that the second day could stand alone.
I think the convention will try it again next year--the feedback we got was that too many craft workshops were in the morning and not enough kids activities were in the morning. I guess the adults turned up at the kids workshops and were put out. Alas, I think me that there are no gaming early birds! Not only that, but they want a morning place to take their kids while hung-over. Go fig. Here's a shot of Mary, Dann and me:

As for me...I need more puppets like Shippo. I was employed in entertaining folks in long lines on Friday. I need more anime marionettes. Who am I kidding? I need more puppets...I always need more puppets.

No Boring Parts for Students

I’ve been working on materials for my Radcon 2009 Workshop.
Three hours is not a lot of time, so I don’t want to waste it doing things that a person can handle on their own…like covering balloons with Papier-Mâché. This is something I think that everyone probably has done some time or other…probably in elementary school.
It’s something I do for the basic puppet head; however I build and construct so much off of it that most of it will not be seen in the finished head. It needs to be dry and strong though…a nice firm surface to work with.

Besides…to do six balloons it takes me a whole movie. At least 2 hours with the help of a hairdryer, of course. Plus I know what I’m doing and work pretty fast. I’ll only have three hours total at RadCon.
BTW, can't ask for a better assistant than Domo:

What I’m doing for RadCon 2009

So last year I was on a kimono panel where I found myself dressing (kitsuke) some of my friends in kimonos much to the amusement of their boyfriends. The other folks on the “panel” were Japanese clothes collectors and though they had nice collections they deferred to me for kimono kitsuke. That’s okay, because I love doing demos. I must’ve done too bad a job either for they asked me back this year. I said yes at which point the ask-er turned me over to the program chair…who happens to be in Greenwood with me…who knows I do puppets. Well one brainstorm lead to another and now I’m giving a workshop on Papier-mâché and its uses for costuming…masks, anime props, Girl Genius Clanks etc.
This is overwhelming if you think about it…sure I do lots of papier-mâché puppets and I’ve done the occasional mask or head piece. The process is the same in all…but how does one teach in 3 hours something that will demonstrate the possibilities without over tasking the students with deciding what they want to make. The answer I’ve come to is: you can’t. If you are going to teach the process, it works the same in all subjects, the first thing that happens after presentation is a highly structured practice. Once a student has practiced it a few times…then they are ready to move into production. I don’t have time to get them that far. So they must make some prop that has some element of mask to it and some element of anime prop as well as something I’m not to bad at myself.
You keeping up so far?
Okay, so I bounced a few ideas off my favorite victim for such an assault (Frank) and we came up with a practice subject that I think just might fill the bill…a head on a stick. Huh? What do I mean? Think jester stick. Think about all those walking stick props you see with snake heads or skulls. Think Card Captor Sakura and her moon-topped staff. Think Inu Yasha and Jaken’s staff. Think a king’s scepter. Think José Jalapeño on a stick. Plus you get to make a smaller version of what could be a mask. Also…it’s a puppet, is it not? Sí, señora!
Now…what do you think of that plan?

Hands…they’re getting easier

Here’s what I’ve been doing. First I take a toilet paper roll and cut it in half and up the side. I reduce the circle of the tube down so it fits over my thumb and my last two fingers together on my right hand and tape it in place. I flatten the top and add a piece of cardboard cut in a mitten shape. I add a little bulk with masking tape. Then I papier-mâché the whole thing with my standard three layers—not going for any detail at all on the mitten part.

Once that is dry I cover the mitten part with Japanese Paper clay. In the paper clay I create the fingers…all together so they are made on the mitten but completely cover it. I add fleshy parts for the base of the thumb and the bottom of the palm. Next comes another drying period. Watching clay dry is far from stimulating so usually I work on something else for a while. You’ve got to give it a day at least. Ho hum… Now, time to paint. My first layer is gesso to prepare the surface. Then I work a very dark green into the shaded areas and details. Green? Yes, green...Dad showed me this trick. Green is the way he showed me to darken skin tone.

I cover that over with a medium flesh tone…depending on ethnicity of the character a medium flesh tone should be lighter than the final tone. I use the final tone last of all in the shady places and in the details and wrinkles of the hand. Keep in mind that an African character’s palms are significantly lighter on the inside. In that case I would used green plus four skin tones—two for the outside and two for the inside. Lastly I paint in nails for characters in which it is important. Of course I finish out with a matte sealer. My puppets must be a tad weather resistant. Even a matte finish sealer is going to be shiny so I use a firm bristle brush to add texture as the sealer is drying.

So there you have it. Hope you find these instructions handy.

Papier-mâché Instructions

Back in March of 2006 I talked about my papier-mâché. It’s a pretty through article including my recipe and everything. But not only does it bare repeating, but also these things change and evolve over time. So I think it is definitely time to go over it again.
Again, I must start out by giving credit where credit is due: it was Brian Kooser who taught me this style of papier-mâché. (Brian likes to start with a shaped Styrofoam base though…not clay or balloons.)


By the way, you can’t get this brand of vinyl wheat paste anymore—but there are others.


The first thing I do is get myself a whole bunch of paper grocery bags—preferably of two different colors. At Metropolitan Market you can get white bags. Next I tear off all cut edges and discard them—I also try to remove anything with glue on it (like the area where the handles are attached). I tear the pieces into approximately 5” by 5” sections.

Next, I take a flat bottomed bowl and mix maybe a teaspoon of wheat paste with water. I add water slowly until I get the paste to the consistency of gravy or hair conditioner. Then I add a generous amount of the Elmer’s Wood Glue—lately you can get brown wood glue. I use that now because if there is to be a color in the glue—I’d rather it be brown.

