Kath Ellis Puppet

Kath Ellis puppet, my good and talented friend from Australia artist and performer. She is wearing a green tou tou that she had made for gigs she did at the Sandringham hotel in Newtown in the 1980's and the Elvis outfit was made in the late ninety's. Kath and I worked on so many arty things together I would be here for 7 years writing them. Kath is still working hard and has a band called Kathellism and also sings solo and does not need a microphone. She is currently working in Indonesia creating a festival with the art of bamboo, bands and pure talent.

Boomy puppet

Boomy puppet I made with his dungaree's that have tyre track marks across them. Boomy came to visit me a few times from Australia he was cycling all over the world and wears the dungarees as a protest at cars they have tyre tracks across them quite hard to reproduce on a puppet. He is very tall and also wears a motor cycle crash helmet when riding a bicycle and sometimes at party's that have low roofs. He is also a costume maker his costumes are out of necessity because he is so tall. We went to Barcelona together to catch up with his Spanish friend Nelson, it was great fun we went clubbing and went to stay in Nelson's parents cave and picked olives at the weekend, we dressed up wacky, to pick the olives and played music Like a mini rave, the local farmers were very amused. Boomy was in the arts gang in Sydney and we use to perform together. At the Barcelona markets we found real handmade clown shoes that fitted all sized feet with two sets of laces. I told him he should buy them because it is very rare to find shoes his size but the great thing about them is we could both wear them. I have made a miniature pair of them on his puppet. I still have to colour his hair, he is half kerry man and half Pacific islander a great cross. We discussed having children but my hips are not wide enough to give birth to a big Boomy. Boomy now runs his own very grand restaurant in Sydney called Fab. It would be great to hang out again and have a laugh. Boomy's claim to fame is he nearly got run over by Princess Diana, when he was standing in front of the gates at Buckingham palace as a tourist and she was in a hurry to get in to the palace. He turned around to see who had bumped the back of his legs and it was the Princess herself. No wonder she got a herself a driver. Cars are killers and kill the famous too, as for poor Gaudi the artist in Barcelona got run over by a bus while admiring his wonderful work the most amazing cathedral in the world. Boomy and I prayed for Diana in the chapel in the basement of Gaudi's cathedral.

This blog post was written many years before my dearly loved friend Boomy past away unexpectedly in 2010.

Brothers of the head puppets

My first Siamese twin puppets, made of the actors that starred in Brothers of the head movie that was originally a book written by Brian Aldiss in Norfolk in the 70's. The film was made in Norfolk and I got a part in it playing myself back in 1974. I made the puppets while sitting on the bus waiting to be called for the set. I used tissue paper instead of paper mache. I took the finished puppets up to London to the screening at Leister square. I had ideas of doing a puppet version of the book. I made some good friends that were also staring in the film and we are just about to launch are own mini film company.

This rare siamese twin puppet is for sale to pay for my first comedy feature film. Eight million pounds and a percentage would go towards building a series of art schools in Africa.

Marilyn puppet

This is a puppet of Marilyn my good friend from Sydney who worked as a great "Vegetarian Chef "at "Badde Manors",  for many years. She also trained as a make up artist and helped with a lot of shows that I did. She had amazing great taste in clothes and use to style me with some great clothes. This puppet she is wearing shoes made by Demanda from Badde Manors also, Demanda went on a great shoe making course at Ultimo Tafe. I mean her real shoes not the copy's I made for the puppet. Marilyn moved to Melbourne because it was more fun down there with great bands and boys. She went to art college and I have lost touch with her.

The Chicken Man

This is a puppet of Burkurrr the chicken man, he is famous in Australia for just being the chicken man, which has helped the change of law in Australia where all battery chicken farms are being changed into free range chicken farms. I met Burkurrr when I was a host at an art party In Sydney I had made a chicken claw outfit that was in same material as his outfit that night purely coincidental. I watched him dance from the stage in his own creative way. We went out for a while and turned his car in to a chicken mobile, by drawing all over it with oil pastels and reupholstering the inside. The car got stolen on two occasions one of which it had all the Mardi gras costumes in the back. We went to the papers and got it back. both times it was found parked in the same location, nothing was taken. A lot of people approached him saying sorry to hear you had your car stolen. Bukurrr went on to do an amazing giant chicken show that flew across a swimming pool on a flying fox. Burkurrr helped out for years on all the amazing shows we did. He is no longer Burkurrr because there is no longer a need to protest about battery farms. I certainly miss the days of driving around in the chicken mobile waving and smiling at people.

He lives in Melbourne and works for the University and has a daughter.