Petza and Shpachtel are my own creations. They were hand crafted as part of my first year studies at Dvora Tzafrir's School of Puppetry and Drama.

Each of them was created in a long process which includes:

1. Sculpturing the character's head in modeling clay
2. Building a layer of silk paper over the finished sculpture
3. Gradually adding 10 layers of papier mache
4. Leaving to dry for about 2 days
5. Cutting the head open and removing the modeling clay
6. Closing the head using two layers of papier mache
7. Covering the head with mortar glue (known as Shpachtel in hebrew)
8. Painting the head with acrylic paint
9. Adding hair and other decorations to the head
10. Sewing the body
11. Attaching the head to the body using velcro ribbon
12. Decorating the body further

Petza Gorlitzki is named after Illy Gorlitzki. A famous Israeli actor and director who looks exactly the same. Some also say, he has a great similarity to Captain Jean-Luc Picard. That resemblance was much more striking before Petza has his hair implants.
 
 

When I first brought Petza to my home, I was afraid of his dark image. I was worried he will come after me at night like Chuckie. After getting to know him, I found he is a sweet and wise man. He works in the theater and has a great record of classic plays on his resume. He has worked with some of the most celebrated and controversial directors in the industry.

His younger brother Shpachtel is a type-of-bear character. He has a soft green coat of fur and an easy going nature. He is very calm and content and is not a great speaker. He has been having some problems with head detachment, which we hope to solve soon. He enjoys a day out in the sun, playing with kids and a good jar of honey or green olives.

Shpachtel and Petza formed a strong friendship and show in their relationship, a lovely example of brotherly love. They spend a lot of time together. You never see Petza fool around as when he is with his brother.