Sunday, January 1, 2012

Hey thats not a puppet!

Hey thats not a puppet!

No it is not. That is because puppet a day has commenced, thank you for following the progress and if you're new to the blog then you've got a whole months worth of handmade puppets to check out. 
I'll be starting a new process blog soon. It's going to be about making things. If you'd like to get updates then join the emailing list via my website here:
 www.erinkerrstainken.com


Also for easy viewing all of the puppets have been archived on flkr here:

Saturday, December 31, 2011

#31 nobody likes goodbyes

It's ET, made from paper and tape. This is the last official puppet for the project, tomorrow I'm planning on archiving them in a flickr account and I'll post a link to that for easy viewing of the collection. Thank you to everyone who's been reading this blog, hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. 

Friday, December 30, 2011

#30 Gluttonous Grazers


Made from a used puffy envelope, paper, tape and staples, things goats love to eat, at least the ones at camp camp do. Thank you to Bob for taking care of these guys and all of us really at camp. 

Thursday, December 29, 2011

#29 Secret Santa


Included some concept art with this one, usually I just make them straight-ahead.  The cotton balls used to make Bob Ross really inspired this one. He's made from an apple sauce container, newspaper, cardboard and the of course the cotton balls. 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

#28 Bob Ross


Just some happy beautiful little puppets happening here. Made from some christmas packaging excess, cotton balls and twist ties. The best part of making him was picking out his tiny afro. Thank you to Joe for providing the background. 

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

#27 The puppet with the dragon tattoo


Made from a plastic cup, styrofoam, twist-ties, tape and tin foil. The hacking software and computer are not attached. Had a blast making this one with my best friend who took me to see the movie today, we recommend it. Thank you to Elizabeth who also treated me to roller skating today, we also recommend that. 

Monday, December 26, 2011

#26 Snap Pics























1960's Tupperware Toys SNAP PICS Animal kingdom Craft Set. Need I say more? They're awesome. The elephant is one of the provided designs, with the flower being a personal addition, and the old man is my own design. Thank you to Shirley, my best friends grandma, for letting me play with them. 

Sunday, December 25, 2011

#25 Genu-ine plastic


Made of genu-ayne plastic, these were questionably admitted into my very vague definition of "a puppet".  They're earrings I made from some toy native americans. Not much went into the actually production besides cutting off the foot bases and attaching the earring finding but I enjoyed thinking these up and making them happen. Thank you to my uncle Mac who, against my insistence, purchased a pair. That was my very first sale. 



Saturday, December 24, 2011

#24 Foiled


Feeling both lazy and playful today this scorpion is 100% tinfoil, a great material for building lightweight  and dynamic sculptures, also cheap and easy to repurpose. Thank you to Elizabeth whom I meant to bring some cookies to yesterday but I found myself distracted by the foil I planned on wrapping them in.

Friday, December 23, 2011

#23 Paper Mate

Wow look at that cartwheel!... it was beautiful. Pretty self explanatory here, two ingredients paper and pins. Did have to clip the back of the pins down so they wouldn't stick out in the front, it felt like clipping a birds wings except this time it was giving movement not restricting it. Thank you Helen?, I think her name was Helen... Anyways great lady at the nursing home today who critiqued my sketches, thank you for that advice on the nose.









Loving Eyes
The love i see in your eyes,
the way they go soft and hold me
as if we were next to each other,
the love i hope reflects off of me
and back to you so that
you can have an idea of what I see
when I look into your intensely beautiful eyes,
 but after i want what you see reflected back quick
because it's a comfort and 
a happiness rolled into one and I want to hold onto it
because I can't hold onto you.
Time and space says it can't be so.
Back and forth it can bounce between us,
a passing basketball slapping the pavement
at the perfect angle so that we 
can see the message equally and
together. We can share that at least
and laugh in the face of space.
And any bad pass or flubbed angle,
we can fix and set right.
People always say they wish
you could see what i see, 
or see how you are in my eyes and i guess i do,
but more I want you to feel what i feel
when i look into your eyes,
my heart going soft like your look,
even when I can't say what i feel right. 
Even when we have to be apart.
Your eyes say it all,
if you looked into a mirror you'd see
what's written so clearly there,
Look out!
here comes the pass, into your open arms.
Look out, look at me the way you do,
so i can reflect it back to you
and we can share it.




Thursday, December 22, 2011

#22 Skin and bone

A lot of experimentation in this one. The body is constructed from a wire skeleton wrapped in wax paper, which I had hoped would have more translucency but because his head, a rock , is so heavy it was difficult to photograph him. The gold and green thing on his shoulder is a tiny parrot that probably fell off of a christmas ornament. Thank you to Joe and Kayla who took me to comanche hill yesterday where we found this and many other beautiful rocks. 



