From: "Rebecca McNulty" <orrenflam-AT-rcn.com>
Subject: PUPT: Re: Help: puppetbuilding crisis!
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 12:42:48 -0500


Mathieu---

An interior armature would have prevented this problem-giving a secure place
to attach the arm through the shoulders, and then covering the armature with
the fabric to achieve the look you want. You're asking fabric to take all
the stress that movement provides. To fix this, you want to transfer the
stress from your fabric and threads to something more durable.

Doll and teddy bear makers use a joint made of two plastic discs joined with
a heavy-duty elastic or some other strong string. (Actually, newer ones are
a plastic joint that is made the same way.) You can sometimes find these
joints at fabric and craft stores.

You can create a similar effect with two buttons and elastic. Embed one
button in the fabric arm, with the elastic piercing the fabric and secured
to the other button, which is inside the shoulder---or you could go through
the entire shoulder piece and join it to the other arm's button. The button
spreads the stress out over the fabric, instead of pulling in one spot.

The best long-term solution is to eventually rebuild the arms--it looks as
though you could easily add a dowel rod into the torso--and join the arms to
the rod with leather or any other marionette joint. You'll find that the
armature will give you a better performance, as well.

Good luck!

--Rebecca


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mathieu Rene" <uubald-AT-magma.ca>
To: <puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 9:54 AM
Subject: PUPT: Help: puppetbuilding crisis!


> Hi Jim, and all,
> here are more precisions, concerning my puppet ordeal.
> Besides this one, all the other steps of the other puppets are going
great.
>
> The puppet I have the most trouble with is the nude lady.Her
> shoulders,specifically, since she is going to be seen nude.
>  She will be manipulated by two puppeteers, "unraku" style, which means,
> from our late 2003 dicussions about puppet definitions, that it will be
> Bunraku manipulation inspired, seen by the public. For this specific show,
> one might say it's a tabletop-unraku style, as they perform on adjustable
> platforms.
>
> She has rods in her hands, a dowel behind her head, and the rest of the
body
> will be in direct contact with the puppeteer's hand, for a better control.
>
> Her one-piece shoulder-chest-belly-pelvis is made of celluclay over
> newspaper.
> Arms and legs are fabric packed tight with polyester fiberfill.
> you can see the problem area on my website:
> http://www.magma.ca/~uubald/willcock.jpg
>
> What we need the shoulder to do: rotate as much as a real shoulder as
> possible, without looking too crappy, or the arm looking completeley
> detached from it.
> The main concerns:
> -looks crappy
> -arm joint too fragile and prone to need heavy and complicated repair(a
> no-no for during the shows)
> -fabric gets destroyed too quick when threaded through..

> Mathieu René Créaturiste
> Marionnettes, masques, etc...
> Puppets, masks, etc...
> uubald-AT-magma.ca
> http://www.magma.ca/~uubald/
> (514) 725-5821
>
>
>
>   --- Personal replies to: "Mathieu Rene" <uubald-AT-magma.ca>
>   --- List replies to:     puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>   --- Admin commands to:   majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
>   --- Archives at:         http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons
>




  --- Personal replies to: "Rebecca McNulty" <orrenflam-AT-rcn.com>
  --- List replies to:     puptcrit-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
  --- Admin commands to:   majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
  --- Archives at:         http://lists.village.virginia.edu/~spoons