Make your own Handmade Parade with giant puppets

Compiled by Mark Donley, Updated August, 2009. We need your creativity and ideas! Please email your ideas, updates and additional sources for this document to: mark@hillsboroughartscouncil.org

Visit the Handmade Parade website for more information.

This document is public domain - feel free to use and share but not publish for profit.

Visit this project at the Hillsborough Arts Council Handmade Parade workshop site.

The 2009 workshops were held at the Paperhand Puppet Intervention studio. They produce a wonderful annual summer show.

Of course not all of the items on this list are needed for all projects. Many projects can be completed with basic tools and materials.

3/8" staples (very important)
Bostich industrial Saber Point plier stapler. (The pointed tip allows the stapler to penetrate cardboard allowing it to be stapled anywhere on the project not just on the edges. A more affordable model is Salco model P694 sword point)
Staple pliers with straight tip
Utility knives w/blades
Permanent markers - black and colors
Heavy duty scissors and regular scissors.
Cordless drill with bits
Old cook pot (for heating water/cornstarch for paper mache)
Hot plate or propane cooker for heating paper mache water.
Paint brushes - various sizes
Artist brushes - various sizes
Tape measures
Yardstick - aluminum or wood
Pliers
Wire cutters
Materials
Whenever possible try to use recycled materials.
Wire - various gauges
Fabric: black, white, opaque bright and earth tone colors, lightweight synthetics preferable, nylon, polyester, end rolls of bulk fabric are good large pieces preferable.
Old bed sheets white and colored.
Ribbon
Plastic cable ties
Foam (thick pieces)
Corrugated cardboard single face (B flute) available in rolls. (You can make single face by wetting one side of recycled single wall cardboard outside with a hose. Then peel off one outside layer and allow to dry again.)
Corrugated cardboard single wall large flat pieces (lots)
Corrugated cardboard double wall (heavy)
Kraft paper (useful for taping to floor and sketching outlines on)
Nylon twine - (masons nylon line)
Duct tape: silver, white, and brown
PVC plumbing pipe various sizes ¾" to 3" diameter
Heavy cardboard tubes
Rolls of reed: #7, #9, and #10 (larger numbers are thicker)
Rolls of paper (newsprint end rolls from newspaper publishers)
Velcro - one large roll
Acrylic paint
Glitter, sequins and misc. fun trimmings like fabric 'fur'.
Foam pipe insulation
White glue (one large bottle for paper mache)
Bamboo poles (harvest locally) large diameter for pole small (3/8" diameter) for structures.
Corn Starch (for paper mache)
Grocery bags for Paper mache (recycled)
Newspapers
Backpacks (Not the fabric part%u2026 just the frame and harness; old external packs from tag sales thrift stores etc.)
Baseball caps and old hard-hats in all sizes (old/used) good starting point for masks and head mounted structures.
Bicycle inner tubes (Recycle: cut to use as ties for structures, large rubber bands and mask 'hinges'
Clear packing tape with dispenser
Used bottle caps for cardboard washers -flattened with a hammer and punch a nail hole in the center.
Wood (furring strips, 1x1 or 1x2 or 1/2"x2, pine fir or spruce)

Peter Minshall's creations stick to the Trinidad and Tobago format: no matter how big they are, there must be just one operator.

Another sort of street size puppet requires 3-5 dedicated individuals, more are preferable! A huge spider might require eight "krewe" members, one for each leg.

Carefully consider details regarding building space, materials, tools, storage, transportation and performance. Must the puppet fit in a car or do you have access to a pickup truck or van? Can you build and store the puppet in the same place? Will you include a few drummers or musicians in your group?

Try to focus on the technique of construction rather than the particular creature that's pictured. For instance, a design for a cat would work for any similar creature.

Collect images of the creature you wish to create as a reference for scale and colors.

The most important rule: KEEP IT LIGHT!

As you add more materials your creation will get heavier, and tiring to balance and carry.

I used to use the dry powdered wallpaper paste that came in a carton, but you can't find it any more. The stores are only selling tubs of wet glop. Do they think we are too stupid to be able to add water to wallpaper paste powder?

