HOW I USE WICKER TO BUILD PUPPETS:

Wicker or "cane" can be from a variety of different plants. Usually the cane I get is imported from China, where they grow special willow trees just for this purpose. It is available from a variety of basketry supply shops.

I first soak the cane I wish to use. The plant fibers soften in the water, and can be bent to a variety of shapes easily.  In this photo I am soaking "flat round" cane. I prefer using round cane, since it's usually a bit stronger.

When the cane has soaked for about an hour, I can use it to build, shaping it into a variety of shapes and lashing it with thinner varieties in order to keep it stable. Various techniques can be learned from basketry manuals. I always add some wood glue to the pieces which take a lot of stress, which is frowned upon in basketry.

This sphere is made using two different types of lashing techniques learned from basketry manuals. The first is one which connects two perpendicular pieces of cane. the second is one which connects two parallel pieces.

This sphere now can be part of a larger sculpture, or a puppet.

 The next few photos shows how the dolphins were created for "Ecological Logic":

Once the sculpture was completed, I covered it with a type of netting. If I covered the cane sculpture directly with fabric, you would be able to see the "bones". It wouldn't look nice.

I cover the dolphins with a light weight silk that can be easily painted. I paint them outside on a nice day.