My installations are akin to a super-slow-motion puppet show, unfolding over as much as a month with a new episode of the story each day. In addition to hand-carving the puppets, I often add watercolors, text, fabric, and found objects to create the daily scenes. Each day, I replace the previous day’s scene with a new one, and though I have an overall concept for the project, the impermanence of the scenes and the spontaneity of daily creation allow me to access different aspects of my creativity.
Ostara & The White Hare
The Very Small Museum (Austin, Texas)
2022
After performing with my puppets for years, in 2022 I realized I was ready to retire from the live stage. When I was asked by a neighbor to create an exhibit for the Really Small Museum ATX, I was initially inspired by a rabbit I’d been working on, and I became intrigued with alternative ways of creating story and giving life to puppets. My first installation in April 2022 was Ostara & the White Hare. I told the story day-by-day for 30 days. Each daily scene included handmade puppets, watercolor paintings with the text of the story, and found objects from around the neighborhood.
INSTALLATIONS
Remembering Wilma Rudolph
Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library (Austin, TX)
2024
I am inspired by collaboration, community, service. To that end, Remembering Wilma Rudolph was as much about its neighborhood setting as anything else. Wilma’s story unfolded day-by-day for thirty days at the historic Carver Library, the first branch of the Austin library to serve the Black community. Using hand-carved wooden puppets, paintings, quilts, and written and spoken text, the resulting display was a slow storytelling puppet show.