Prototype marionette by John Blundall

The Workbench is an area of the site dedicated to quality craftsmanship. Here you can find images of unpainted and uncostumed puppets and masks, as well as construction techniques. Click on a picture to see a larger version while clicking the word “finished” where it appears under a picture will show the completed figure.
Prototype marionette by John Blundall
Prototype marionette by John Blundall Prototype marionette by John Blundall Kitsune body by Stephen Foster

Finished
Table top style puppet called Touchstone Pierrot by Stephen Foster

Design

Finished
Bunraku hands by John Blundall
Kitsune head by Stephen Foster Don Quixote by Stephen Foster Debureau portrait figure by John Blundall

Finished
Bunshichi head by Stephen Foster Noh mask by Stephen Foster

Finished
Awaji Island puppet head by Kaname Hirake

Finished

Rather than just showing some pictures of puppets and masks we feel it is important to illustrate the entire creative process and some of the many skills required to create effective puppet theatre. This section will grow over time. Click on the images to go to the relevant pages.

DESIGN
The puppet theatre needs strong design to function effectively.

WOODCARVING
Wood is an incredibly versatile material and is the traditional choice for puppets and many type of mask. Carving is one of the most useful skills to possess in the puppet theatre. The links below show slideshows of the carving process of various works including Japanese Noh masks. Click the image for the slideshows (Flash required) or the text for ordinary thumbnail images.

Ko-omote Noh mask

Pierrot

Okina Noh mask

[index] [Collection] [Contact] [Events] [Cannon Hill] [Links] [Our Work] [News] [Encyclopaedia] [Sitemap]

All images and content are copyright of John M Blundall and Stephen Foster or are part of The John M Blundall Collection unless stated otherwise