Sarah Vigars Art

Sarah Vigars Art Puppet maker specialising in WOOD and STRINGS
Puppeteer in ‘Flying with Strings’ marionette theatre
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I am a visual artist, woodcarver, puppet maker and puppeteer. I have spent the last 10 years of my life deciding which one to be...and in the end I settled for all four. (I am also an Appalachian flat-footer and a very amateur bodhran player, because I can't resist a new niche)

As a woodcarver, the careful workmanship I have developed owes a great deal to a studied handling of tools and a good de

al of patience, not to mention a dedicated eye for my subjects. By being in nature - walking the moorlands, fields and coastline of Devon - I take inspiration from animals, plants, birds and beasts in their natural habitats. As a puppet maker, I owe a lot to good teachers, inspiring theatre companies and unforgettable stories. I stubbornly insist on carving in wood, walking the line between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary innovation. As an artist, dreamer and persistent over-thinker, I take inspiration from all sorts of things....conservation, ecology, history, stories, THE WORLD. I live with two musicians and a tortoiseshell cat in a cottage in rural Devon.

Coming up this Friday in Somerset with Flying with Strings Marionette Theatre 👉 The Treetop Circus puppet show and craft...
25/05/2026

Coming up this Friday in Somerset with Flying with Strings Marionette Theatre 👉 The Treetop Circus puppet show and craft workshops! Timings below, booking links in comments. Check out the show trailer under pinned posts! These events are taking place in partnership with the Somerset Wildlife Trust and the Two Moors Pine Marten Project on Exmoor, made possible by the Heritage Fund. Flying with Strings Marionette Theatre is also supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Minehead Community Centre
Friday, May 29th: 10am - 12pm

Porlock Community Library
Friday, May 29th: 2:30pm - 4:30pm

Some photos of my new sculpture for .library, commissioned by for the Afterlives Festival, which explores conversations...
21/05/2026

Some photos of my new sculpture for .library, commissioned by for the Afterlives Festival, which explores conversations around death, dying and bereavement. The installation was completed with contributions from workshop participants - swipe to see some of their work! More information about the project below 👇🏻🦋

🦋 ‘PSYCHE’ Immortelle 🦋

In Victorian times, people would place beautiful glass domes on graves, filled with precious objects, symbols and treasures to honour and remember their loved ones. Known as an ‘immortelle’, this tradition is coming back to life. Newcastle-based Moving Parts Arts has worked with Devon-based artist & puppet maker Sarah Vigars to create a stunning new artwork for Exeter Library inspired by this forgotten custom. Entitled ‘Psyche’, Sarah’s immortelle is inspired by Devon’s butterflies! In Ancient Greek, the word ‘Psyche’ translates as both ‘butterfly and ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’. The transformation of a butterfly bursting from its chrysalis therefore became a potent symbol of life and death, representing the human soul as it leaves its mortal body.

Workshops to create smaller ‘Psyche’ butterfly from paper and wire were facilitated by Sarah Vigars and Charlie Scullion. Participants were able reflect on and commemorate the memories of loved ones, past or living, through gentle hands-on craft. The plinth of the dome was created by carpenter Luke Jones.

Funding announcement! I’m delighted to share that ‘Flying with Strings Marionette Theatre’ has been offered a National L...
03/05/2026

Funding announcement! I’m delighted to share that ‘Flying with Strings Marionette Theatre’ has been offered a National Lottery Project Grant by Arts Council England 🎉 This will enable us to…

🎪Tour our new show ‘The Treetop Circus’ to more libraries and schools across the southwest!
🪽Adapt and tour our first show ‘Flying with Strings’ for/to Memory Cafe audiences across Devon
🚦Develop our access provision for neurodivergent audiences and audiences living with dementia

We are also proud to be working in partnership with the Devon Wildlife Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust and the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, a re-wilding endeavour that has introduced once native pine martens back to Dartmoor and Exmoor. Our other key partners include Libraries Unlimited, Villages in Action, South Gloucestershire Council and the Langaford Farm Trust.

Please check out my pinned post for The Treetop Circus trailer and dates of upcoming shows, or follow LINK IN BIO > PUPPET SHOWS… (I’ll be updating these in the coming weeks/months) AND a quick plug to any Somerset based followers: we will be performing in Minehead Community Centre and Porlock Library on Friday 29th May! See you there? (Swipe for details)

Feedback for ‘The Treetop Circus’ at Paignton Library, Feb 2026:
🍃 “This is such a beautiful show.”
🍃 “I’ve never seen anything like this before, isn’t it wonderful?”
🍃 “I can’t quite believe this is here in the library, they are such community hubs.”
🍃 “It was really good. My son doesn’t usually sit to watch things but he sat and watched that.”

