Well, I worked on something fun this past month. A community member in my local social-justice activism sangha proposed the construction of a giant peace puppet to illustrate our values, and I am among the few with the know-how of how to get it done.
Starting with a concept sketch to plan out the design and the component shapes, I led a team of volunteers over three build sessions using collected materials to construct an enormous, wearable statue of liberty. Using mostly cardboard and paper mâché, we built the lady around an old external-frame hikers backpack. I have an innate sense of people’s creative strengths, so I delegated tasks to team members like, “cut out these shapes,” “tape this together,” “build this component” based on my sense of their creative confidence. Bouncing around from team to team, I was focusing on the big picture of scale, structural integrity, wearability, and visual impact.
The final result is a ten-foot tall Lady Liberty with four detachable “limbs,” including her torch. The puppet can shrink or expand in her reach to respond to the number of puppeteers available.
Here’s a quote from the concept/supplies/volunteer-coordinator, and woman inside the puppet:
For some time, I have wanted to try a different approach to activism, one that is grounded in connection through creativity.
The idea to build a large-scale puppet took hold over a year ago. I love these expressive giants for their roots in the creative commons, their slightly wild and unwieldy command of attention, their historical use for subverting power structures through joyful art.
I envisioned bringing people together to create something that doesn’t just protest what is wrong, but to create what we know is right.
After months of fits and starts on the project, the stars finally aligned this winter. I had the seed of a design concept. My friend Rob had gathered many of the needed materials, Shauna brought the technical artistry to lead the build, and new friends from my sangha stepped in with skills, materials and enthusiasm.
We spent three Sundays at a makerspace. If you don’t know about makerspaces, they are beautiful examples of places that foster creative community spirit, operating on the understanding that we are stronger when we share our tools and knowledge. What better location for this project? In this spirit of community, we designed, cut, sewed, painted, and got messy with papier-mâché.
Our work together felt like a celebration. While our hands were busy making art, the conversation flowed freely and simple connections were natural. We are thrilled with the result. –Jill
