THE EARTH GUARDIANS

Created in 2017 in collaboration with The Environmental Center, these 8-foot tall puppets took a team of artists to bring them to life. Teafly created the design and story of the Earth Guardians. They also sculpted the arms and all the soft sculpture creatures. Christian Brown engineered the structure and pieced together the final puppet. Alison Murphy sewed the outer elements and built and quilted the faces. Cindy Sylvia quilted the beautiful bellies using Teafly’s original illustrations as inspiration and guidance. 

Approximately 65% of the puppets are made from recycled materials. The internal structures are made from old metal backpacking frames. The bellies were quilted using discarded clothing donated from the community. All of the small creatures like the bats, caterpillars and birds are made from the same materials. As are the flowers on the top of the Garden Guardian’s head.

Every year the puppets emerge in the spring to lead the annual Earth Day parade that goes through downtown Bend. 

Teafly’s original illustrations of The Earth Guardians.