Puppets & Performance
This project is for artists of all ages, but young children may need assistance from an adult.

“Ashley Bryan creates puppets from found objects for his storytelling. Daily walks around the island on which he lives have resulted in collections of driftwood, mussel shells, bones, twigs, nuts, small stones. These found objects become the raw materials for the two-foot-tall puppets he creates. Each puppet, with its own personality, is dressed in scraps of fabric- lace, velvet, pieces of an old shirt.” (text written by Darwin Henderson for the exhibition, Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan) Go for a walk around your house or in your neighborhood to find materials that you can use to make a puppet of your own!

Here are the materials we use for this project in the Art Studio at The Carle:

• Oak tag or similar thick paper glued to a jumbo popsicle stick
  
• Tacky glue
  
• Clean found objects/recycled materials such as: milk caps, fabric scraps, buttons, wallpaper, yarn, beads, puzzle pieces, corks, raffia, bottle caps, etc. (note to adults: some small objects may be choking hazards for young children; please be mindful when selecting materials)
  
• Scissors
  
• Warm and cool colored markers
  
• Pencils
  
• Blank or lined paper
  
• Puppet stage (a kitchen table or sheet work quite well)
  

Explore:

• Go on a hunt in your house, backyard, or in a park for found objects*. Ask yourself: where did these objects come from? Who had them before me? How did it end up here? What can I make using these objects?
  
• Think of your favorite story or imagine one of your own; use your materials to make a character from it.
  
• Draw a picture of your finished puppet and write a story about it.
  
• Collaborate with a friend to put on a puppet performance.
  
• Think about other ways you can use found or recycled materials in a creative way. Give it a try!

Books to look at for more ideas:

• Home by Jeannie Baker
  
• Henry’s Amazing Machine by Dayle Ann Dodds
  
• Hard Hat Area by Susan L. Roth
  
• Beautiful Stuff by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini
  
• The Puppets of Ashley Bryan by the Milwaukee Art Museum