“Ye’eh”
36"h. Artist's collection. Carved from Alaska yellow cedar with mountain goat hair, acrylic paint, fabric, and children's clothing. All body parts articulated, including head, eyes, and mouth.

I carved this little guy in 1984 for a video performance. Since then I’ve performed with him several times. He’s quite versatile, for he tells stories, drums, and sings and even rough-shapes a mask with an adze. His name “Ye’eh” means "grandfather" in the Gitk’san language. He is operated in the Japanese bunraku method, in which the operators' hands are on the puppet. “Ye’eh” has had as many as three operators at one time, depending on how elaborate the performance.

“Master Carver”
18"h, seated. Private collection. Carved from Alaska yellow cedar with goat hair, acrylic paint, and childrens clothing. Articulated arms and head. This is classed as a puppet, even though he doesn’t move from a seated position. He is operated in the bunraku method, meaning that the operators' hands are on the puppet. The control rods for the head and arms are controlled from the rear of the body. This old carver can turn his head up and down and from side to side. His right arm holds an elbow adze with which he shapes the little mask in his left hand. This puppet isn’t a self portrait, but I can relate to him, in as much as he’s an old guy and he is carving at his work site. There are a couple of bent corner boxes beside him which contain paint, brushes, and carving tools. It’s easy to see that his work space has seen a lot of use. The floor is covered with chips and his bench is banged up and splattered with paint.

"Master Carver" Face Detail	"Master Carver" Hand Detail

This set of puppets are marionettes used by the Carter family in their masterfully-done traveling performance of The Tales of Quati, a series of several Makah stories recounting the misadventures of the boy Quati.

In preparation for this, the Carters consulted with several Makah tribal elders who supplied the stories and endorsed the Carters' use of them. Before carving the puppets I made drawings for the elders to critique for style and character. The first public performance of The Tales of Quati was done on the Makah reservation at Neah Bay.

As puppeteers, Steve and Chris Carter, along with their son and daughter, are at the top in their field. They have been instrumental in reintroducing puppet theater to the northwest and raising its standard in quality. They hold performances and various ethnic puppeteers from all over the world are featured.

"Quati Puppets"