Anyway, here are some other stickums you can use:

White glue
-- Dries quickly, and very durable
-- No cooking required.
-- More insect resistant when storing finished pieces.
-- More weather resistant
Comment: I find this is slick and doesn't make thick layers adhere well. Also, it's expensive.

White glue Recipe:
-- Buy the cheapest white glue (such as Elmer's glue) available in bulk. (1 gallon bottle)
-- One part water with one part white glue.
-- Using an inexpensive whisk, mix in a metal bowl (or a recycled gallon plastic bottle with the top cut off. A bleach bottle can be cut leaving the handle on for carrying your mix around the shop)
-- Mix as much as you estimate you'll use at one sitting.

Cornstarch glue (This is Paperhand Puppet's favorite)
-- Very inexpensive
-- Insects don't eat it
-- Easy cleanup
-- You can use cornstarch mix for your base layers and finish with a white glue mix for added durability.
Comment: This is what Paperhand Puppet has used, exclusively, for a decade. It holds up well, feels nice, is cheap, and sticks stuff together well. This is now my choice.

Cornstarch Recipe:
-- Heat 1 gallon of water in an old pan on the stove.
-- Bring to a boil then reduce heat.
-- Mix two cups of corn starch into enough water (any temperature) to make a soup.
-- Pour in the cornstarch soup while constantly stirring. (use more or less to get your desired consistency) Mix well to a smooth consistency.
-- Once it has thickened allow to cool before using. A slightly warm mixture is pleasant to work with!
-- For a small project use 2/3 cup corn starch to 1 quart of water.
-- Cornstarch can be made more durable by adding white glue to your mixture.

Flour glue
This is what I always used to use. I often added some Elmer's Glue (pvc glue) to it to make it stronger. You can also use resin glue (see picture and description below).
Comment: after the flour glue layers got moldy in our recent plaster head experiment, I don't like it any more. Also, Donovan of Paperhand Puppet says it isn't strong and is not suitable for large-scale puppets.

Flour Recipe:
-- Use one cup flour to 5 cups water (or any multiple thereof).
-- Put on four cups of water to boil
-- Add a half-cup of your remaining water to your cup of flour and mix it to a heavy paste (this avoids lumps). Gradually add the rest of that cup of water, stirring vigorously.
--As your pot of water approaches a boil you can start adding more and more of the boiling water to the flour mud. Stir, add more, stir, add more.
-- Finally, put the whole stirred mixture on the stove and let it boil for 2 - 3 minutes. It should be smooth and have the constancy of cooked oatmeal. You can add more water or glue in small amounts until you get the desired consistency.
-- Adding salt may help prevent mold.
-- You can add up to 1/2 cup of plastic resin glue powder (see picture) to the dry flour before you start adding water. This will make a very hard, durable puppet.

Recycled newspaper or brown paper bags, (just about any paper will do)

-- Brown bag paper, from recycled grocery bags, is the strongest and heaviest, and requires the fewest layers.

-- Mark brought a roll of pink underlayment paper for flooring to the workshop. It was terrific!

--Newspaper is thinner and better for tighter curves but will require more layers than brown paper bags.

Tear the paper into 1 to 2 inch wide strips and lay them into your mixture (glue). Strips that are ripped are better than strips that are cut as the edges are 'feathered' and will blend together better. Pull them out as needed and strip the excess paste off the strip with your fingers and smooth them into place on your creation.

It's a bit messy, so cover your table with newspaper and secure with masking tape if needed. You can also use plastic or cheap plastic party table covers. Remember to protect the surrounding floor if you're working with kids!

-- To build strength, stripped paper mache requires multiple layers.

-- After applying a few layers, allow your piece to dry. You can set up a fan on your piece to speed the drying time. If you do not allow sufficient drying time between applications your piece will take a long time to dry sufficiently for finishing.

You can also use: old phone books, paper towels, shirt cardboard, paper boxes, wrapping paper, egg cartons, shredded computer and copier paper, old bed sheets, washer and dryer lint, torn and worn out T-shirts, socks and jeans...

