Ever just wake up one day and realize that you've had the same goatee for 11 years? The same goatee that used to be kinda' a joke to make your friends laugh at how careless you'd become about your grooming. The one that was supposed to look a little bit like the devil and mostly like your arm-pit. And then one day you're traveling in the backseat and all you can see in the rear-view mirror is your muff of chin bush looking unruly and not-quite-awake. So I pretty much decided on the spot that the chin piece would go as soon as I returned to my luggage and supplies.



It was kind of scarey. I hadn't seen the bottom of my face for a decade. Who knew what was going on down there. My neck could have been sporting the developing stages of a premature gobble-thing.



When I first saw it, it wasn't like I instantly recognized something familiar . . .



. . . and, I had just killed my Chin Buddy.

So I never posted the finished hand puppet. My version of extreme secret santa for the work party, right.

Here he is just getting his clothes on. I stitched into the wire frame of his head by hand. You can see the beginnings of his wig in the back there.



I was using that infuriating hook tool to knot the hair around that mesh cloth. I used a lot less yarn than I thought I would.



Using sneaker glue, the wig is attached and buddy's ready to mount your fist for some real family entertainment.



The whole time I'm making these, I keep thinking about how professionals used to do therapy with hand puppets. People would get their whole family done, hand-puppet-sytle, and hash it out rhetorically in the name of personal betterment.

I like this one. It looks biblical.
St. Francis?
Was he the one that watched after the children?



But seriously, if any one knows anything about the therapy puppet business, or knows of any persons down with the therapeutic puppetry crowd, give me a holler.

The Diary of Hand Frank

He's a real boy.



I learned how to use a sewing machine today. I sew, now. Think about that. The body is in some grey denim with shiny brown trim.


MUSTACHE


When people cut off their hair and donate it to cancer kids they never think of all the leather guys without back hair and how stupid and smooth they feel DO THEY CUNT WAITRESS!? Sometimes people should mind their own business. I needed about 75% less waitress then I got tonight.

Hand Frank is getting his weave-on. A whole two strands so far but they are thick and he is small so time is on my side for once.

Mr. Reed might have Herpes.

Sick cat at the vet rampages until tranquilized.

He immediately draws blood from everything in a ten foot radius then slumps his face into a four-sqaure patch of tile.

While he is unconscious, the girl shaves his throat.

Not a neat patch, but two jagged slices.

Now he looks like he's wearing a suit.




If I made a Zappa puppet and had put only the first black wash over it, and had not gotten the hair on yet, and still had to insert the eyeballs, it would look like this:




Which would make my first puppet mustache ever.