OT The hunt is on!
NightMist
The christmas present I work hardest at getting right every year is
the one for Ash.
Sometimes I score brilliantly, sometimes it is a bust.
I don't know if I mentioned his trip to the dollar store here.
When we take him we alot a certain amount for him to spend, usually 2
to 5 dollars, and try to get some budgeting and commerce notions
across.
On this particular trip he found himself a micro blucky and would not
part with it. He would not trade it for candy, flash cards, or toys.
When we got home, dad went to take off the card and the elastic, and
Ash would not allow it. The elastic was molded into the top of the
blucky's skull, and Ash took the card and made it dance, explaining to
us that it is a "puppen".
So the hunt is on for a simple but sturdy marionette.
Nobody has a clue where he ever saw one, nor where he learned the word
"puppet". Most of the kid's shows don't mention that the characters
are puppets, nor do they usually feature marionettes. He has no
interest in hand puppets or sock puppets, even though the only
repeated exposure to a puppet called a puppet that I could think of is
sock puppet on Blue's Clues.
Sourses for and hints on marionette shopping would be very welcome.
I have inqueries out to some of the more obvious online shops, but if
there is a craftsperson in your area that does good quality "puppens"
I want to know!
NightMist
a blucky is a blown molded plastic skeleton, they come in assorted
sizes ranging from micro (8-10 inches) to gigantor (8 to 10 feet)
--
Legolas is my house elf
Jennifer in Ottawa
makers and came up with quite a few links - this was one of the US
ones. jennellh
Kate XXXXXX
Possibly more than you want to spend, but lovely things:
http://www.tonysinnett.co.uk/marionettes.html
There are some stuffed toy ones here:
http://store.metmuseum.org/MetKids/Stuffed-Toys+44-Figures+Playsets/icat/stuffedtoysfigures
Charming but spendy:
http://www.traditionalpuppets.co.uk/standard.htm
Some more nice ones:
http://www.puppetsforeducation.co.uk/New-Pelham-Puppets_B22ZNO.aspx
Damn, the good ones are expensive! My sister had one as a cild. We
spent as much time disentangling the strings as we did playing with it!
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
Sally Swindells
have my marionette sorted out as the strings were always getting in a
mess. Not too many strings either, and nice and thick too.
I think some marionettes are really actually at adult level.
Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sallyattheseaside/
Sartorresartus
http://www.puppetsbypost.com/
They are Muppet-types rather than simple hand or string puppets. I
have a huge uran-utang (think Librarian) and I had a green dragon.
The guy who sells them is lovely. They are used in schools and are
really robust.
Nel
(Gadget Queen)
NightMist
I like that I can see some of the joints in the pictures.
The one thing I absolutely do not want is hidden wire, or any kind of
wire, joints.
NightMist
On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:50:19 -0800 (PST), Jennifer in Ottawa
<jenn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>http://www.marionettes.com/html/about.html I 'forestle'd marionette
>makers and came up with quite a few links - this was one of the US
>ones. jennellh
>
>On Nov 21, 3:09=A0pm, nightmi...@gmail.com (NightMist) wrote:
>> The christmas present I work hardest at getting right every year is
>> the one for Ash.
>>
>> Sometimes I score brilliantly, sometimes it is a bust.
>>
>> I don't know if I mentioned his trip to the dollar store here.
>> When we take him we alot a certain amount for him to spend, usually 2
>> to 5 dollars, and try to get some budgeting and commerce notions
>> across.
>> On this particular trip he found himself a micro blucky and would not
>> part with it. =A0He would not trade it for candy, flash cards, or toys.
>> When we got home, dad went to take off the card and the elastic, and
>> Ash would not allow it. =A0The elastic was molded into the top of the
>> blucky's skull, and Ash took the card and made it dance, explaining to
>> us that it is a "puppen".
>>
>> So the hunt is on for a simple but sturdy marionette.
>>
>> Nobody has a clue where he ever saw one, nor where he learned the word
>> "puppet". =A0Most of the kid's shows don't mention that the characters
>> are puppets, nor do they usually feature marionettes. =A0He has no
>> interest in hand puppets or sock puppets, even though the only
>> repeated exposure to a puppet called a puppet that I could think of is
>> sock puppet on Blue's Clues.
>>
>> Sourses for and hints on marionette shopping would be very welcome.
>> I have inqueries out to some of the more obvious online shops, but if
>> there is a craftsperson in your area that does good quality =A0"puppens"
Roberta
http://www.amazon.com/Beleduc-Large-Fabric-Marrionette-Marionette/dp/B000GDPYG6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1258895790&sr=1-1-spell
The price is right!
Roberta in D
On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:09:30 GMT, night...@gmail.com (NightMist)
wrote:
Bobbie Sews More
to shop for toys, but I sometimes see these in Wal Mart, or a drug store.
Barbara in FL
NightMist
We have some hand puppets about the place. DH is so good with the
Folkmanis type wildlife puppets that people miss them when he puts
them aside.(G)
Ash has very minimal interest in hand puppets. They are not proper
puppens I guess.
NightMist
NightMist
With toys he is going to interact with, anthropomorphic is the way to
go. DH tried making a controller and stringing some of the looser
jointed plush animals Ash has. Very minimal interest. When his Woody
doll was strung that got more interest, but Woody is not supposed to
have strings on him! so we didn't get to see how well that would have
worked. Having priced dolls over the years, I might just as well
start out with a proper marionette as try getting a new doll and
stringing it as best we can figure.
He has taken great care of his blucky, so maybe I am placing to much
importance on sturdiness and non-wired. However I feel it is best to
err on the side of caution with something like this.
NightMist
--
Maureen Wozniak
(in article <4b08481f...@news.windstream.net>):
Hmm. Don't have any resources right at hand, but a couple of weeks ago as I
was running into Hobby Lobby, a little girl coming out had sort of a
muppet-like marionette that she was making walk along the with her. Since
they were leaving, I wonder if it was something they picked up there.
Maureen
Polly Esther
just right', will you want to create a stage that appeals to Ash? and what
would that be? Does he connect puppen to stage? and in that case you might
want to make a curtained tie-back tablecloth. Does he associate puppen to
tv? You may need to get a cardboard box about the size of a washing machine
and cut it so that it looks like a tv puppen stage. Maybe just steps that
Mr. Puppen can climb up and down? Polly
NightMist
I am thinking Pinnochio may well be who we end up getting. Many of
the shops are very helpful in finding just the right personality, but
surprisingly few can (or will) actually tell me anything about the
actual construction of their puppens.
I still have absolutely no idea where he ever actually saw a
marionette. We don't do TV, except for dvds we select ourselves.
Both this year's and last year's teachers swear they have never had
any media that used marionettes in their classes. Nor were any
involved in any of the field trips he actually went on.
I am starting to wonder if he got the notion by osmosis from my sewing
machine guy! Sewing machine guy is a professional clown on the side,
he has one marionette (a puppy) that uses in a mime routine. Ash has
never actually been to an event that Bill has played, but it is the
closest I can figure he has ever gotten to a puppen!
So I am clueless about what kind of staging he might associate with
one.
Mr.Blucky dances on the floor, on Ash's desk, in the chalk tray of his
easel, wherever the spirit moves our boy.
You know what happens when you give a child a large cardboard box!
Some years I have been tempted to just hit the appliance store for
refrigerator boxes, and other such big boxes for christmas presents.
It would save the kids the bother of taking the toys out to get to the
boxes.
NightMist