Puppetry is a unique and ancient form of artistic expression that dates back to the 5th Century. Puppets are used to express ideas and characters in stories and are brought to life by puppeteers. There are many different kinds of puppets. There are simple shadow or stick puppets, sock puppets, hand or finger puppets, string or marionette puppets, Japanese Bunraku puppets, and carnival puppets. A puppet can be made out of any material and can resemble a living, an imaginary, or a non-living thing. Many puppets and their puppeteers are famous. Perhaps the most well-known puppeteer is Muppet creator Jim Henson. He widely popularized puppets through his television show, Sesame Street, expanding the art form musically, cinematically, and technically, through iconic characters like Kermit the Frog.
Learn More: What other famous puppets can you name?
Art Project - Baby Animal Stick Puppets:
Let’s celebrate spring and baby animals! There are many baby animals born in the springtime including lambs and chicks. Pick your favorite baby animal and make your own stick puppet.
Materials:
- Thick paper (like stock paper)
- Popsicle sticks (or any other stick; straws work too)
- Pencil (to draw your puppet)
- Scissors
- Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
- Tape or glue (we used Scotch Tape)
Directions:
● Decide what animal you would like for your puppet. Draw the shape of your animal’s head on your paper using a pencil. To make circles, find small objects in your home that can be traced around by using a pencil. We used the lid of a tube of paint to make circles so our animals faces will be the same size. You can use any shape to create your face.
● Draw your animal’s face inside the shape you selected.
● Use markers and colored pencils to finish the look of your animal face.
● Cut out the animal face.
● Use tape or glue to adhere the face to the popsicle stick.
● How many baby animal puppets can you make? When you are finished, you can be the puppeteer and put on a show for your family and friends!
Alternatives: Felt Hand Puppet
You can also make a hand puppet with a sock or a glove (see photo). I cut the faces out of felt and sewed them to each finger of my glove, but you can also use paper or markers. Remember to be creative!
Materials:
● Glove (any old glove you have at home)
● Felt (to make the animal faces)
● Needle and Thread (or glue)
● Fine Point Black Marker (to trace the face on felt)
● Scissors
● Pencil and Paper
Directions:
● Sketch the head of your spring animal on your felt using a pencil or pen. You can sketch ears, a nose, and a mouth on different pieces of felt, sewing each separately, or you can sketch them all together on one piece of felt, saving you a little time and effort. An alternative is to draw the entire head and face of the animal in pencil on one piece of felt. You can use different colors of felt to give your animal dimension.
● Use a black marker to trace the details of the animal’s face on your felt pieces.
● Cut out your animal shapes, including your animal’s head and the different parts of their face.
● Sew or glue the ears, nose, and mouth onto the head of your animal. If you are sewing, make sure that you start sewing from the back side of the glove so you won’t see the knot in your thread.
● Use your black marker and make eyes on the faces.
● Sew the animal face to the glove, but be sure you don’t sew through the whole finger or you won’t be able to put your hand inside! You can make five separate animals for each finger of the glove.
● If you like, you can sketch and cut a tail from felt and sew it to the backside of your animal’s place on the glove.
● After you have finished your puppets, you can create a story with your family that you can all act out together. We made a stage for our puppets out of paper. You can use our photo for inspiration or use your imagination to create your own theater!
Alternatives:
● You can use a hot glue gun or fabric glue to make your animals and attach them to the glove.
● You could also make shadow puppets or sack lunch puppets if you’re short on materials or want to create a mixed media show. Have fun and be creative with your animal puppets!
● Please share your work with the museum, we love to see your work! Use the hashtag #wamcreateclub