Sketches
pencil sketches etching
a face into the surface,
generic and gray at first but
turning quickly into something
so familiar and so real.
Your face looks back at mine
out of the pile of lines and smudges,
like a photograph or the reflecting pool in Lion King
showing another face but a greater truth, the lines
they've morphed into the face 
I picture every morning when I remember your name
as it is whispered through the air when I wake up,
floating through the open window
on an animated breeze that circles about the room
before settling over my head for me to see
your face there giggling,
that chuckled that put you to sleep and woke you up
Always laughing through life 
and wherever that took you.
Through adventures in the trees
and past storybooks and scraped knees,
the laugh carried you to and from school
and up and down hills.
Baby boy you'd try to hide sometimes in an 
igloo made of snow or in that cubbyhole beneath the porch
but when we'd call your name in search of the sun,
we always knew where you were by the laugh alone,
even if you hadn't left that trail of cookie crumbs
or army men toys trailing behind you
a map and a key to your little boy world,
the solution to the equation that equaled all the laughter.
Waking up night after night to those giggles,
quiet at first until you woke up and saw me sitting
there next to you, where I'd been waiting for when you
couldn't keep that joy inside anymore,
the little laugh turning into waves and waves of it,
we'd laugh together
until you laughed yourself to sleep once more.
and grow heavy in my arms until I came to know the exact 
moment you let go. And my arms would tingle
as they lost feeling as if they were laughing too hard with you.
What did you laugh at all day, and
where did all that joy go?
It went away with you I guess, 
I keep searching for the trail you must have left behind,
maybe one day I'll find it.
I listen for the telltale giggle at every turn
but for now I can still hear it whispered in the breeze.


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

#21 Office Space

Low Tech opperation today... Working in my parents home office in which I've counted four of these huge calculators...This little guy just brightened my evening. Thank you Dell computers without you, well, I probaly could of telegraphed this post in sooner but hey you tried, and you do make that cute little noise whenever you get frustrated.


making spaghetti sauce
Pulling out little bottles of spices
down from the wooden counter 
in the same order every time 
because I put them back the exact same way.
Then pull out the measuring spoons
and scoop, level, pour
into the old silver sauce pan.
Each spice the exact amount
but slightly different than mom
and her mom
more pepper, a little more spice
than those before me 
An unconscious salute to the natural
evolvement between generations.
Then measure the water.
That is exact, but barely thought
simply done and poured into the mix after
the cans are opened, the can opener slicing
rings into the top.
Bubbles signify the end as the smell
calls everyone together because 
it's ready and done,
Pour it over past and serve.




Tuesday, December 20, 2011

#20 The blue planet




Back in Texas things are not actually this lonely but this little guy makes it seem so. Featured here dreaming of the Ben Stainken planet where people are happier and there are ninjas and things just make more sense. He's made of some small empty boxes and a beaded wire heart. His arms and head have swivel joints thanks to some great pins I found so expect some more dynamic puppets coming up. 



B and B
let's open a bed and breakfast by
the roar of the sea with a competing roar
of a fireplace
Inside a soft yellow, classic house
along a sea wall with a porch swing lazily swinging
in the wind off the ocean. 
Back and forth so easy like the way we'll breathe
once we're free from 
constraint and restraint
growing in the freedom of the sea foam
and living among the weeds.
Caring for the lost or weary or tired
and finding out just how much 
energy we can have from that care
and all the love we have to share.
Like a couple of birds
We'll make a home, you and me, 
and open it up for all to see 
The love that grows there
among the shells on every bookcase,
and inside the spaghetti sauce of the dinner
we'll make singing in the kitchen together
and serve to one long table so 
all the patrons can sit and share together
and find something they were looking for
whether they knew it or not.
Let's open a bed and breakfast
just you and me
and let the world see
the love we share
by the walls of the sea.







Monday, December 19, 2011

#19 Exit row

 New "pop-up" version of the inflight safety manual. My sister collects these pamphlets and we like to contemplate their enigmatic illustrations, who draws these anyways? Thank you the flight attendants of america and to the little girl next to me today who thought we we're going to crash at first and then decided we were having fun. 








Remember to
breathe
but assist others before yourself
otherwise you'll pass out and be no help to anyone.
That constant flow of oxygen going through the tube means
 to pull it down and let it
circumvent the body and mind 
allowing free thought
and a run of emotion
on the cusp of every breath.
Help everyone by 
remembering to breathe,
be calm and create.