I have known about Gaston Morineau for a while now.  This write up is another in a series of posts about people who I think are worthy of note for a special reason.  With Gaston, the idea for me is how he can inspire creativity.

Ever since Project Puppet has come on the scene they have helped thousands of would-be puppet builders with their easy to use and affordable professional patterns.  The only problem is that there seems to be a saturation of generic puppets with little individuality made from them.

This is definately not the case with Gaston’s creations.  He uses Project Puppet Patterns and the variety of characters he is able to achieve is remarkable.  I really like his monkey puppet.

His puppet shows are up on Youtube and show the same amount of creativity.  So, to feel creatively inspired go and check out his blog and view some of his videos, they are worth it.  Oh, and you can see some great pictures over at his Flickr page.

Contributed by Kanja

Blinky Bill is a cute koala character that was popular in Austrailia and New Zealand. The character was from a book published back in 1933. The show was made into a cartoon in the 1990s and a puppet live action version back in the 1980s.

Check out the other video on youtube here.

Contributed by Kanja

One week left to vote! Head on over to PuppetContest.com to vote for your favorite space character in Puppet Contest 2008: A Space Odyssey. The voting will only be open through December 7, 2008!

Contributed by Pasha

I think this is a hilarious response to a puppet show.  This poor child seems pretty terrified.

Contributed by Kanja

There is a saying that goes “Put your oney where your mouth is.” and this leads me into the subject of The Devil’s Minstrels.  As someone myself who has put a good deal of my own money into personal puppet projects, I respect those who believe enough in their idea to do the same.

Dave Maynard (the creator) has a full-time job and has created this puppet concept along with four of his high school friends.  For them, the Project really took form when we hooked up with John Kennedy in 2007 who custom built their puppets.

I give them respect for the amount of time energy and effort that they have put into their project thus far.  I wish them all the best of luck.  Be sure to check out their stuff on Youtube.

Contributed by Kanja

I love wonderfully built puppets almost as much as amazing puppeteering.  I stumbled across the Puppets On Hand website and I was instantly impressed with the work of Tom Blasco.  Tom spent about eight years working as a special effects make up teacher and taught advanced classes in animatronics and cable controlled puppets.

I am a new fan of his work and I look forward to finding out more about the projects he is working on.  Be sure to check out his website.

Contributed by Kanja

I love behind the scenes footage.  Here are some I found on Youtube.  Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Contributed by Kanja

I want to start a series of posts that I find personally inspirational.  I mean things that inspire me to continue to be involved in puppetry.  This leads me to Pogo Puppet Productions.  This company is run by two young teenagers and reminds me of the inspiration that “desire to try” that youth can bring to puppetry. 

I hope these two continue to pursue their joy of puppetry.  Take a moment to check out their Youtube page.

Contributed by Kanja

Project Puppet’s third annual puppet contest has landed! This year’s contest is entitled - Puppet Contest 2008: A Space Odyssey.

Here’s a few details about the contest:

• All entries must be received by November 1, 2008.
• The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $200.00 USD cash prize from Project Puppet.
• The First Runner-Up will receive a $100.00 USD credit with Project Puppet.
• An awesome international panel of judges - Terry Angus, Jarrod Boutcher, Ed Christie, Phil Fletcher, and James Wojtal - to narrow down the entries to the Top Ten Finalists.
• And, of course, the contest wraps up with a public vote!

There is a brand new venue for the contest - PuppetContest.com! You can find out more about the contest there or visit Project Puppet to choose the Simple Series pattern right for your character.

Contributed by Pasha

I have known about this show for over a year now and it is finally on CBC.  The Mighty Jungle is a live action puppet series for pre-schoolers.

The show stars Frank Meschkuleit, Wendy Welch, Jamie Bradley, Cheryl Wagner and Mike Petersen, The Mighty Jungle is a new series, that uses the imagination and story ideas of kids, to guide the stories of each show.

The Mighty Jungle airs on CBC each weekday morning at 8:45am. Be sure to join the unofficial Facebook group and show your support.

Contributed by Kanja