Quilla returns

Wednesday was one of those days. It was beautiful--the sun was shining, it wasn't too hot, and Cape Rosier glowed in the light. Of course for the intrepid puppeteers pushing Quilla along on the grass, it might not have felt so idyllic.
As you probably remember from last year, Quilla is a giant porcupine. You might not have seen her as she is now, a skeleton. This way you get to see what makes her move. Galley slaves. In this case, from front to back, Scott Springer, Skip Harbour and Sarah Doremus are the forces that make her move.

It's pretty easy to watch, but very complicated to get Quilla moving. She has four legs, and wheels. And the legs and feet are jointed--she has knees. Walking Quilla from the inside looks a little like rowing, but upsidedown.

Mark was the one who gave the puppeteers directions on how to make her move. For Sarah, this was a first time--the other two did it last year, but that didn't make the ground any smoother.

Finally they moved onto a graveled space, and were able to really move out. Quilla looked fabulous, if a little slim.

Most porcupines aren't so large that three adults can fit inside, but then again, most don't have starring roles in a theatrical production that takes place in a quarry. And most porcupines don't share the limelight with a bunch of dancers and a back hoe. All that makes Quilla very special. Alison is explaining the story and telling Zephyr Martin, who will be performing with Quilla, to look her in the eye.

Meanwhile Mark made some minor adjustments to Quilla with a hammer.

This duck will not be performing int he quarry. Too cute.

process

Mia says Primordial Man (and I'm not sure that's his name) looks quite different now. Here's how he gets to change. Long-suffering Mark puts the puppet on and staggers around a bit,
and Mia takes a look from a distance, to see what he might look like in the quarry, which is huge.

And here's a picture of Mia in a crane-puppet-head. The mysteries are boundless. What prompts these particular images, and, of course, how do you translate the images into reality. Even though Mia and Mark have a history of making giant puppets, it's pretty remarkable. And, for those of you who have elected not to be in Q2: Habitat, but to watch it (most of you), you miss seeing how big these things are in person, so to speak. It's a trip.