We recently connected with Nate Puppets and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nate thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

My puppets are very much my own

My main 3 mediums for making puppets are foam, fur and hot glue. I use these materials for many different reasons, the short answer is, I like them.

The long answer is, why choose to use them.

I learned about puppet making from some of the best. People who made real Muppets and some of the most beautiful other types of puppets. So of course I want to do that right?

I hated it.

I hated drafting, I hated the barge cement I hated sewing, however before any of that, I really enjoyed using my glue gun and making sparotic ugly (BAD ) puppets

For years I sat depressed full of new ideas. Thinking I could never make a puppet of any kind, and that my colleagues had all the real skill.

“I could never, that’ll never, I wish I could”

One day thar changed, when I looked at a cardboard cut-out I made and said “I want that to be a puppet”

To make it short, I made that puppet, no pattern half stitch half glue, By the third puppet I decided no stitching all hot glue and no pattern

It was a form of rebellion, but not just that. It was a way to show I could make a puppet and I never had to listen to anyone who told me I shouldn’t

I think people feel it’s a crutch, maybe it is. I mean they’re right, right? However to me, I don’t have to make a puppet, yeah? There are a million ways to put on a puppet show, and multiple ways to aquire puppets. So why on God’s green earth would I torture myself with methods I absolutely hate, to achieve the work the absolutely love

So I don’t want to sew, I don’t like to sew and I don’t want to pattern. Hey some people don’t like to paint, some people hate to sculpt andthis is just my perferred method and the results are everything I could hope for

Heating up my glue gun and straight cutting up some foam and fur, then chaoticly putting a puppet together, to unleash onto the world

Heaven.

Nate , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

So I’m a kid of the 90s

In the 90s, puppeteers that worked under Jim Henson started developing and working on their own shows.

I always like to blame Nick Jr because to me they had the absolute best kid’s puppet shows. Eureeka’s Castle, Allegra’s Window, Plexy and Jam, ugh, c’mon! Also of course we had Muppets on VHS (I watched Muppet Caper on VHS recently, definitely had my feelings) come to think of it, more on that later.

I started this journey as a ventriloquist of all things. I got injured really bad as a kid, it’s actually one of the biggest parts of my life. I had a hip injury which caused my hip to completely dislocate itself. After surgery I definitely guilted my mother into buying me a little toy ventriloquist dummy and the full fledged, puppet disorder commenced

I performed as one for a few years as a teenager, mostly busking and coffee shops

A few years later, around Christmas time. I was at the library and discovered The Muppet Christmas Carol on DVD. Now this was one of those tapes I had growing up, so of course I snatched it, took it home and my life suddenly changed. Ventriloquism? HA! No! I am clearly destined for Jim Henson’s Muppets, I’m going to be a Muppeteer!

While manicly deciding this. Someone I knew, who had done industry work had suggested learning building puppets. This idea had always excited and intimidated me, but it was nice to take the plunge.

Puppet building is no easy task, as I had suddenly learned. The sewing element of course being the hardest element and these damned ideas of absolute perfection that tend to come with professional work. Eventually I got a semi nack and could build a puppet in a number of hours. Of course armed with scissors and a glue gun . I would then rush my puppets to the street for my usual “busking” It was never all that good honestly, lots of improv and hoping people will stop.

However a puppeteer I greatly respect said to me “that’s very good, now imagine when it takes 4 years ”

He was absolutely right about that and while I’m not sure if I can quite take four years to make a puppet, but I certainly do take a bit more time these days

Then there’s the specific type of puppetry I chose to do.

I love, hand puppets. That is generally the American, mouth style, ya know, the Jim Henson, Muppet type puppet. That’s always what has tickled my brain. Ever since seeing my friend’s all those years ago on Nick Jr and PBS. When I was coming up in the in the biz, there was certainly a push to move beyond this style into something “more serious” but why limit these ideas to one corner of an art? Why not attempt to expand it further and push it out?

Also within that, I also love, wholly original ideas. I love when people don’t hold back and let their brains run wild to come up with something wholly brand new and original. Furries for example, seem to let their imagination’s run absolutely wild and don’t seem to let the limits of reality stop them. Things old Fleischer cartoons or old cartoons on general where absolutely anything can and will happen. Objects come to life, and melt and morph. While multiples of anthropomorphic animals wear what is modern day dress for the time and parody modern life.

I don’t like making anything straight foreward. When I got back into puppet making I’d have people ask why? Things like making a grilled cheese sandwich with a face and then immediately being questioned as to why I’m giving him a body. Puppets with wings that are just kind of stupidly in place that serve no real functions. An angry fat boy with a giant submarine sandwich sticking out of his mouth, that he talks through, with no explanation as to how or why this is humanly possible. So when asked why I can simply say because I wanted to, and any variation of the phrase

So within these ideas I ask, why, can’t you have a dramatic piece that rips your heart out, done by a fuzzy hand puppet?

What if a fuzzy hand puppet, could make you face your own humanity? And reconcile with a tragic and horrific past.

What if you see an incredibly extreme,
grotesque, fuzzy object and you have to go see what the hell it even it, and oh my God. It’s a puppet, it’s a puppet you can put your hand inside and make it talk. Also “OH MY GOD, IT’S REALLY COOL!!” Even beyond surface, why shouldn’t a fuzzy hand puppet be able to say more?

What if you made Fight Club? With hand puppets, and of course, you laugh because what a silly idea. Fight Club with puppets that’s ridiculous, it’s hysterical. Hold on though, what if you could pull the exact same impact as the late 90s David Fincher film, with hand puppets and have people fucking, gobsmacked that you actually did it. This is not an easy task, this is an experiment, to not only see if you can, but if you can make it real, and again why not?

Within all these ideas, I try to keep themes of humanity, pop culture, human nature and psychology, philosophy, history, classic troupes and archetypes etc. It’s the same shit all artist have been saying since the year one. I just want to put into what I’m saying. While basically just out throwing whatever the fuck will stick to the wall.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Pffft

Puppetry and all of my artistic endeavors ARE my resilience

Going back to the injury that got me that puppet. That never really got never got better and lemme tell you, this is not the field you go into if you are as disabled by your injuries as I am.

Things have not worked out as well as I would have necessary liked because of it. I currently use a wheelchair part time etc

I have quite a few mental health issues and disorders (I so wanna mention I almost left this out due to the current administrations statements but it’s relevant) which in an unromantic light makes me think it’s why I have to make things how I do

That all said, my art is absolutely everything to me, my art is what makes me resilient. My art is what gets me out of bed and keeos me alive. If I’m not building some kind of puppet, drawing in my book, making some of something, im a hollow shell. No matter how horrible the situation is and it’s been fairly bad, I had my art, I had my puppets and that was enough reason to move on.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think it’s to be who I’ve always wanted to be. I love seeing interviews with artist I admire and what they’ve been able to create (toys, prints, clothes, collabs etc ) I’ve always wanted that.

The last year or so I’ve been moving more towards galleries and full collections.

I have 3 collections/shows I’m currently designing, that Im itching to put out.

I’m one of those people always pushing out new ideas and just waiting for the opportunity to push that button and shoot them out into the world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Natemfpuppets

Image Credits

Jennifer Bennett (JenBen Media)

Alex Griffin

Ian Cooper

Nate Puppets