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Hobey Ford's Golden Rod Puppets <br /> Hobey is part of the North Carolina Arts Council <br /> residency program and the cARTwheels program. <br /> "Funny,talented, wonderful, creative, delightful.Absolutely great to <br /> work with!" <br /> Clark Performing Arts Center, Springfield, OH <br /> Hobey Ford has never had another career. Internationally renowned in <br /> the puppetry field, and an award-winning performer and Kennedy Center <br /> Partner in Education teaching artist, Ford knew early on what he wanted <br /> to do after seeing a puppet show while still a youngster. He was bitten by <br /> the puppetry bug! While studying at an arts college, Hobey eventually <br /> found"... one of my cornerstones-that I would approach puppetry as <br /> storytelling with puppets." <br /> Ford designs and constructs all of his Golden Rod Puppets as well as the beautiful sets that surround them. Now a resident <br /> of Asheville NC, Hobey also draws on his early experiences growing up in coastal Connecticut or living in a Nevada Native <br /> American community in writing the scripts for some of his performances such as"Whale Walker"and"Turtle Island Tales." <br /> He first created the Golden Rod Puppets in 1980 and often adapts folk tales and global cultural traditions for his perfor- <br /> mances, always adding a special "Golden Rod"twist. His performances incorporate a variety of puppetry styles: Bunraku, <br /> rod, marionettes, Foamies and shadow puppetry. Hobey is quick to credit his audiences for completing the creative spark <br /> that is ignited with every live performance and he has brought his amazing talent to family audiences all over the world for <br /> over two decades. <br /> Ford has received the highest awards for his brilliant and priceless contributions to the world of puppetry:two-time winner <br /> of puppetry's highest honor,the UNIMA Citation of Excellence, recipient of three Jim Henson Foundation grants, and The <br /> Hermitage Fellowship, Hobey Ford is renowned for excellence in in his craft. Chosen as a Kennedy Center Partner to teach <br /> teachers (and other artists) how to use the performing arts in the classroom curriculum, Hobey not only performs his original <br /> works all over the world but offers workshops to teachers and students alike. <br /> Hobey is considered by his peers both an innovator in puppetry craft and a master storyteller. He created both the <br /> "Foamies"and the clever hand puppet known as"Peepers,"an imaginative, patented set of plastic eyes -for hands of any <br /> size-worn in several ways that turn the bare hand into an innovative and inexpensive instant puppet!The"Foamies"are <br /> large animal puppets that Hobey designs,carves and paints from blocks of foam.After studying each animal's characteristic <br /> movements, Hobey designs various rod control mechanisms to make the puppets themselves move in an incredibly life-like <br /> manner.The"Foamies"are presented using both stage and house performance spaces, often flying or"walking" right out <br /> over the audiences' heads! <br /> "Ford is a remarkably original and refreshingly authentic artist whose passion just happens to express itself <br /> through the rather unusual—medium of puppetry!" <br /> Tom Kerr, Marquee <br />