Pushing Puppet Boundaries - "Picasso" the Gorilla Lives!!
First, so much thanks to the Center for Puppetry Arts, Micheal Haverty and XPT (Experimental Puppet Theater) and my amazing collaborator, Julia Hill! After being accepted into the 2011 XPT showcase as the only art installation, Julia and I teamed up once again to create our most ambitious and unique creature to date. Over 3 months of planning, sketching, and experimenting with materials, we knew we wanted to create something we'd never seen before. Through trial and error, inspiration and injury (fiberglass hurts!), "Picasso" the gorilla was born. "Picasso" is almost entirely constructed of fiberglass rods and "kite" connectors. His skin is a light-weight fabric that is attached "panel by panel" to each quadrant. His legs hide jumping stilts, allowing the puppeteer to jump and run. We fabricated custom arm stilts that lock your arms into a comfortable position transferring weight to the shoulders and back. "