AUSTIN -- Puppet maker Kevin Long turned his hobby into a career more than 15 years ago, and now he's crafting puppets in Austin.
It's quiet, tedious work that requires patience and precision.
"The placement of the pupil is going to have a lot to say about the character of the puppet," said Long.
Now he's crafting puppets for KVUE; a skill he picked up in college.
"I studied theater in college and somewhere along the line realized I didn't want to be an actor," he said.
Puppet making seemed to be the solution. His hobby became a career in 1998 when an internship at the world-renowned Bread and Puppet theater in Vermont turned into a job.
There, Long and his colleagues brought puppets to life for thousands of people.
"I fell in love with it and have been doing it in some form ever since," said Long.
From the fun-loving to the serious, Long has crafted them all. He's also performed in 18 different states and two different countries.
"I think the most rewarding project was when I taught at a summer outdoor program in Louisiana. I was there the summer of the BP oil spill," said Long.
His puppets helped students cope with what was happening around them.
"We made a puppet pageant with large outdoor puppets. These kids were facing their fears connecting with this environmental disaster that was happening in their backyard. So we made a giant pelican puppet, some pelican babies and some crawfish and some oysters, things along those lines. It was very powerful," Long said.
Puppets allow all the world to be a stage. They turn us into people we can only dream about; bring us places rarely seen.
"There's really no limit to what you can do," he said. "It's all up to your imagination."
Long hopes The Muppets being back on air will rekindle that spirit in all of us.
"Seeing them on TV is great, but there's actually some really good puppet theater right here in Austin. So I would encourage people to go out and see it in person," said Long.
In many ways puppets remind us of the fabric that holds us together. "There's something that connects with the kid inside all of us."
Long plans to open his own new theater soon, called the Mud Cat Puppet theater. His first production will be about the children's classic The Emperor's New Clothes.
To see more of Long's work, head to his Facebook page, and support his work on his GoFundMe page.
