Lone Wolf Tribe Workshop

I recently joined the online puppet community Puppet Hub and came across Lone Wolf Tribe whose website I had seen some time ago and was happy to be re-introduced to their fantastical form of puppetry. I noticed they were giving workshops on foam sculpting the puppet head and quickly signed up for their class this past Wednesday, January 14 at their Brooklyn, NY studio.

I had such a great time learning a new, creative process. Kevin Augustine, Lone Wolf Tribe's artistic director, is an encouraging and inspiring teacher. As someone who can get a little too precious about my own creative process, it was nice to let go a little more and still be impressed with the outcome. Starting with a simple sketch or idea, you draw the image to a large block of upholstery foam. The face front and profile were drawn to the appropriate sides and used as guides. Much slicing and carving later reveals a pretty cool puppet head. Although my figure looked to be more Native American or African, his name came to me as 'Boris'.



If you are looking to learn new technique or would just like to get your craft on for an evening or afternoon, I highly recommend this workshop. Lone Wolf Tribe stages fascinating, avant-garde puppet/ theatrical shows. Check out their website for upcoming shows in the New York area or see them at this year's National Puppetry Festival in Atlanta.