Run Rabbit Run

Have you met Skippy?  I just did.  What a curious fellow.  I very much enjoy his version of the Frog Prince.  There is a lot of screaming and falling down wells. 
Huh.

Why would the already stylish fox need hats and accessories, you ask?  Why not, I would reply.  I would also add, in an imperious tone, that seeing as the fox is so much more stylish than the majority of people, maybe we should question them less and imitate them more.  I would be saying this with a mildly ridiculous beribboned hat and fake fox tail adorning my own body.

Once in a while I come across a music video that really blows me away.  Usually it has some sort of illustrative aspect to it, and this one is no exception.  Not sure how they did it; it looks like a combo of live action and animation.  I love its dynamic pacing and moody feel... the music is pretty good too!

Now if only I could get my hands on one of those guns that shoot birds...

I really enjoy the look of a well loved puppet, and this Dutch girl marionette is no exception.  I took her home from Open Door Studios to give her a bit of refurbishing.  It was fascinating to take her apart and see all her layers, and how she was made.  Simple materials, but when her strings were detangled and properly attached, she moved beautifully. 
The rabbit marionette in the previous post is based on this type of marionette.

When I go to make a new(for me) style of puppet I usually make a few different test ones to see which I like best.  I have been making marionettes for a number of years now, but they weren't moving the way I wanted them to, so I  experimented with different ways of construction.  This style of puppet is influenced by Hazelle marionettes.  It is made with a wooden block, muslin, wire, and stones to weigh the limbs down. 

The advantage to building the marionettes this way is that the head is now much more expressive and mobile, and more movement can be gained in the legs by having them on a separate controller. I also prefer the look of this kind of marionette over what I was doing before; it is a little more old fashioned.

     A selection of sketchy-ness from a recent sketchbook.  Though animals are the more common inhabitants of my sketchbooks, occasionally people set up camp in there. 

     I have always felt like I should be keeping some sort of written journal, however they never seemed to last beyond a day or two. I like the idea of keeping a record of my life as it trips along, so it took me a long time to accept the fact that I am just not the journaling kind.  I am, in truth, the sketchbooking kind.  I have filled many sketchbooks over the years, and always like to go back through them and see what I was observing or thinking about way back then.  Sometimes I don't remember drawing certain images, other times images will bring me right back to a very particular day or event.  I try not to be too precious with my sketchbooks, and will draw over old sketches, fill it up out of order, and go back and draw in any empty spaces.  Not so good for chronology, but good for idea development...

I heart my sketchbooks!

     Hello, and welcome to Run Rabbit Run, I am glad you could join me.  My name is Kelly, and I hope to use this space to introduce you to what I am up to, working on, interested in and inspired by.  Some of you may know me as Kirkham Puppets; if you don't, feel free to check out my Kirkham Puppets Blog here. There will be plenty of puppet-y goodness on this website too, in addition to illustration and art.


     If you take a look at the accompanying photo, you will see a part of my workspace in the studio.  Papier mache materials, bird reference book, acrylics, brushes, coloured pencils all at the ready.  A finished papier mache chickadee puppet head sits in the foreground.  He is one of two bird puppets(the other being a common yellowthroat) created for a show in Chatham Ontario, entitled 'Big Spaces, Small Animals'.  I also made a video, with the filming and editing help of Brynley, of the chickadee and yellowthroat puppets at the Beaches here in Toronto.  Please forgive their performances, they were feeling a little stiff and out-of-sorts that day.