Steve the Alien is one of my first original puppet character creations.  I created Steve to be an interesting alien puppet from another world.  He was going to be a sweetly demeanor ed creature with a thirst for adventure and a taste for interesting earth objects that he collects through dumpster diving.

I built Steve in Novembr of 2007, right in the middle of my freshman year of high school. I worked tirelesly in the garage watching Futurama out in that cold den of concrete.  In the Spring of the following year, Steve got to show off in public for the first time.  I was part of a Theater 1 class and was instructed to use my acting skills to interestingly tell a story to the  rest of the class.  My mind was made.  I practiced with Steve until I had my story and my voice down pat.  I sewed two small finger puppets out of felt and pipe cleaners.  They were an ant and a grasshopper.  I placed them on Steve’s fingers, and in front of the whole class, Steve the Alien gave a puppet show to the class and told the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper, all while I was crouched behind an overturned folding table.

These are some of the videos that launched my puppet career, and I had so much fun with them all.  All starring Steve the Alien of course.  I feel very passionate when I get to use him.

I love the character and really enjoy seeing him on camera.  In 2012, I was tasked with building a reworked version of Steve for a commercial contest spot for AOL.com.  I built him with my increased knowledge of techniques and materials.  I worked so long and hard on him, only to be disappointed that he was not the real Steve the Alien.

On the last days of 2013, I started to rebuild Steve exactly the way I wanted.  I was so excited.  Everything had to be perfect; the best I could do.  Right down to a wonderfully comfortable mouth grip.

I painstakingly patterned gloved hands that would fit  comfortably and give the impression of shorter fingers.

Finally, I began to see Steve again.  It made me so happy to see him look his best.  Even if, for a time, he was bald.

My beautiful creation was complete at last.  And thankfully, I got to use him on the set of a short puppet film slated for release next Christmas.