WalkAround Puppet - Buddy Bailey
This full walk around puppet was created by fellow University of Texas at Austin grad student Emma Craig and me as part of an independent study.
The body shape, suspenders, and limb bases were patterned, assembled, and fit by the two of us. The shoes were sculpted by me, molded and cast by us, and final shoe surface finishes were applied by me.
I created the head, and draped and assembled the trousers. Emma did most of the work on the torso padding and assembly, draped and stitched the shirt, assembled the tie, and created the arms. It was a true collaboration and the scope of the project would not have been possible for either of us to create in one semester by ourselves. It was a masterclass in patterning, understanding scale and proportion, structure and support, and time management.
“Buddy Bailey” the elephant starred a week-long social media narrative event in April 2021 as part of University of Texas at Austin’s Cohen New Works Festival. The content of the work can be found by browsing Buddy’s instagram @buddybaileyjazz. A linktree to his and the other character’s social media accounts can be found here:
“Buddy Bailey’s Big Break” was directed and produced by Matthew Schulz, edited by Zoey Crow and Jackson Cobb, and featured masks and performances by Aurora Kenyon, California Thorson, Emma Craig, Emma Dickerson, Samantha Cole and Sarah Aldridge.
Process images:
