The arm sections were joined together by cutting slits into the polystyrene sections and using pieces of fleece fabric as the hinges, glued in place with PVA mixed with sawdust (very strong adhesive qualities).
Once dried the puppet was ready to be clothed. The sleeves were sewed and attached separately to the rest of the garment. The left arm has a tailored pocket style entrance at the elbow to allow access for the puppeteer’s hand and arm. Both sleeves were then attached to the shoulders with PVA and reinforced with a staple gun. The body of the clothing had a covering for Zeus’ neck included which was finished by hand stitching at the back and a bit of glue gun in places.
Zeus also has a simple silver satin toga and purple cotton cloak. All the fabric are very light as this puppet has got to be held in the air for extended periods.
The thunderbolt hurler was made from wood, very thin ply and a pole and then painted with acrylics. The right hand was attached to the hurler with a glue gun. Nylon strapping with velcro fastening was attached to the bottom to connect the thunderbolt hurler to the puppeteer’s leg in order to animate the otherwise lifeless arm.
Here is a very short clip of him at Colston’s Lower School in Bristol last week. I think he needs some big cartoon style sandals to finish him off. What do you recon?
