Wendy’s one of those people who seeks to blend the wonder of science with the whimsy of imagination. She calls her visual art practice “Animating the Spirit,” and that’s exactly what she does in life, too. She’s endlessly curious, always digging into the “why” behind things—whether it’s human motivations, the twists of history, or how the future might unfold (or not). She’ll dive into conversations about anthropology, futurism, even luddite politics, and find the threads of social change running through them all. Wendy could strike up a conversation with just about anyone and come away having learned something new.
All this isn’t surprising … she grew up in a family where dinner conversations happened with encyclopedias open on the table!
Officially, Wendy was born in Ottawa, moved to Calgary with her family, earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Calgary, and worked a number of retail and waitress jobs. Since 1991, she’s been the Founder, Artistic Director, and Executive Director of W.P. Puppet Theatre Society in Calgary/Moh’kinsstis, Alberta—turning her lifelong passion for art, storytelling, and human connection into a career that inspires people of all ages.
-Written by Jessica Anne
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Which ’hood are you in?
I live in a quiet neighbourhood in NW Calgary with trees and flowers, but I feel I have tendrils rooted everywhere. I’ve spent my career commuting around this sprawling city of 1.6 million people to hundreds of gigs, and driving thousands of Canadian kilometres to perform in Elliot Lake or LaCrete or Alert Bay, and flying overseas to present in Bulgaria, South Korea, or New Zealand. Personally, I’ve been able to experience many other countries, and I look forward to seeing much, much more of this wonderful world we live in yet.
What do you do?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist—visual creator, writer, performer, and passionate puppeteer—and I spend my life “animating the inanimate,” both literally and figuratively.
My very cool “day job” is being a puppeteer. (Not too many of us, and generally a conversation stopper at cocktail parties and a “wow” elicitor for kids.) As such, I do lots of planning, reporting, administration, coordination, and networking. I also teach a lot of workshops for children and adults in using puppetry as a dynamic tool for education, expression, and social change. I create and perform puppet shows, and I recently made a puppet movie called Bakster and Bird.
Whenever I have the chance, I create mixed media, collage, sculpture, photograms, printmaking, and altered book pieces. I might have glue under my fingernails at any moment in time. The themes I enjoy most are voyaging, transformation, and beauty, with the realities of everyday and hints of surrealism.
In periodic bursts, I write unpublished short stories—a favourite is a series called Eloise. I’ve written The Double Drop Leaf Table and Incident at Bear Creek, as well as poems such as The Shopping Mall Horse.
And in the slim slices of time between these activities, I love to hike (but not up mountains or with bears), canoe and camp, cook, garden, and travel the world.
What are you currently working on?
Currently, I have two major projects and many other little ones.
I’m producing W.P. Puppet Theatre Society’s signature event called Puppet Power. This is a unique, international, hybrid, biennial conference. The theme for 2025 is Immigration and Applied Puppetry: how puppets go beyond entertainment to spark empathy, build community, and tackle pressing social issues. This “festival of ideas” brings together artists, educators, therapists, and activists to explore puppetry’s role in mental health, trauma recovery, intercultural dialogue, environmental education, and more. It features performances, panels, workshops, and a Rapid Ideation session for immigrant-serving organizations based in Calgary.
My other major project is the filming of a 35-minute movie entitled Evolution of Moral Progress: Genus 394WZ (EMP). EMP is a powerful allegory that invites deep thought about our human place in the ecosystem. Aanigma travels through time and liminal space, spanning the primordial past to a distant future, observing the varied relationships of humans to an imaginary Genus 394WZ—from food source, to research subject, until, in the far future, 394WZ becomes the key to humankind recovering freedom and autonomy.
Where can we find your work?
My personal art website is here. Occasionally, I manage to find the time and opportunity to display my artwork.
W.P. Puppet Theatre: Most of the work in the gallery section are my creations. The events page is a good indication of where to find me.
