Kace Huber

Mixed Media

Bio:  Kace Huber became interested in creating when in Wisconsin in 1962 when a marionette show inspired her to design and build her own puppets. In 1970 Huber’s high school art teacher introduced her to clay sculpting. These two art forms were Hobbies while Huber worked at a variety of unique and discovered the need for a career with constant creative challenges.

“Working in a circus in 1973 allowed close contact with exquisite human forms and large exotic animals to study. Then a trip to Greece in 1979, seeing the beautiful stone sculptures prompted a decision to become an artist.”

Huber moved from California to Indiana in 1983 to stay with her father who gave Huber the opportunity to pursue an art career full time. Self taught, she focused on developing ideas in clay form producing fifteen art pieces and her first puppet production, Pandora’s Box. which was performed for schools.

Huber met stone sculpture C.R. Schiefer at an art show in 1984 and became his apprentice. He taught about the different types of stone, which tools to use and how to use them in exchange for finish sanding his stone work. He allowed Huber to show her works with his at the Chesterton Art Show. C.R’s extensive art library gave Huber an education in Art History and broadened interests into painting and pastels. By the end of 1984 Huber had enough clay and stone work to jury her own shows.

Huber has always been fascinated with faces and her first commissioned portrait, The Kiss , was completed in 1985. Five more have been completed since then.

Huber derived her income from nanny jobs that were short term’ full time positions while parents vacationed (1985-1991). Her popularity grew because she always brought tools for clay play with her charges and neighborhood children which led to teaching workshops in art and puppetry to children 5-16 years of age for organizations in Indianapolis. (1985-1996)

“An opportunity to be a puppeteer for a local television shoe, Time for Timothy, bloomed into teaching new puppeteers and producing a few shows.” This acquired technical knowledge enhanced Huber’s Productions. (1985-1990)”

At the age of thirty nine in 1992 Huber became a mother. She continued to sketch new project ideas but work time was minimal. Activities turned to puppetry in 1994 to involve Huber’s daughter, Mya. Huber developed educational shows and workshops for schools. Creating a show demands a much broader involvement in the arts, designing puppets (sculpting faces and hands of clay, wood or foam rubber), painting backdrops, writing scripts, building sets and then recording the sound tracts. Huber states, “ a recent inventory revealed that I have built 77 personal puppets and 17 commissioned ones, ten shows have been completed with 7 more in development and 22 workshops in art, puppetry or crafts are available.

Huber received a thousand dollar grant from the Indiana Arts Commission in 2001 to attend a puppeteers of America National Festival in Tampa, FL. The following year IAC invited Huber to be a judge on their grant panel.

Last year Huber invested in rubber molding compounds so she no longer has to compromise the sculpture with shallow undercuts and limited negative spaces. It will allow her to duplicate the work in acrylic and stone like materials. To date Huber has sculpted over 40 stone pieces, 9 in wood, 50 clay designs, 42 miniatures and 6 commissioned busts. With each new endeavor there is research to do, not only on the subject but on the nature of the material, what tools to use and how to get the most effective use of each tool.

“I have learned there are no straight lines only subtle, muted curves. The depth of an undercut is determined by how the light and shadow affect it and how the negative space is used to balance the sculpture. My goal is to become a well rounded multi media artist.”

Website:

Email: kacesculptor@wmconnect.com

Mailing Address:  8019 W. C.R. 75S. Greencastle, In. 46135

Studio: Same

Services Offered:   Sculpture in Clay, Stone and Wood. Commission work, Workshops and all phases of Puppetry Arts.

Availability:  First come first served for calendar dates

Fees: Puppet shows determined by length of show and complexity of set up.
Variety show with simple set up: 20 minutes $85.00
Roving Puppeteer 1 Hour $75.00
World of Puppets Demonstration 1 Hour $150.00
Environmental of endangered animal shows with full stage 30 minutes $150.00
50 Minutes $200.00
Work Shops: Hands on workshops (including materials) 2 Hrs $60.00
“How to’ Classes 9subject info handout) $50.00
Full week of 2 hour classes $ 250.00
 

Puppet Power Productions

Puppet Power Productions creates and performs shows about the Earth’s elements and its inhabitants for educational situations and variety shows for festive occasions and design and sale of simple marionettes, rod and hand puppets.

Puppet Power Production presents four funny fables (fast paced stories from countries around the world!). These include “The Lion and the Mouse”, The Deer, Fox, and Tiger (a tiger tricked). Androcles and His Pal (modern satire) and Braham and the Tiger (respect all living things).
Also available: Party Puppets, a lighthearted variety show with entertainment available in 20, 40, or 50 minute segments to fit your party; Modern Mother Goose, revised rhymes from the past (Miss Muffet, Humpty Dumpty, Rock-a-by Baby and the Old Woman in the Shoe ).
Story Time, timeless tales we all grew up with never fail to enchant youngsters. Stories available include: The Three Bears, The frog Prince, Rabbit of Inaba, Lion and the Mouse, Rajah’s Question and the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

World of Puppets Demonstrations, Includes puppet show basics and puppet manipulation. See puppets from many cultures and the performance styles used.
Environmental Shows; Planet Pride; Animals of the wild tell their stories. Nature is Elemental; Where Earth’s elements, plants and insects describe their life job’s in rhyme.

Work Shop Selection

Fine Art Projects Age six+: Beginning Sculpture, introduces students to sculpting materials and tools Students will create art pieces in clay, soap, wax, foam rubber, wire and stone.
Build a Puppet Workshop Age five +: Creative puppet making, building a cardboard stage and working the puppets.
Puppet Play Age four +: Students build a wearable stage, write their own story and build the puppet characters to perform their show.
Puppet Show Time Age Ten +: Intro to puppet shows and their components, Explore variety of puppets in the world and production styles, Informational Workshop.
Creative Art for Beginners Age Five+: Decorative art projects including geometric art, flexible stained glass window, wall hangings, masks, leather work, and paper sculpture.
Advanced Creative Arts Age twelve +: Full week class for each subject listed, in depth study of subject.
Complex Puppet Design and Construction; choice of 30 big mouth characters, body puppet, or parade style puppet.
Intrasia: Create appliqué style wall hangings
Sand Casting: Play in sand, pour stone mix to crate your own castings. Wire reinforced to hang or stand alone.
Paper Sculpting: Cut, curl, bend fold and emboss paper to produce 3D art work. Pop up secrets.
Stone Carving: Technique of cutting and shaping Indiana limestone using power tools, chisels, files and sand paper.