I think it would be cool if you would put up an Art Of Axtell section. A section where we could see the sketches of the characters you create. See them develope from scribbles, to defined sketches, to full blown puppet characters.
Why do I ask this?? Cause I can't seem to stop thinking about the upcoming Bassett Hound!!! I personally would love to see what the Bassett might look like. Some might call that a teaser, I call it getting even more excited about a great character!!
Thanks for your time!!

(In my best pirate voice) But then I'd be giving away me secrets matey....... Someday if we become well known, we'll do a coffee table book. Heehee...

Ax

okay... I have been keeping ALL of the original drawings that I've done for each of the puppet characters from our 26 year so far. It's going to be fun to put them together on the web someday.... Some of the earliest ones I drew into my HUGE collection of notebooks. Others I drew out on graph paper for sculpture reference for myself and Tony Bulone. Tony was one of my sculptors. You may know that he was the original sculptor of the Barbie doll, many Revell model kits and those little green army men we all played with.

One of these days I'll post the drawings.

Ax

AX
You know all the great thinkers and clowns were artists, Like Skelton, Tony Bennett, Walt Disney and Steve Axtell,to name just a few... Their art is worth in the mega bucks today. So as I have always looked at you as the Disney of Ventriloquism your drawings will also be up their in the stratosphere. All I know is when i go to Disney World, which I will be doing at the end of this month I must go see Small World, and get the same feelings I have gotten everytime I feel like Peter Pan, or I don't want to grow up I am a Toy's R Us Kid and when i enjoy my AX puppets...I'm a big kid now....So put those pictures together in some sort of format for all to enjoy as I know I will.
N J

Hi Ax i was thinking, Why dont you make it a book? i have a book of Jim Henson and its really just a bunch of doodles and like you can put your thoughts about how u felt about that drawing or idea back then and how you feel about it now. you could also put in photos of the workshop when you just started out. just a thought.

God Bless
Emagic

AX
I bought a book on Henson,(who I believe was your mentor) with the life history of his work from Roulf on Jimmy Deans Show to the current movie ideas from his studio...You can do the same.. Where it all began..who was your influences...who helped you get started...your first puppets...how the ideas grew in your mind... what came first the chicken or the egg? what happened next and next and next. Doodles would be great to see how a mind like yours works, who are you influencing today and who will be the next AX...And will we go where no man has gone before?

AND....Why aren't you gonna be at the VH convention? Even for a day??

I have always kept records of my ideas and activities since 1982 in spiral bound notebooks. I've logged well over 200-250 ideas and inventions....some I have patented, some I have made into products (Magic Drawing Board, Bird Arm Illusions, Off the Meter, etc). Add up all the things we've only put out and it might total 20 or 30 from those pages. So....right now I'm setting up a healthy R&D Dept with some new folks and we are going to be AXploding with new products over the next few years.

The death of Ron has caused me to think about a lot of things.... one of them is faith and mine is deeper now. Another is family, and I'm working on strengthening my relationships with Suzi and my kids. Another is to leave the world a better place. With the help of all of you entertainers who use Axtell puppets, magic and props, I can say that I am doing that in a small way with you. I got an encouraging email from a friend who reminded me of the rare position I am in that literally on any given day...thousands of people are laughing and enjoying watching my products entertain them through you. That just rocks!

So I'm going to be working with a little more focus toward releasing a mountain of this history of ideas into our new products. It is an exciting adventure. I don't know how many will eventually come out, but going through my old notebooks, and seeing all these 200 plus doodles.... is very exciting.

Ax

Well I for one want you to know I have been a Disney fan all my growing up life, and I have only grown up age wise, I am still a kid under all these years and I have a new hero when I found AX I know that whatever you have in those doodles will come to life and make many more people happy. Can't wait for theose doodles to come to reality.
N J