Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Trompin' Manikins member, Frank Gonzales, Celebrates the Life of Educator, John Dewey


Artist and John Dewey enthusiast Frank Gonzalez sits beside the puppet he created in John Dewey's likeliness. Gonzalez is the organizer of Dewey Day, an annual celebration of philosopher John Dewey's birthday.
Sam Gale Rosen VPR

Trompin' Manikins member, Frank Gonzales, Celebrates the Life of John Dewey in Vermont. At the age of 92 he is still working with puppets and teaching!

Click on the link above to listen to an interview with Frank about his passion for John Dewey's legacy. Frank has been making puppets since the 1960's!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Puppeteer, Sam Lasseter, Marches with Four Jogger Puppets On the Beltline in Atlanta!


A former student of mine just sent me this video of a performance piece he is doing in
Atlanta, Georgia. I'm so proud to see him out there having fun and making people smile with his antics and puppetry!


Name: Sam Lasseter

 http://art.beltline.org/artists/

Artist Bio:

Sam Lasseter was born and raised in Sonoma County, California and is currently
residing in Atlanta, Georgia. He is completing his fourth year at the Savannah College
of Artand Design, pursuing a BFA in sculpture. Lasseter’s passion is in puppetry;
the audience it reaches and the dialogue it creates are what attract him to it. His sculptural
work uses that as inspiration, the goal of each of his works is to make the viewer smile and
to spread joy. Lasseter has trained as a puppet builder; interning at Puppet Heap in
New Jersey and the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, where he continues to volunteer as
a museum docent. At SCAD he has taken classes to expand his knowledge of puppet
construction and production–classes like intro to fibers, fashion draping, script writing
and performing arts.

Website: http://www.samlasseter.com/
Title: The Joggers
Description:
A performance piece consisting of four life size puppets dressed as runners.
Year: 2015

Sunday, October 4, 2015

New Puppets on the Way for the Day of the Dead Procession



The last two weekends we had a good turnout with a bunch of new people. Jane came from LA and Tessa's friend, Afribeanne, came all the way from Scotland via Paris where she lives and works. Roger and Emma joined us as locals. Thanks for all the help!

We'll be at the Day of the Dead Celebration:

Sunday, November 1, 2-8 pm

El Día de los Muertos Candlelight Procession with Giant Puppets:  Starts at Water Street Bistro and ends at the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum on 20 4th Street.  Festivities will include live music, Ballet Folklorico de Petaluma Paquiyollotzin, Aztec dancers, food and art vendors, face painting, art and altars and much more.





A new version of the skull in progress.
Mother/Daughter Team: Simone & Michele

Mary Ann works on her sea creature.
Gail sews costumes, Tessa builds a butterfly and a friend from Colorado joins in.
Aileen helps with body construction.

It's great seeing new people participate each time we gather to work on puppets for events.