A True Art Piece

In the Spring of 2002, a student, who was from Iran, made her self-portrait marionette dressed and painted in traditional Iranian costume. It was exquisitely detailed, and made from polymer clay. This marionette was heavy because of the material choice. Embroidery floss was used for the hair, and the dress sewn from sheer fabrics.

The painted details in the face, hands, and feet made the piece fascinating and all the more beautiful. The hands were decorated in traditional henna patterns. Jewelry adorned the body around the wrists, ankle and neck.

A heavy cord was used to tie the head, to the torso, and the torso to the pelvis.

Joint Problems

Most joints were made from solid copper wire embedded into, and passed through the polymer clay parts. Copper is very malleable, and bends very easily, so the limbs have come apart at the joints many times. The head has a copper wire passed through it for stringing. In the locations where the wire was looped back into the polymer clay, the connection has remained solid. But in the sections where the limb was required to hook onto those embedded loops, this is where the weakness is found.

Overall, the marionette is more of an art piece than a preforming puppet. Study the images below to see how this was constructed and detailed. Over time, as it has been handled, the original controller has been lost, and the strings broken. It was reassembled and restrung in the Fall of 2023, twenty one years after it was created.

Whole body with hands down Whole body with hands up

The hands and arms at rest and raised.

A close-up of the face Another face detail

Views of the face to study its volumetric forms.

A hand detail Feet close up

The right hand, and feet in detail.

Left hand closeup

Closeup view of the left hand with bracelet, copper wire loop and hook, and knotted controller string.

The hands and belly detail

The belly and jewelry

The belly reveals bare skin, and the found necklace has a tiger eye stone set in it.

The student posing with her self-portrait marionette 9-String Marionette.jpg

Student posing with her marionette in 2002, and the restrung piece in 2023.

Below are more images showing the joinery and stringing through the lower half of the body. The string used here is Microcord, as described on the Controllers and Stringing page. This is extremely strong cord, 1.18mm in diameter, with a breaking strength of 100lbs. it drapes well and is braided. Note the route the strings take that go through the legs. First they have to pass through the skirt through small holes before they enter the upper leg, travel through the lower leg, and into the foot. There is a knot in the string between the foot and lower leg to stop the foot from lifting too far when the string is pulled.

Look closely at the copper wire, how it is employed throughout to make looks and hooks.

Bare legs joinery and strings . Bare legs from the side

Notice the copper wire used to make hooks and loops, and the holes and routing for the strings.

Hips from the front . Hips from the back

The pelvis is held to the torso via a light colored cord that knotted in the back and passes up through a hole in the torso, which comes out the back and is likewise knotted (not shown coming out of the back). The black cord seen in the right image is tying the pelvis to the controller so the marionette can bend down.