The End of an Era: Thoughts on the passing of Jane Henson

"The end of an era."

   

That's what Lauren said before we silently went back to work after I announced Jane Henson's death to the shop yesterday.  In many ways it is. I never met Jim Henson, but very early in my career I was fortunate enough to meet Jane. At about the time I started working for the Jim Henson Company, Jane started the Jim Henson Legacy to preserve and maintain awareness of Jim's work as an artist. For me, as a young aspiring puppet artist myself, finding out about Jim and Jane's early days with the Muppets was enormously inspiring and somehow made puppets and film seem a lot more accessible.  I felt like it was possible to do this, too.  

I was one among a group of artists working in and around Henson's New York workshop in the early nineties. We all came from different places and have gone our separate ways since. Some have become performers, independent artists and teachers, some have passed away, some of us have started companies of our own.  But we have all benefitted from Jane's continual presence and support over the years.  Whether through advice, encouragement, the generous use of her resources, or just an honest (at times brutally honest) critique, Jane has given us a tremendous boost we wouldn't have otherwise had.

Recently, I was attending a presentation of Icarus, a gorgeous theatrical piece with puppets built by my friend Michael Bush, made possible by a grant from the Jim Henson Foundation. We were all crammed into the studio in Jane's old carriage house on 67th street, and I was telling a friend of mine how many memories I had there.  Some of  my earliest experiences in puppetry and film took place in Jane's famous carriage house.  I attended special workshops she led on the Muppet-style performance technique.  We shot a new wave of Muppet Meeting films there, for which I had built a couple of characters Jane took a liking to--and she let me know it. This was the studio in which we shot the demo pilot for Bear in the Big Blue House, my first big break as a designer. My friends and I also made a few independent puppet films in that space. For us, the carriage house (which Jane had opened to us) became a kind of unofficial puppet laboratory in New York.  In so many ways, direct and indirect, Jane has helped and encouraged me and countless others over the years. 

So, the end of an era?  Maybe. But Jane's quiet legacy continues on a thousand fold through all the people she has supported and encouraged along the way. We are forever in her debt. She will never be forgotten.

If you'd like to find out more about Jane Henson and her contributions to the world of puppetry, the Jim Henson Company has posted a tribute page on their website which you can find here .

The Week of Fashion meets the Year of the Snake

Last night, on the eve of the Year of the Snake (and in the midst of Fashion Week), legendary Roman jeweler, Bulgari, hosted the opening of a special exhibition at its Fifth Avenue boutique. Dedicated mainly to the iconic Serpenti line, the exhibition features jewelry dating from the 1940s and includes pieces from legends of fashion and Hollywood.

We were very pleased to be part of the festivities on behalf of Shiraz Events in NYC.  Our team of artists worked tirelessly to design and fabricate a twelve foot long serpent in the style of traditional Chinese parade dragons.  Not our first dragon, but the project was unlike anything we had created before--which is just how we like it!   The nested conical design was based on the construction of the Serpenti line of jewelry--an especially complex undertaking, but well worth the effort as the end result was absolutely stunning and something the whole shop is proud of.

Puppeteers Michael Bush and Keri Lewis entertained throngs of celebrities and fashion icons like Julianne Moore and Nina Garcia until the wee hours of the morning.

My thanks to everyone who put in such long hours all throughout the too short deadline:   Lauren Attinello, Rhys Chapman, Mari Tobita, Brendan Yi-Fu Tay, Carole D'Agostino, Ceili Clemens, Liz Hara, Fen Wang, Maria Scheibe, Melissa Creighton, Richard Dyar, Steph Cathro and Vanessa Chan

You guys really made it happen!

Rhys Chapman carves the buck for vacuum forming.

Steph Cathro epoxies some of the many jewels adorning the  serpent's body.

Steph preps a golden decal.

Melissa Creighton, Carole Simms D'Agostino and Brenden Yi-Fu Tay join the effort.

And some photos from the event...

That's Michael Bush puppeteering down there.

Keri Lewis and Michael Bush kept it serpentine all night long.

Wyatt Cenac Embraces his Inner Puppet

Tonight, Wyatt Cenac steps out of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and into our hearts.  Well, I don't know about our hearts, but certainly into our shop.  Okay that was months ago,  but, boy, did we have fun!  After we built the puppet versions of Jon Stewart, John Oliver and Mr. Cenac back in October, Wyatt stopped by for a tour.  What a gracious guy--and a real puppet sympathizer, so we like that!  Tonight I finally understand it, though.  The discovery of his puppet self seems to have been a real epiphany for him.  Go Wyatt!  There's no shame in it.  I look forward the day when we get all our news from puppet journalists.  Heck, we're already getting it from comedians.

My thanks to Mary Brehmer, Isabelle Dufour, Anna Paniccia, Michael Bush, Jean Marie Keevins, Diana Schoenbrun and Stephen Rotandaro for working all weekend to meet the deadline.  It was challenging, but we really had fun cranking these out--and even more fun watching those guys perform their own puppets!  (Although, I'd like to point out the work of James Godwin who picked up the puppeteering for Wyatt in Washington DC yesterday--nice work, James!)

We'll miss watching Wyatt on the Daily Show, but wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors.

Artist Diana Schoenbrun built puppet Wyatt.

Artist and performer James Godwin with puppet Wyatt in Washington D.C.

See?  Check it out--he's really there!

