Nat Reed has found his passion.

Working with marionettes is an art that includes talent in music, sculpture, theater and dancing. It is an art Reed has delved in since he became involved in the theater years ago.

"I'm kind of shy by nature," the Traverse Mountain resident said "This gives me the opportunity to be behind the stage, but still be able to perform."

Another pathway in his life nurtured his ability to create marionettes or puppets with strings when he worked for Mattel as a toy maker for approximately five years.

"It was pretty fun," Reed said. "It just kind of sprang from that."

When he and his family moved to Lehi, his wife Jennifer Reed spoke with Lehi Arts Council chair person Jean Hatch expressing an interest as a volunteer in the arts.

"He got involved and I saw some of the things he did and since then we've kept him busy," Hatch said.

A professional display designer for conventions, commercial displays, he created the set design for Lehi Arts productions "Nunsense" and "Sound of Music."

But one of the first things that caught Hatch's interest in the artist was his love of puppetry and his desire to establish a puppetry institute.

"I've wanted to incorporate puppetry in our arts in Lehi," Hatch said. So beginning Jan. 5, Reed's puppetry five-month course begins at 9 a.m. at the Lehi Arts Center, 685 N. Center St.

Each two-hour Saturday class includes making a marionette and producing a puppet show, "Alice in Wonderland," at the completion of the course. Twelve children, ages 8-18 and the first to register for the class, will participate.

"We're also hoping to perform in the libraries," Reed said. "Hopefully we'll have a lot of time for rehearsal."

Two other members of his family will be part of the class. His daughter, Bronwyn will be taking the course and another daughter, Brooklyn, will be his assistant.

"It gives me the opportunity to do something I love teaching which my life hasn't taken me there," he said. "I always kind of wanted to be a teacher (for children)."

Instead, his life has taken him from theater and puppets into toy making to exhibit design. Throughout, he has developed his interest in marionettes.

"I love making them," he said. "They're fun to make."

A member of the Utah Puppeteers Art Guild, he works about an hour each day on his hobby sometimes in the basement of his home building a new marionette, but often he will sit up to the dining table so his children can watch.

His first puppet was Artaban from "The Other Wiseman" and was all wood except for the head which was paper mache, weighing out at 10-12 pounds.

"It was too heavy," he said.

His latest marionettes have a neoprene head, Styrofoam body, wooden limbs and bakeable clay hands and weigh about 6-8 pounds.

After the body of the marionette is built, the job is only halfway done. The puppeteer has to select a costume and attach strings from the marionette to what is called a "controller," a set of sticks that the puppeteer uses to move parts of the marionette making it walk, talk, wave, sit.

Reed said the puppet becomes an extension of its creator and usually he takes about one week to build one.

He imagines they speak to him while going through the creation process, he said. "Why are you taking so long?" they cry to him while he is trying to complete them.

Inspiration for each character is ongoing for Reed while he contemplates 3-4 possible shows at a time.

Next December, he plans on producing "The Christmas Carol." Actor Patrick Stewart is his inspiration for Scrooge.All in all, he is happy.

"That's what it's really about for me," he said. "I love marionettes and I want other people to love them too."