Meet Ollie, a puppet artist's book.
I created Ollie in honor of Sawtooth School for the Visual Arts' 80th anniversary. Ollie evokes memories from "Here Come the Puppets." The materials used are those seen throughout the gallery, including puppets from multiple cultures. Ollie's face is painterly and is reminiscent of childlike marks like those made throughout the summer in the gallery makerspace and at the puppet parade. Ollie represents the spirit of community and collaboration
Here Come The Puppets!
2024 Summer Reading Program Collaboration with Winston-Salem Forsyth County Library
And Sawtooth School for Visual Art
In the summer of 2024, Sawtooth School of Visual Art proudly presented Here Come the Puppets, an interactive exhibition in the Eleanor and Egbert Davis Gallery. The gallery transformed into "three acts," featuring artwork from various decades and cultures. Each "act" engaged summer campers and the public through a hands-on makerspace, a reading nook, and a puppet shadow box. This show was presented in collaboration with the Forsyth County Public Library to encourage learning, creativity, and literacy skills through summer reading and the wonderful world of puppetry art!
-Sawtooth School for Visual Art
"Act I"
"Act I" highlighted pages and illustrations from Terry Schupbach-Gordon's book An ABCDARIUM in Three Acts, along with artworks and puppets by Grey Seal Puppets, Sandbank Shadow Factory, John Bowhers, Flannery Holton, DiVitto and Andrea Kelly, Martina Moore, Sara Reinthaler, and international pieces on loan from the LAM Museum of Anthropology at Wake Forest University.
-Sawtooth School for Visual Art
"Act II"
"Act II" transformed a significant portion of the gallery into a dedicated all-ages puppet makerspace, with supplies donated in part by Art SHAC!
-Sawtooth School for Visual Art
"Act III"
"Act III" featured a performative play area where kids could act out their own stories with puppets as the stars! "Act III" hosted a series of puppet storytimes at Sawtooth with Forsyth County librarians, along with storytelling performances by Terry Shupbach-Gordon, Alice Shupe, and Ms. Andrews, the Story Lady.
-Sawtooth School for Visual Art