Imagine Dragons: "Radioactive"

Just yesterday we all got together in the shop to watch the music video for “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons as released on YouTube.  Despite Hurricane Sandy, which arrived the first day of shooting, it came out really well.  I want to commend John Lathan and Cisco Newman of Syndrome for their fortitude, vision and style and for inviting us to be a part of it.

I also wanted to thank the team of artists in our workshop, specifically  Henri Ewaskio, Isabelle Dufour, Steph Cathro, Michael Bush, Diana Schoenbrun and James Godwin for their beautiful work on such a short schedule.  (If you read my previous post, this is the mess we left behind before the storm.)

Also of note are the great performances behind the puppets by Michael Schupbach, Carole D’Agostino and Michael Bush.  They suffered quite a pummeling during the shoot and laughed all the way through.  The work is never finished until the cameras roll, and you guys topped it off expertly!

Here’s the video...

...and some photos...

God hates puppets, or does He? Some reasons I am especially grateful this Thanksgiving.

It’s a ridiculous thing to try and make a living out of something like puppetry.  For me, it’s a living and it’s a passion, so naturally I can be pretty single-minded about it and often get frustrated when the going gets tough.  But of course it’s frustrating.  I’ve replaced hunting and farming with puppets.  I think I would have a difficult time explaining that to my ancestors.  At my worst moments, I’ll throw up my arms and sigh, “God hates puppets!”  I say this a lot.  Out loud.  And I sometimes believe it.  Especially when so many brilliant puppet artists have left this world too soon.  So, either God hates puppets, or He must love them so much He’s gathering them around Him in heaven.  Must be one hell of a show.

Anyway, this Thanksgiving, right after Hurricane Sandy, is a particularly poignant one for me.  With so many businesses, homes and lives blown away by the storm, the worst I can report was that I was not more than a little inconvenienced by a week without heat and power.  I remember waking up the following morning in my little suburban town thinking it wasn’t so bad, without any way to know otherwise.  Like so many others, I was dumbstruck to finally learn the extent of the devastation all around me.  Particularly in Hoboken, our shop’s hometown.  Of course, I was worried about Puppet Heap and got there as soon as I possibly could.  I found that our puppet shop weathered the storm unscathed while the town all around it was utterly washed out.  We had not even a leaky window.  So I guess God doesn’t hate puppets after all.  Or maybe we’re just not good enough to be taken right now.  Either way, I was grateful to be spared.

But in the wake of all this, I’m grateful for something else.  I’m grateful to even have the privilege to worry about my silly little puppet studio.  With so many people right next door who lost everything, I can comfortably panic about these tiny imaginary creatures, which could easily be replaced, and probably with something even better anyway.  

And I am grateful to our clients around the world who reached out in support as soon it happened, all them primarily concerned that our people were safe.  And for the wonderful, caring team here at Puppet Heap, who stayed connected throughout the whole thing.  We are a bit like family here, and that kind of love and community within a company is something only fortune can provide and any business owner would be grateful for.

So often I plunge myself into one existential crisis or another, usually centered around being an artist in capitalist society, blah blah blah.  Well, I play with dolls for a living, and somehow, despite enormous forces of nature, I’m lucky enough to fret about it another day.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

Maurice Sendak

Thinking about the death of Maurice Sendak over the last few days, I'm struck by how much my generation owes his.  Mr. Sendak belongs to a small group of artists who, along with an even smaller group of forward thinking producers and editors , changed the face of children's literature and entertainment forever. I'm referring, of course, to artists like Tomie DePaola, Theodore Geisel, Ezra Jack Keats and Jim Henson--all of whom were breaking ground for an entire generation of creative people who were just coming into being.  But for me, the king of these was Maurice Sendak.  There is so much about his work that has influenced and inspired me over the years--his sentimentality, his line, his theatrical composition--but most of all, his unflinching courage to be truthful in his work.  More than anything, it's his bold, naked integrity that inspires me most.  We can only work hard and hope to live up to the legacy he has left behind.

At Last...

Ever since I began making puppets, the best reactions have always been “I want one.” Well, now I can finally say, “Here, have one!”

This week Puppet Heap releases Mother Hubbard Among Others, our first line of hand puppets designed for everyone. These first six characters, Mother Hubbard, Toby (her dog), Lucy (the cat and the fiddle), The Constable, The Doctor and the Cabby, are the first in a series of puppets which populate the town of Spudbottom.

Now, I love toys and puppets, and I’m always on the lookout for something interesting to add to my collection. I am particularly fascinated with certain styles of traditional puppets from around the world. But the authentic ones are, of course, individual works of art, made by hand, usually by artists in the far reaches of who-knows-where. So, they are rare and expensive.

On the other hand, there are toy puppets everywhere, but most of those are so bland and generic that, well, they’re hard to appreciate.

So, while I wanted our puppets to be be accessible and affordable, I also wanted to make something that would have a bit of that unique, hand-crafted feeling of those traditional puppets. I wanted them to have their stories written all over their faces. I guess I want to share what I love about puppets with everyone else.

To me, what’s cool about puppets is that they are objects that embody narrative. I am always amazed at how such a simple thing can carry so much meaning and on such a primal level. In this age of interactive, multi-touch, computer generated, virtual, augmented everything (and don’t get me wrong, I love that stuff), it’s kind of great to put a puppet on your hand and freak out the guy sitting next to you. What’s fascinating is that he’ll probably ask the puppet to leave, not you...

Puppets. The original interactive, digital, wireless entertainment device.

I hope you have as much fun playing with them as we do.