1) Puppets made long ago 2) And more puppets 3) They were young and so was I 4) Remaining Ensemble 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) Individual portraits of remaining puppets
More than 40 years ago my inimitable, imaginative friend, Pat McNellis, and I embarked on a puppet-making venture, without a clear goal in mind other than to make puppets, or so I remember it. I don't know exactly how many each of us produced, but they seem to have proliferated as you can see from a couple of the photos from that time. A number of them were bought by the Austin Public Library, others were sold at a craft fair. Years later the number in my possession dwindled down to five, and these were commandeered now and then for small-league theatrical events: our son’s birthday party, a production at the school. Recently I refurbished the ensemble of five, and just as in years past, I was struck by their uncanny presence—the way they seem to enliven anyone who picks them up and slips them over the hand. Who is the mover—the puppet or the puppeteer?
