Distraction or worthwhile detour?

What is it about puppets that allows us to see beyond the puppet handlers to become engrossed in the movement and action of the animals and characters they represent?

Whether it's Kermit the Frog or the life-size animals in the public art project, The Herds, we somehow see them as real. If only for a moment.

The Herds, built with wooden frames, are covered in simple cardboard. They not only captured my imagination, but inspired a new project: a series of cardboard sculptures from characters in Aesop's fables.

I'm enjoying the project, but there was something I still wanted to try ... a puppet with movement. When an online class was offered for a fish ... one that moves as though it's swimming, it was too hard to resist.

But I hesitated, somewhat bewildered, like the hare chasing the tortoise.

Is it practical to start a new project when you haven't crossed the finish line with the one underway? Maybe, maybe not. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity, so I jumped at the chance.

Needless to say, there's a lot more to a figure that moves than one that is stationary. There are inner workings that require elastic cords, wood beads, and wood dowels.

Measurements, mechanisms ... and even a bit of whittling.

Nearly done, I'd say yes, it has been a bit of a distraction, but also a worthwhile detour. I've learned a lot, have a better understanding what it takes to create movement with a puppet, and once my finger heals from the slip of the knife while whittling, I'll see how well my fish can swim.

p.s. Thursday is Call of the Horizon Day ... a day to look forward, to dream big. My fish is small compared to puppets in The Herds, but like the alewives swimming upstream, it's been worth the journey.