He is, perhaps, the last manufacturer of handmade wooden puppets in Greece! And he is Father! It is Kostas Salpistis, who as another “Gepetto” has transformed his humble workshop in the area of Ag. Ioannis Pratsikas in a small fairytale town. Where beloved wooden Don Quixotes, princesses, Pinocchios, Goblins, toy soldiers, elves, fairies, barrel-faced people and all kinds of imaginative caricatures live together!
Carpenter with a family tradition, as his father Giorgos Salpistis was one of the great craftsmen of Patras, having created, among others, the carpentry facilities at the Town Hall of Maizonos, the Old Municipal Hospital, the Villa Kolla of the ATEI of Patras, the neoclassical building of Shaktouri before St. Andreou et al.
He was adopted by his father from the age of just 8, learning from him all the small and big secrets of wood, which in the hands of Kostas Salpistis became a malleable and “living” material. About like… plasticine!
SELF-TEACHED ARTIST
And the self-taught artist who existed for many years “imprisoned” in the carpenter’s body was revealed about two years ago, when the fellow craftsman began to systematically channel his talent into making puppets: “I was late in starting this creative occupation of mine and I have regret. I could have studied at some School of Fine Arts, in order to develop whatever talent I have. But the circumstances unfortunately did not allow me to do it” he confesses to “P”, but it is certainly never too late.
The construction process is long and demanding: With his pencil and paints, he first creates the design, giving elements of caricature to the faces he draws, with an emphasis on detail and highlighting through exaggeration, the special characteristics of the hero he unfolds.
His chisel and chisel then catch fire, transforming some formless pieces of wood into expressive figures and performances. Once he has finished sculpting his work, it is time to give movement to his creation, “taming” with the threads and joints of each figure’s body parts, inertia and gravity. Swing and torque are controlled with the wooden cross that shakes the threads, giving human characteristics, movement and “soul” to his dolls!
“AS IF THEY WERE LIVING CREATURES”
The modest artist Kostas Salpistis opened his workshop, but also his heart to “P”: “I bond with the puppets I create! I feel their gaze when I look at them, I feel their breath, I feel their presence in my laboratory, as if they were living creatures! I find it difficult to part with them, for this reason, when someone asks me to buy one of my puppets, I prefer to make them a new one from scratch!”
Creating a puppet requires 1-2 weeks of intensive work, but as he tells us: “It’s something I never tire of! I can make it non-stop, from morning to night! When I create a puppet, myself comes out. Each of them has a different expression. Some are sad, others are happy, just as our mood changes. I don’t want to go into mass production, I want each of my puppets to be handmade! That’s the beauty, that’s what it’s worth.”
He has already received a proposal to present his creations in a large exhibition in a well-known cultural venue of Patras, while his goal is to create a series of puppets for theater, which will represent figures from local history, such as heroes of 1821, artists of Patras , football players of Panachaiki and other athletes-landmarks of the city, the Hellenized patriarch Karagiozis, carnivals, as well as heroes of Ancient Greece.
He declares himself available to possible proposals from the Municipality, the Region or other bodies for the creation of special artistic productions, with a local reference. Will his city make use of him?
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