Piano Puppets

The following pictures show a series of sculptures I made from an old hand-crafted upright piano that I found on the side of the road about 3 years ago. The carved characters were intended to be puppets/props for an as-yet unfinished film project.

Each puppet was created by intuitively combining molding and other shaped pieces, with additional carving to accentuate facial features. Appendages were added by reconfiguring the various intricate mechanisms of the piano. The frames for the wings were made from piano parts, held together by string and beeswax, with feathers made from sheet music from an old Hank Williams songbook.

The handmade joinery and signatures found inside the piano indicated that it was assembled by several craftsmen 70 years ago. The upper right arm of the SunMan/MoonMan puppet displays one of the original signatures and date: December 19, 1935.

(photos by Mary Predny, except where noted)