Shoemaker, Wood-Carved Marionette

This submission is a piece of artwork, a wood carved Marionette made in a virtual workshop with a company called "Puppets in Prague" (PIP) - it is the Shoemaker (and 3 Elves) from the Grimm's Fairy Tale "The Elves and the Shoemaker." I visited PIP for the first time (in person) in 2017 for a "Carving and Performance Workshop" where I performed in an ensemble of 8 puppeteers and an equal number of puppets for an annual Summer Festival called Letni Letna in a show for children called, "Do not be afraid of Dracula." In 2019 I performed again after taking another carving workshop with PIP called "Family Theatre" or "Toy Theatre" at a world wide exposition for Theatre Design called The Prague Quadrennial for Stage Design Exposition. The 2019 Workshop had 3-9" high wooden carved rod marionettes in the Czech traditional style for "The Elves and the Shoemaker." The carving, costumes and small theatre was designed and made by me. Lastly, When the pandemic closed and restricted all travel and theatre's were trying to survive with no audiences, Puppets in Prague moved to virtual workshops, of which I have taken ten scattered throughout 2020-2021. The video attached is from a Celebratory New Years "Teaser" Performance of the "Elves and the Shoemaker" adapted from Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales. The Photo is The Shoemaker made in July/August of 2020. The designing, carving and making of Puppets - the Craft & Art form has buoyed me up during this past year and introduced me to a whole new group of artists found worldwide. I am thrilled to share this with my colleagues friends and students at Loyola University!

Rachel Healy