Sabrina and Damon Griffith, co-founders of Flying Wall Studios (formerly Puppet Meat Market) began combining years worth of puppet making and production skills in 2002. Since then, they have made and sold thousands of puppets as gifts and collectors items, many of which have travelled internationally. Since their first showing at the Beehive Coffehouse in Pittsburgh Pa, their work has been seen in craft fairs in New York, art markets and galleries in Santa Fe NM, The DeYoung Museum in Sanfrancisco, and in homes throughout the country and abroad.
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Each piece work is one of a kind. When questioned as to the source of their ideas, Damon and Sabrina have responded that they give the puppets full creative control. Starting with sculpting every head "improvisationally", each puppet commands its own personality as its creation progresses. From the scary monster to the pretty princess, from the hero to the average Joe, from the comic to the tragic, Flying Wall puppets span a broad range of characters and archetypes. |
Using a combination of the Balinese rod puppet style and European marionette construction, they formulate a style that is highly characterized and easy for the layman to manipulate. They are between 6" to 12" with a stick for the body and two wire rods for the hands, though some have more complicated mechanisms for specialized movement. Over the past couple of years, many have been given detailed background environments, but classically they come with a wood block stand or wall mount for display. |
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Creating puppets as a form of playfulness, FWS seeks to engage its viewers in their own creativity. Often there is only a title or single name given to a piece. This is to encourage the viewer to create a relationship with the puppets, creating the puppet's world and intertwining it with their own. This is why the artists encourage viewers to play with the puppets on display rather than simply look upon them as an untouchable work of art. Every person and every puppet is unique. The combination of personalities, real and created, makes for endless stories and play, thus personalizing each individual's experience. |