06/02/2026

Hey friends, SEE BELOW for SHOW DATES for 2026! That’s PUPPET SHOWS performed by me and Louis Bingham Music 🎶 Together we are Flying with Strings Marionette Theatre. This post will be pinned and updated with new dates as they come in…

This year, we are mainly touring our new show THE TREETOP CIRCUS, but our first show FLYING WITH STRINGS still pops up now and then! To find out more about both of our shows visit my website (link below). I’m pleased to add that our performances at MAKE Southwest, Minehead Community Centre and Porlock Library are presented in partnership with the Devon Wildlife Trust and the Somerset Wildlife Trust for the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, a conservation endeavour that has reintroduced once native pine Martens back to Dartmoor and Exmoor!

Please note: in most cases ticketing is organised by the host venue. For links, visit the events page on my website.

https://www.sarahvigarsart.com/flying-with-strings
https://www.sarahvigarsart.com/events

SHOW DATES - THE TREETOP CIRCUS
Sat 7th Feb 2026 - Paignton Library
Sat 21st Feb 2026 - Exeter Library
Sat 11th April 2026 - MAKE Southwest
Sat 23rd May 2026 - BAM Circus, Milan, Italy
Sun 24th May 2026 - Magie al Borgo, Bergamo, Italy
Fri 29th May 2026 - Minehead Community Centre
Fri 29th May 2026 - Porlock Community Library
Mon 19th - Fri 23rd Oct 2026 - Schools shows, South Glos

SHOW DATES - FLYING WITH STRINGS
Sat 23rd May 2026 - BAM Circus, Milan, Italy
Sun 24th May 2026 - Magie al Borgo, Bergamo, Italy

PAPER PUPPET MAKING WORKSHOPS
Sat 21st Feb 2026 - MAKE Southwest

Opening this weekend: KINETIC, where craft meets engineering! A large-scale exhibition showing the possibilities of move...
23/01/2026

Opening this weekend: KINETIC, where craft meets engineering! A large-scale exhibition showing the possibilities of movement and making. 24th January - 18th April 2026 MAKE Southwest (https://makesouthwest.org.uk/all-activity/kinetic)

I designed and made these kingfisher puppets especially for KINETIC. Both puppets are on display (and for sale) at Make Southwest, alongside some puppets from my first marionette show ‘Flying with Strings’. I’ll also be performing my current show ‘The Treetop Circus’ at MAKE Southwest on the 11th April - more info and other tour dates to follow!

If you’d like to find out more about the general geekery of making these kingfisher puppets then check out my Patreon page (link in bio). They are hand carved from lime wood with plywood wings.

🍂The Orchard Carving Studio is opening at the Cider Press Centre in Dartington! (Devon, UK)🍂Home to woodcarver William B...
07/11/2025

🍂The Orchard Carving Studio is opening at the Cider Press Centre in Dartington! (Devon, UK)

🍂Home to woodcarver William Barsley, the studio is both a specialist woodcarving shop and a venue for carving courses to suit all abilities.

🍂LAUNCH EVENT: I will be performing a 15min puppet show for the launch on Sat 15th November! (12pm)

🍂CARVING KITS: my carving kits are now available to purchase in person from the studio shop

🍂COURSES: I will be teaching puppet carving courses at the studio as a guest tutor!
More information and booking at https://orchardcarvingstudio.corsizio.com
Gift vouchers for courses available here https://orchardcarvingstudio.com/shop/

09/10/2025

(🎶SOUND ON🎶) Presenting Louis Bingham Music, the other half of my puppet theatre company Flying with Strings (and my other half in life too!) A skilled musician, Louis is a specialist in fretted strings (guitar, mandolin, banjo, cittern etc) and he’s a dab hand at percussion too! Watch the full video to the end for some nimble-fingered percussive improvisation, all aided by his deft use of a loop pedal. Genius!👌 This tune was devised by Louis for our new puppet show ‘The Treetop Circus’ (and I get it stuck in my head after every show 😆)

08/10/2025

‘The Treetop Circus’ puppet show on tour…

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted on my socials so here’s a little catch up post! 😊 We recently took ‘The Treetop Circus’ on a little schools tour in Devon, organised by Villages in Action. Here we are set up in Offwell Village Hall in East Devon (the hall was booked for us by Offwell Primary School as they had limited space!)

I’ve had some enquires about when our next shows will be. I’m in the process of booking gigs for next year (including a funding bid to subsidise more extensive touring) …so watch this space for news! Interested in booking ‘The Treetop Circus?’ Email me: [email protected] (or link in bio)

Music by Louis Bingham Music

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