Donovan showed us how he builds a rough form out of whatever - anything from plastic bowls to gourds and bunched-up bags - and then covers that rough form with clay. The clay is sculpted into the head shape and then the papermache is laid over the clay. When the paper mache is dry, it is slit up one side and down the other for removal from the clay and then patched back together again.

The clay - they have hundreds of pounds - can be used again and again, they've used the same batch for years. When it gets too hard they take it out and crack it to bits with hammers and then re-hydrate it.

This picture shows what turns out to be a fabulous tool, I can't imagine why I never had one before. It's called a saber point or sword point stapler. It looks like a staple gun, and it uses heavy industrial staples, but it curls the points of the staple back towards each other like a regular desk stapler. Also, you can stab it through your work to staple two inaccessible layers together. Donovan's current favorite is the "Rapid 31" - you can get one from eBay (see below).


Donovan demonstrated the technique illustrated above, slashing the perimeter of a lozenge-shaped piece of flat cardboard and then pulling the tabs back and bending them to round a form. He mashes and rolls the cardboard sometimes, he calls it "worrying the cardboard," to make it malleable and flexible.

You can tape puffy wads of newspaper to the cardboard to add shapes like brows, noses, lips. Then you paper-mache over the whole thing. Later you can go in from behind and cut out some of the cardboard and wadding.

I got a chance to speak briefly with Mark at the workshop. He is from New Orleans and was into parades and huge puppets there.

Now, with the instigation of the Annual Handmade Parade, his interest has revived. Currently he is working with puppets made with hoops, bamboo frames, and fabric attached with a hot glue gun - they are fast and very light.

First be sure your creation is completely dry

Paper mache can be painted with acrylic paints to create vibrant colors. Latex house paint is fine.

You can also get great effects layering different colors of colored tissue paper on your creation - This is a great technique! Apply the tissue with the white glue mix.

You can use the method above for paper mache or lay the tissue on your creation and 'paint' the glue mix on the tissue using inexpensive foam brush. Think about layers and varying similar colors to create depth.

For more advanced artists who'd like a really smooth finish, artist's gesso can be used. Paint on a minimum of four coats of artist's gesso. Sand lightly between coats, but don't sand the final coat. This will you give a very smooth surface. After applying color and multiple coats of clear, gloss lacquer or urethane, the surface can be almost as smooth as glass!

If you can find an old external-frame backpack at a thrift store you can deconstruct it and use it to hold the stick that suspends your giant puppet head above the crowd.

Donovan gave me this one so I guess I'm committed to going to the parade!

If you can't find a backpack to take apart, you can make a frame from PVC pipe, pipe insulation, and fabric sashes:


Then you slip your bamboo stick into the PVC housing on the backpack and you're ready to roll. Or, you can use a lighter-weight version as Mark has done here:

I slung my still-wet puppet head in the back of the truck and brought it home. Now there are two problems:

1. It's way too heavy because I built it around a too-strong cardboard roll. Do I dare cut it open and remove a lot of the cardboard and wadding, as suggested in the picture above?

2. If so, I'll have to do a lot more paper mache on it. How can I duplicate the stand Donovan found for me at his studio so it can be vertical as I work?

3. SHOULD it have eyes? What do you think?

4. Where can I put it while I work? Where does one keep a giant puppet head?

If you have clay, you can make hands out of clay, cover it with thin plastic, and do 3-5 layers of papier mache with heavy paper. You will probably have to cut them off the clay and papier mache them back together.


Here's a way to rig arms so one puppeteer can manage the whole thing.

This lens is part of Chapel Hill Fiddler's Puppets & Masks CollectionPunch and Judy • How to Make your Own Punch & Judy Dolls • Casting a plaster mold to make a paper mache head • Punch & Judy show: the other characters • Bread and Puppet Circus • How to Make a Handmade Parade • Adult Puppet Theater • Make a La Llorona paper mache mask • Scary Masks from Afar • How to make a giant puppet and an El Tigre head • The giant head masks of Jane Filer • Make a space alien head from papier mache • Creep masks for Halloween inspiration • See all the puppet lenses at once • The scary recycled puppets of artist Michel Nedjar

These images are from Building the giant puppet

This is an option for people who prefer the fiber arts.