Puppet Museum

Steve Overton is a creative trailblazer whose work has helped chart the cultural landscape of puppetry in the Pacific Northwest. As co‑founder of the Portland Puppet Museum, Steve has spent years uncovering forgotten traditions, preserving rare artifacts, and introducing audiences to the astonishing breadth of puppet arts from around the world. His own creations blend craftsmanship with curiosity — each puppet a small expedition into history, humor, and human expression. Whether he’s restoring a century‑old marionette or guiding visitors through the museum’s ever‑changing exhibits, Steve invites everyone to discover the wonder hidden in the strings, joints, and stories of puppetry’s past and present.He has dedicated the majority of his 55-year career to the art and craft of Puppetry. Working in the area of film he has worked with such directors as Blake Edwards, George Lucas, Morgan Neville, and David Poulshock creating puppets for the fantasy film Wee Sing Under the Sea to the extremely realistic creation of the Rick Rubin marionette for Showtime’s Mini-Series Shangri La. Nationwide television shows such as Grimm and Jesse Blanchard’s new horror comedy film Frank and Zed have also used the talents of Mr. Overton. Puppets in print adds such as the Barq’s Root beer dog to the futuristic hockey players for Pepsi Cola to the animated Sports Wear of Niki have been some of the amazing and fascinating projects he has accomplished. He continues to work with folks in the motion picture industry, live stage productions such as Disney’s Hollywood Studios Hunchback of Notre Dame to Triangle Productions Avenue Q, as well as smaller private companies to bring their vision to life in the world of puppetry. Currently Mr. Overton operates and curates the Portland Puppet Museum in Portland Oregon one of a hand full of museums in the United States dedicated to preserving the art of puppetry.