Today’s deep-cut ToughPigs article was contributed by puppeteer, puppet builder, and banjo plucker David Stephens! Be sure to check out David’s work and social media via his website. Thanks for all your hard work, David!
There are many myths, legends and secrets that populate the world of the Muppets. Muppet fans are familiar with the famous “Henson Stitch,” which, when applied properly to Antron fleece, is said to miraculously hide a builder’s seam work.
Likewise, fans have heard of the “Magic Triangle,” the term Don Sahlin coined to talk about the alignment of a puppets’ eyes, pupils and nose to create a character’s sense of focus.
“Wacky-Stacks,” the mythical unicorn of Muppet building supplies, used primarily for creating eyes, which Jim Henson bought out when the company producing the children’s toy folded.
There are some Muppet mysteries we will likely never get to the bottom of such as whatever the “camel story” is that Dave Goelz ribs Frank Oz about at the end of Muppet Guys Talking.
Until a recent ToughPigs article, one secret I assumed would be lost to time concerned the genius of Muppet designer Michael K. Frith, whose work with the Muppets since the mid-1970’s helped shape the worlds of Gortch for Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock and on and on. His sketches are unmistakable and, for me, instantly recognizable. He was also one of the smart artists, like Joe Mathieu, who signed his work.
But what, if anything, could Frith credit for his genius? The ToughPigs article about an exhibition of his work held the answer: The Faber-Castell Col-Erase 1276 (Blue). At last I knew the secret!
I was not one bit discouraged when the article explained this blue pencil had been discontinued from being manufactured. This, I thought, is why man invented eBay. A few clicks and a “Buy It Now” option later, I waited for an unused box of old stock Col-Erase 1276’s to arrive in my mailbox. I was going to draw Muppets like Michael K. Frith!
I did feel a little guilty sharpening one of these relics upon its arrival, but I remembered the purpose of my purchase and got out my handy-dandy pencil sharpener. With sharpened 1276 and a fresh yellow legal pad present and accounted for, I declared, “OK, magic pencil, do your stuff!” After a few moments of the 1276 just laying there, it occurred to me to pick it up. No AI in this process, I guess.
Imagine my dismay when after several hours of moving the 1276 across the page, I was left with not a page full of goofy looking characters engaged in hilarious shenanigans, but instead with several stick figures, some curly-cues, a game of tick-tack-toe and an endless spiral that took up a whole section of the lower right corner.
“These are not Fraggles!” I exclaimed. “These are not Doozers or Junior Gorgs or King Ploobises or Winnie the Short-Order Cooks or Beauregards! These are just doodles!” But before I could leave negative seller feedback on eBay, I realized I had only the same tools as Michael K. Frith, not the skills nor the talent – the genius.
I did not snap the sharpened 1276 in half, but I did crumple the doodle sheet from my legal pad and tossed it in my wastepaper basket, a little sadder but a little wiser.
I will say, in all silly seriousness, I am fascinated and curious about the tools and methods used by the folks in the Henson Workshop to create the seemingly endless worlds that sprang from imaginations and conversations to drafting tables and workbenches; from paper and pencil to foam and fabrics. But it is so important to remember that the people using those tools made the Muppet magic happen through a lot of skill, talent and a lot of hard work.
Cheers to the Faber-Castell Col-Erase 1276! Cheers to Wacky-Stacks! Cheers to Antron Fleece! Cheers to all the other discontinued materials and tools for which we have to endlessly search in vain to find adequate substitutes! And cheers especially to the coterie of folks that Jim Henson gathered to create worlds of wonder for us all to enjoy.
Click here to sharpen your pencils on the ToughPigs Discord!
by David Stephens
