Today, I completed the Ewe puppet for the Bull show.  That leaves only one more puppet and then the cast will be complete and I’ll be on to constructing a stage.  Below is one more shot of Ewe…for you.

Tags: Bull: Roanoke by Philip
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Here is the completed head for Rooster. He is the coffee-chugging business man on the farm. He’s always at his post on time, ready to do his job.  Sometimes in translating two-dimensional characters into three dimensions some changes have to be made.  In Rooster’s case, the beak had to be made slightly larger in order to fit the puppeteer’s hand and still have him be the correct scale to the other puppets.  Below is the original comic design for him.

Tags: Bull: Roanoke by Philip
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For anyone who’s interested, we’ve just started a little fan group over on Facebook called ThistleHeads.  So if you get a kick out of our puppets or if you’re just looking for a place to “belong”, head on over and become a ThistleHead!  You’ll be glad you did.

Tags: Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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Here is a nice little story in the Roanoke Star Sentinel about our upcoming performance at the 2008 Roanoke Arts Festival.  They were also nice enough to publish one of our strips. 

Tags: Bull: Roanoke, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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Here is the completed head for Ewe, the third puppet in the cast of BULL: A Puppet Musical. Below is the original character design for Ewe in the comic strip.  She is a slightly forlorn, lovesick little thing and I can’t wait to see her in action.

Tags: Bull: Roanoke by Philip
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I am very pleased to announce that Thistledown Puppets is going to take part in the Second Annual Roanoke Arts Festival this November.  This is where we are going to debut our new live show BULL: A Puppet Musical.  It’s going to be an exciting weekend with an amazing array of performances.  Here is a run-down of the 2008 Festival:

On the heels of last year’s inaugural Roanoke Arts Festival, the second annual Roanoke Arts Festival, re-timed this year to help celebrate the opening of the new Taubman Museum of Art, will be held Nov. 8-9 with free and ticketed performances and visual arts that are sure to appeal to a wide range of regional audiences and visitors alike.

With the Blue Ridge Mountains as a stunning backdrop, the Roanoke Arts Festival will feature more than a dozen events and exhibits at venues across the city. From an evening with Crystal Gayle to a free rock concert, bluegrass workshop, theater performances, culinary arts and puppets and classical music, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

Last night we attended the Kick-off Celebration for the Festival and brought along two of the stars from the show.  The event was hosted by James W. Hyams in his lovely Oriental gardens.  After much meeting and greeting I took the puppets and sang one of the songs from the show called Fewer Fences.  After so much work behind the scenes, it was great to show the work off a bit and let folks get a taste of what this show is all about. 

Tags: Bull: Roanoke, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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Here are two completed puppets for BULL: A Puppet Musical.  I’m extremely pleased with the way they turned out.  And just in time to perform at an event this evening.  Now only two more puppets to go…

Tags: Bull: Roanoke by Philip
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Tags: General Stuff by Philip
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Here is the completed head for Pig. He is one of the four characters from the new Bull: The Puppet Musical show. He is probably my favorite of the four. All of the characters for the show are essentially fully realized versions of drawings I made over ten years ago. It’s amazing to see them come full circle–first through the comic strip, and then now through this puppet show.  Below is Pig from one of the model sheets for the comic strip.

Tags: Bull: Roanoke by Philip
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While on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to stop in and see The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry up in Connecticut. When we first pulled up, the first thing that struck me is how unassuming the place is. Once inside, however, I saw some really cool stuff. The current exhibit is called Puppets Through the Lens:  The Puppet in Film, Television, and the Internet. The exhibit is packed with an array of instantly recognizable characters and as a builder it was so exciting to be that close to some of the puppets that I have only seen on the screen. 

I was most excited when I turned a corner and saw Scooter looking at me! I’ve never seen any of the Muppets up close and was struck by how small he is. The next thing that hit me was how wonderful the fleece looked (I’m so disappointed at how the quality of Antron has diminished!)

There were so many beautiful puppets from over the years, including the gopher from Caddyshack, a dinosaur from Jurassic Park II, Bill Baird marionettes, Flexitoon puppets, and tons more.  Here are a few more photos:

Tags: Puppet People by Philip
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