Winston & Bosley

Winston and Bosley are two puppets who came to me completely by chance. It all started with a messy studio, which was still disorganized after finishing the Cloak costume. Half deconstructed dog toys littered the tables and floor—legs, tails, heads, and bodies from these colorful creatures were everywhere! But, I had a new project in mind and just couldn’t wait to get started. I wanted to make ¼ size dress forms so that I could create small scale costumes before undertaking the full-sized versions. This seemed like a great idea because I could work out any design flaws before tackling the real thing.
 

For these dress forms I decided to use whatever material I had on hand, and that just happened to be random pieces of felt. After completing the patchwork forms, I placed sturdy wire inside and stuffed them to the brim with polyfil so they would stand up on their own. Now I was ready to start thinking about costume design! But...everything changed when I returned to my studio to find that someone (Brian) had balanced two dog toy heads atop the dress forms. It certainly was a sight to see, and that’s when Winston and Bosley were born! These two silly characters caught me by surprise, and I was soon writing stories, performing, and making videos featuring this dynamic duo. Brian was the puppeteer for Winston and I played Bosley, and together we starred in their debut performance titled Sir Richard Branson’s Coconuts.