I work as Svenn the Puppetsmith and commenced my love for puppet making at the age of 10, creating my first marionette puppet…the amazing Ludwig von Krappen. My passion for puppet making was reignited some 50years later, when I discovered my late father had kept Ludwig in a special place, in a little box high on a shelf in his shed at our family home.
Finding Ludwig set me on a new path of learning and puppet discovery…undertaking a series of puppet making workshops including a speciality wooden puppet carving workshop in Pambula on the NSW far south coast with Jeff Donne, writer, carver and woodcraft teacher. It is with Jeff that I learnt the traditional skills of hand carving with simple tools and techniques of axe, knife and hand…as well as the magic joy of slowness.
I have recently completed an amazing and challenging online puppet carving course with Puppets In Prague...creating the fabulous Lord Linden of Glennwood!!
Best of all I love the happiness that is unleashed by a simple wooden puppet...for all ages.
Glenn O'Rourke
