MILISSA ORZOLEK
As a puppet artist, Milissa Orzolek's work encompasses writing, directing, sound design, lighting design, and 2D and 3D visual elements. Her 2D work often includes paper cuts, screen prints, and shadow puppets, as well as illustration through her creative collaboration with Kacy McKinney. Her 3D work often includes functional elements such as stages and
internal and external mechanisms for puppet movement. As puppets are designed for specific visual qualities and performative functions, they are, as such, kinetic sculptures. She also creates installations with 2D & 3D puppets that often are interactive.
View more of Milissa's work at milissaorzolek.com.
WALKING HOME (2021) AND RUNOFF (2021)
Walking Home is a kinetic sculpture made from materials from the Moab Valley waste stream inspired by a conversation with a land steward at a community storytelling workshop where we talked about home, belonging, waste and disposability.
Created from materials in the Moab Valley waste stream (thrift store, recycling center, landfill), Runoff was inspired by another community storytelling workshop where we talked about home, belonging, disposability, and waste. This group talked about how we treat both land and people as disposable and it was during this conversation that I first learned about the Moab pile, uranium tailings that threaten the Colorado River. It is currently and slowly being moved north by train.
