Cooper’s Hawk Shadow Puppet: Work in Progress
This semester I worked with Chuck Stigliano as my artist mentor. We met weekly on Zoom. Chuck’s knowledge of puppets, movement, mechanics and artistry was invaluable. From him I learned how to construct a puppet that would be able to move in the way I want it to. i still have a lot to learn and a long way to go. I consider this puppet as a learning piece about movemnt in sculpture in general.
This video shows the tail piece as seen from the back of the puppet.
This is the first video which shows the original idea.
Here is a simple animation of the concept.
Inspiration & Research
Some of My Photos
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- Coopers Hawk, Arlington
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- Coopers Hawk lunch
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- Coopers Hawk, Arlington
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Nature Sites, Feather Atlas, etc.
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- Cooper’s Hawk searching for a tasty meal in an old bean field at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach, California
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- An adult Cooper’s hawk banks sharply, exposing its underwings to bright morning light
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Artists & Art Forms
Cambodian, Thai and Indonesian Shadow Puppets
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- Thai shadow puppet
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- Shadow puppet in action
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- Shadow puppet and puppeteer
William Kentrige, Shadow Procession
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- William Kentridge
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- William Kentridge, Shadow Progression
Lotte Reiniger, Prince Achmed, 1926
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- Lotte Reiniger, Prince Achmed
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The Learning Curve, in Pictures and Videos
Week 1: Inspiration
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- Third Prototype
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- Second Prototype
Week 2: Searching for ways ot get the mechanics right.
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- the ugly one
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- the first prototype
Week 3 & 4: The ugliness is real. Trying to map out how to make the wings.
I researched cosplay wings: Cosplayer Makes Giant Mechanical Wings Articulated Wings with Linear Actuator Making Big Wings
and that led to scissors linkages: Ten fold: RAISE
week 4 & 5 There was a lot of experimentation, then success at last! And then it broke.
Here it is, working:
Here is the rebuilt version:
Week 5 & 6 and then it was on to making the feathers
And this took a few more weeks. Eventually I switched to regular printer paper since I was wasting a lot of cardstock.
version 1:
version 2:
So there was a hitch here with the bunching.
Version 3, 4 or 5. Bunching fixed. Notice the top elastic. We are close to the end.
Version ?–lost track at this point:
In this version I figured out a separate elastic to get a spread at the end of the wings.
And then it was on to fix the tail mechanism, which was a little sticky:
I am inordinately proud of this working mechanism. It took a long time and a lot of fidgeting, and now it works smoothly.
And here is where we are now:
The making of the tail:
This may be too lacy and not have enough “reveal,” but i have moved on to making the wing feathers:
These are all cut by hand, despite a short interlude with a wood burning kit, using an exacto blade, a mat knife, a rotary cutter, and scissors out of 100 lb. black card stock for durability. I need to line up the wings so they appear solid when folded, but reveal the designs when extended. Same for tail.
And then it’s time to make the body. I plan on making a belt to attach the puppet to my waist so it is over my head.
This semester I read Chapter 4 of Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s The Phenomenology of Perception. I am currently reading Rebecca Solnit’s Wanderlust as I contemplate how to join my walking practice with object making. Ernesto Pujol’s Walking Practice: Reflections on Socially Engaged Paths is next.