A gorgeous Sunday afternoon and the workshop at Westbeth was abuzz with volunteers who’d spread their work out into the courtyard.  They were putting the final touches on the bibliomorphic puppets that will make their debut appearance tomorrow at 8.30 p.m. on the High Line for the Parade of Illuminations. 

Marta Sebestyen’s hypnotic voice wooed the artists as they worked and a large section of an outdoor table carried the evidence of a feast—  fried chicken, jalapeno-cheddar corn bread, coleslaw and brownies. Lenny, a regular volunteer, is responsible for the sumptuous food. Each day, he arrives laden with delicious, homemade dishes that he prepares himself!

Downstairs in the sculpture studio, detailed mechanical work was in progress.  Sawyer adjusted the joints in the library lions’ legs.  Another volunteer organized calligraphic scripts for the lanterns.  Someone ripped pages from the spines of old paperbacks, then stitched them on to tunics.

“It’s really exciting to watch the process, to see the puppets coming to life,” said Lenny.

Tomorrow evening, look out for the ballerina whose torso is an inkwell and whose legs are fountain pens.  She pays homage to the vanishing art of handwriting.