My trip to NY served two purposes--the main one was for me
to set up in artist alley at New York Comic Con. But just as importantly, I had
been invited to tour The Jim Henson Company, courtesy of Karen Falk, archivist
for the Jim Henson Company. Visiting the shop was a lifelong dream come true,
and I say that in absolute honesty, and without exaggeration. Five year old Jay
wanted to see where the Muppets came from. Forty year old Jay got a private
showing, when he was old enough to fully appreciate it, and better yet,
remember every little moment and detail with the same vivid hues that imbued
the puppets there on display.
Along with my friend Kelly (who I have to thank for
documenting the entire NY trip), Karen showed us the puppet builders at work,
costuming existing characters, and in one case, building a photo-ready Cookie
Monster for a publication. We saw drawers of puppet eyes and noses. We saw
Grover, Mr. Johnson (the blue, round-headed customer Grover torments at his
restaurant job), and we saw a Prairie Dawn puppet being specially built for her
performer, Fran Brill, who just retired this year after 44 years with the
Henson company. What a great and fitting retirement present!
We saw stacks of sketches done by Jim, Muppet design Michael
Frith, and many other puppet designers throughout the company's history. We got
to peek at Jim Henson's personal files, that had items ranging from his
driver's license, to notebooks containing ideas for puppet productions and
daily reminders. And in one particular file, which Karen had sitting out for my
arrival, I got to see the original letter I'd written to Jim back in 1986 when
I was eleven years old. Jim had even kept the manila envelope that I'd drawn
Animal on. That was pretty breathtaking. Karen had found that letter, and a
photocopy of Jim's response to me, over a year ago. She had sought me out online
to tell me about the find, which is how we became friends and how I ended up at
The Henson Company. It's amazing how that all came together, and just in time
for my 40th birthday. Karen and Jim gave me the best present ever with the
combined experiences they'd provided me.
Understandably, the inner workings of the Henson Company are
pretty secretive, so photo opportunities were few. But the few that I was
permitted to take were golden, and all I'll ever need to symbolize this
incredible experience.
Here I am with none other than Cookie Monster. Cookie has
always been my favorite of the classic Sesame Street characters, and one I
could identify with (c'mon--who doesn't love cookies?).
Me and Snuffy. Just as soft and loveable as he is huge!
And here I am with Karen Falk. That wonderfully ornate chair
I'm sitting on is the actual throne that the Emperor Skeksis sits on in Jim's
first fantasy film, "The Dark Crystal" (1982). The proximity that I
was allowed to come within these classic bits of Jim's films was mind boggling,
and such a grand gift.
The rest of the weekend was dedicated to my other
purpose--attending New York Comic Con. The show is put together by Reed Pop,
the same company who puts on C2E2 in Chicago. Both shows are huge in size and
attendance, but somehow manage to be run like a small, personable comic con,
which is so rare. Mike Negin , who runs artist alley, knows every artist, and
offers up himself to take care of the smallest tasks rather than assigning it
to one of his assistants--also a true rarity. Based on those factors alone, I
would love this show. But beyond that, the fans, my fellow creators, and the
overall vibe of the con made this the biggest and best show I've done all year.
Here are a few pics of some commissions I drew at the show:
Batman villain, Poison Ivy...
My characters, Bodie Troll and Baby Fat Scott...
Bodie trying to move Thor's hammer...
And Calvin and Hobbes as Green Lantern and Green Arrow.
A huge thank you to Karen Falk, Jim Henson, Mike Negin, and
all involved in making this weekend so wonderful. I'm still shaking my head in
disbelief that so much awesome could all happen at the same time. But it did,
and there's more to share.
See you in part two of my New York trip blog post!
--Jay
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