These days, I’m no longer using a clay head to start…instead I start with a water balloon (blown up with AIR). For two reasons really: Number one: I’m not usually making more than one copy of a head. Number two: Japanese paper clay has given me the freedom to add details after the fact and on top of the papier-mâché.

Once I have my balloon blown up to the size I want, I’m ready to begin. To start off, I take a piece of the brown paper and put it in my paste, cover the paper completely with paste, then wad it into a ball and squeeze out the excess paste. I’ll then un-wad the ball and wad it up again. This causes the fibers on the surface of the paper to stand up a little. Sort of like Velcro. When it’s placed on, the layers will grip each other better. I repeat these steps until I have three or four little waded balls ready to go.

Un-wading the first ball and tearing off quarter-sized bits of paper—not strips, I starting at the top and I work down from there. Little pieces are better than strips because you get more overlap that way which adds thickness. Once I cover the balloon completely, I hang it by its tied end on my Daiso sock drier to dry a little—be sure not to cover up the tied end!


For the second layer I use the white bags so I can make sure to cover it completely. With the different color, I can easily see holes. It helps to avoid thin areas. For the third layer, I go back to the brown again. Once the third and last layer is dry, I pop and remove the balloon (it rattles around in there if you don’t). A this point, I’m ready to build out with my cardboard, masking tape and sometimes rolled up newspaper to add neck, nose, chin, or whatever else I can do in broad scope. Fine details like eyes, ears and small noses I do with paper clay. Paper clay is heavy though, so as much bulk as I can add with papier-mâché I do.
With a marionette head, I might reconsider that. A heavier head would be more desirable in that case…heavier than just papier-mâché and balloon I mean.
An example of my use of cardboard, masking tape and newspaper:

I don't know about this...

I've moved, yes. Why have I moved? There was just one bug too many on Yahoo 360. I was unable to post a comment on one of my friend's blogs there. If I can't comment on hers...then people must also have trouble posting on mine. That's a bug I just can't handle.
I do need to tell you all about the wonderful building session from last weekend. Momotaro is beginning to take shape. Look at this wonderful oni taking shape:

I just love his hair! He looks like a real bruiser, doesn't he? Just what sort of fighter do you think he will be?
So that's Red, Blue and Green Oni so far but...
I decided to start a new Oni. I realized the bad guys just can't be out numbered by the good guys. That just won't do at all.

So here he is with his second layer of papier-mache. He's going to be smaller and yellow/gold. The money grubber of the Oni crime family. Perhaps a bit of a chicken too--I mean--well--he is going to be yellow.
In other news...

...the location has been picked in the L-building of BCC. Frank and I met the president and his wife in the L-building a week ago. Frank was all business...he paced every location, took notes, drew a sketch and located all the outlets. This was no small feat considering that a huge function was going on. Luckily it was open to the public. There were many displays of interior design and everyone there offered their services unknowingly to help us determine how sound would move about the room. Nifty, huh?

A very productive building session!

The construction on the Momotaro puppets took a giant leap forward this weekend thanks to an all-day session on Saturday. All heads are at least started, and only one set of hands need to be assembled...which means we are almost done with Papier-Mache. (Well, we made need it again for props and sets.)

At the end of the month, Frank and I are going to BCC with the director of the festival to pick out a location. After that point, the stage can be built although I’ve done my homework. I’ve looked about the web and Home Depot. So the stage is pretty much planned at this point.

For this month, the script will need to be finalized.

By the way, I adore making scary Oni! Big teeth, horns, and crazy colors—what’s not to love? It’s nice not to have to make something which must be cute or beautiful. Although, I think my Oni are cute...a face only a mother could love. Frank said my last one was the most scary I’ve done so far. Ah well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Check out Daiso!

On one of the puppet boards, we were talking about tools we use in puppet making. I realized that lately Daiso has been my source of choice for new tools.
So I thought I'd share a few...I went there for props and such for my new puppet show I'm building...in the picture I show a hat, a pair of sandals, and a basket back-pack. All of them are just the right size for hand puppets (and for my "My Friend Becky" doll too!)
The blue drying rack at her feet you've seen in previous posts. It's for sock drying, me thinks, but it's just perfect for hanging my papier-mache items to dry too.
The box, also at Becky-san's feet, is a two compartment box which is just great for storing little supplies...they have lots of this type of thing there. This one was originally for a kid's bento box...but I don't let that stop me.
The top right picture is one of my favorite finds. It slips onto a bar in my Punch booth and holds the slap stick well and loosely enough to grab it with a puppet on your hand.
Pictured below are a few other odds and ends. Another pouch I was impressed with because it has a rubber ring holding open the mouth. Chopsticks are always nice to have about for turning fabric tubes. The word cards are a much nicer flash-card idea for script memorizing. And of course...carabiners 2 to a pack...very useful...but not for climbing in this case.
Best part of all about Daiso is that everything costs $1.50--well within a puppeteer's budget. Look 'em up. They are in Malls all around here.

Hand-some Oni

Can you stand it? Metal hands...Terminator Oni!







This was another trick I learned from Brian Kooser. Start with metal...he often uses a thin wire to begin, and I was going to as well. But I couldn't find my wire, so I grabbed the tinfoil.







Cover it with masking tape and use that to flesh it out a bit more.







Then you add the papier-mache layers. After this...details with paper clay...I can't find a picture of that step though. Sorry. I just blazed through without stopping.

What is happening in my workshop?

It's a mystery...they almost look like cocoons...

Then they got kinda brown...

What is happening? Any ideas? (Cheating is allowed)

I think I know what's going on here.



Almost makes you kinda wanna ask "Why did she bother with the balloon?", doesn't it?



Well, can you see it yet?