Marionettes are wooden puppets with strings! That may sound obvious but there are vanishingly few marionette puppeteers—and even fewer classes on how to build them available in North America. So few that many Americans have never seen one up close and, if thinking about building one, have no earthly idea where to start. This class will teach students everything! These skills also translate to doll-making and automata. Geahk will teach participants a complete overview of building puppets in this five-day intensive. The material fee provides a knife handle and replaceable blade by Geahk’s favorite knife maker, along with a complete kit of materials for a puppet and controller, plus patterns to help direct the making and completing a marionette in only a week! Despite how ambitious this class is, most people, even those with little experience, can achieve more than they ever imagined. This is primarily a hand-carving class but a rotary tool, like a Dremel, and wood carving bits will also be used. Spares will be on hand as well as most other tools.