Wendy Froud

Wendy Froud
Froud at the 2014Rencontres de l’imaginaire deBrocéliande
Born	1954 (age 69–70) Detroit,Michigan,U.S.
Known for	Doll-making, sculpting, puppetry, and writing
Spouse	Brian Froud ​ (m.1980)​
Children	Toby Froud
Awards	Inkpot Award(2001) Lifetime Achievement Award (Portland Film Festival2015)

Wendy Froud(néeMidener;born 1954) is an American doll-artist, sculptor, puppet-maker, and writer. She is best known for her work fabricatingYodafor the 1980 filmStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,for which she has been called "the mother of Yoda",and creatures for theJim HensonfilmsThe Dark CrystalandLabyrinth.

Early life

Froud was born inDetroit,Michigan, in 1954to painter and 3D-collageartist Margaret "Peggy" (née Mackenzie; 1925–2016) and sculptor and artistWalter Midener(1912–1998).Her father was a German expatriateand her mother was from Detroit.

Froud began making her own dolls from the age of five based on her favorite stories, including "lots of fauns, satyrs, centaurs and things with wings"fromGreek mythologyandfairy tales.

She studied art and music at theInterlochen Center for the Arts.She attended the College of Art and Design at theCenter for Creative Studies,focused on fabric design andceramics.She graduated with aBFAin Fine Artsin 1976.

Career

After graduating, Froud moved toNew York City,whereThe Muppetsart directorMichael Frithattended a gallery show of her dolls and bought several as a Christmas presents forJim Hensonin 1978.Impressed by Froud's work, Henson recruited her to build puppets for his filmThe Dark Crystal.Froud designed and sculpted the film's two main protagonists,gelflingsJen and Kira.She went on to work on several other Henson projects includingThe Muppet Show,The Muppet Movie,andLabyrinth.

While working closely with Jim Henson andFrank Ozon various projects at the Henson Studios, Froud was asked by the pair to join the team responsible for developing and building the characterYodafor the 1980Star WarsfilmThe Empire Strikes Back.Her contribution included sculpting theprototypepuppet for Yoda.Nick Maley,who worked on Yoda with Froud underStuart Freeborn,recalled that "Wendy’s contribution creating the character was second only to Stuart who was overseeingallthe creatures. She single handedly formed the body out of 1 inch sheet foam. She constructed the puppet armature from wooden dowel which gave structure to Yoda’s arms and legs. If I remember correctly, she modeled Yoda’s hands and feet and single handedly fabricated the 'stand-in Yoda', made entirely from cut foam, which was used to line up shots during camera setup. I do remember her spending some time working on the clay model of Yoda's head too. "Froud later became referred to as "the mother of Yoda".She assisted in Yoda's puppeteering,controlling the pointed ears.

Wendy Froud worked on the 2009 animated documentaryMythic Journeys,sculpting and fabricating puppets based on designs by her husbandBrian Froud.

Froud served as a concept, character, and costume designer for the 2019NetflixseriesThe Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

Books

Froud's artwork is featured in three books for children, paired with stories by fantasy authorTerri Windling:A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale(1999),The Winter Child(2001), andThe Faeries of Spring Cottage(2003).Her first solo art book,The Art of Wendy Froud,was published in 2006 by Imaginosis.

She is a writer of short fiction and poetry, published in two anthologies:Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers(1998)andTroll's-Eye View(2009).She collaborated as writer, with her husband Brian Froud as illustrator, on two books,The Heart of Faerie(2010) andTrolls(2012), both published byAbrams Books.

Awards and nominations

In 2001, she and her husband were awarded theInkpot AwardbyComic-Con International.She has been nominated for theChesley Awardfor Best Three-Dimensional Art twice: in 2001 for her piece, "Goth Faery",and in 2002 for "Narnia's Friend".She has won 4th place in theLocus Awardfor Best Artbook with her husband twice: forTrollsin 2013,and forBrian Froud's Faeries' Talesin 2015.

Froud received a Lifetime Achievement award at thePortland Film Festivalin 2015.She was a finalist for the 2020World Fantasy AwardforBest Artist.

Personal life

Wendy Froud with her husband,Brian Froud,at theNew York Comic Con

Froud lives and works inDevonwith her husbandBrian Froud,whom she met in 1978 while working onThe Dark Crystal,for which he was the conceptual designer.They married in 1980 inChagford.Their sonTobyis a visual artist, performance artist, and filmmaker.He starred inLabyrinthat the age of one, playing Sarah's baby brother Toby.Through her son, Froud has one grandson, Sebastian.

Filmography

Film

• The Muppet Movie(1979) – muppet designer
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back(1980) – fabricator ( "Yoda")
• The Dark Crystal(1982) – creature design and fabrication supervisor ( "Gelflings")
• Labyrinth(1986) – creature workshop artist ( "Junk Lady", "Goblins","Fairy Lichen "and" Birds ")
• Mythic Journeys(2009) – character designer and fabricator
• Lessons Learned(2014) – script/story editor

Television

• The Muppet Show(1976-1982) – muppet designer for 5 episodes between 1978 and 1979
• The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance(2019) – character/concept designerand assistant costume designer

External links

• The World of Froud websiteArchivedOctober 23, 2013, at theWayback Machine
• Wendy FroudonIMDb