OUR HAND PUPPETS
A hand puppet is any type of puppet that is operated directly with the hand/s. It can be a simple glove puppet, or the more complex hand and rod puppet, where the main body is supported with a stick or is a type of glove puppet with the hands of the puppet are operated by rods or poles.
I make a special type of a hand puppet. The main body of the puppet has a stick inside. I hold this stick while operating the hands and mouth. The mouth is manipulated by a little lever connected to the rod. The puppets I use in our films are quite small, at the maximum perhaps 12 inches tall. I make a larger form of this type of a puppet for my kids programs You can see this on my personal website, www.kristinhurst.com. This puppet style allows for a quick change of puppet, and also to permit the handler to operate two puppets at once.
I make all of my puppets, no matter what the application, from paper mache. The texture of the mache is never perfect, and is much more organic feeling than foam puppets. I also care a great deal about the painted surfaces of the puppets. There are many layers of tone in each puppet (except maybe the shiny green of my frog puppets!). The toning adds dimension and character. Movement-wise, my puppets are simple, compared to more technical puppets with moving eyes and fully-articulated joints. We rely on small movements choreographed to spoken text and music to enhance the characters emotion.
