Playing with Puppets

April 24th, 2010

(So this post is a little late, but better late than never. )

We got together at Diane Ranger's studio La Cellule Creative to spend the day making puppets. We had a great time creating our puppets together and digging into the wonderful supplies offered by Diane. I love seeing all the odds and ends that get collected by an art therapist...anything goes and there is so much potential for an inspiring work of art.

Our puppets emerged from the materials, our current stories at the time and the creative energy of the group. We discussed the use of puppets in therapy, technical considerations, and creating stories. Diane created a quick puppet theatre out of a shower curtain rod held between posts with velvant curtains. (Great idea for easy set up and dismantling). At the end of the day we enacted our puppets, introducing them in a circle and then creating a collective story...the adventures of a spider, a turtle, a grandmother, a little girl and a ranting tyrant! We lauged until we cried and we watched our story played back to us on video. Great tool for feedback and discussion with clients, letting a client observe themselves as well as choose how to alter their own stories.

Thanks to Diane for offering the workshop space and creating a playful environment. We enjoyed it immensely.

Our next meeting: We discussed something out doors to bring our art into nature and benefit from the good weather. Any ideas?

Until our next meeting,

Lucy

PS photos to follow