fairy hollow

I've been searching for magical places to take pictures of my puppets and creatures. I remember going around the Trough of Bowland as a kid, and imagining creatures living in the woods, roots and twisty trees. That's why Arthur Rackhams work is so wonderful:

 

I love the wonderful goblins and creatures, and the grotesque faces in the trees. It feels like the land is coming to life. I've also been looking for hollows and holes, to hide my creatures in.

My plan is to create a storybook from these pictures, and anyone who'd like to collaborate and send ideas, just get in touch :) Here's some more ideas and inspiration.

Labyrinth Goblins

Crow puppet

I've always loved the idea of bringing my art dolls to life by making puppets. I've made a few already with varied success. I've been toying with marionettes, rod puppets and a variety of different stringed puppets. The problem is that it's really a case of the simpler the better.

If you make a beautiful puppet, of a fairy for example, with clothing, hair, wings etc. chances are the movements won't be lifelike and the strings will get tangled. I also like to incorporate recycled items into my puppets as much as possible, which can hinder the freedom of movement depending on what I use. I guess the key is finding a balance between freedom of movement and the beauty of the puppet.

Some of the most beautiful puppets I have seen are simple and elegant. The movement can often say more than the detail and features of the puppet. Check out this site for example: http://www.figurentheater-wildevogel.de/

I especially love the Gandalf puppet from the hobbit. They don't seem to be restrained by proportions or details, using a combination of puppets, masks and real actors for a surreal but amazing performance.

Anyway, that gets me round to my latest puppet, a crow. I've just started to paint the head:

I still havn't figured out the actual  animation technique. I'll hopefully post some more of my finished puppets in the next few days.

Monster Workshop

This is an amazing site, based in the uk, which is still under construction but looks great! You can buy unique plush monster toys, and the site features a whole host of unusual items, such as some cool looking leather puppets.

The site is actually a bit confusing, especially because it's not finished, but you can still find some cool creatures to collect:

The Monster Workshop seems to be run by "Stiches and glue"....
Can't wait to check this out when it's all finished.

Junkpunk ooak surreal art

Okay, I'm gonna kick things off with my own site. I make all sorts of weird and wonderful items, using as much recycled and found items as possible. I am an artist and inventor, focusing on sculpture and a variety of different types of clay. I have plenty to add to my site, which at the moment only has a small proportion of the things I make.



At the moment I am focusing on developing a number of puppets and marionettes, with dark and disturbing themes! I hope to add them here real soon!

Junkpunk's homepage