Photos from a visit to the lovely and amazing Pollock's Toy Museum in London, England. More on that museum can be found here. Of, or related to, The Morbid Anatomy Blog.
(Duncan Smith, artistic director of the Wiradjuri Echos, with Biami’s Rainbow Serpent. Photo credit: Angie To) I recorded some of the build for Biami, the creation story of the Wiradjuri peo…
I make giant puppets, structures, and costumes for parades and festivals – out of withies and paper, cardboard, junk and things I’ve found on the floor.
Little Girl Giant French street theatre company Royal de Luxe brought three giant marionettes to participate in Liverpool's Sea Odyssey Giant Spectacular.
The floats of the Viareggio Festival, which takes place in Viareggio, Tuscany, Italy, have historically had a sardonic, political bent to them and the
the concept for 3GATTI's 'tampere art museum' in finland is inspired by one of the best and most famous local distinctions: wood.
Giant papier-mâché masks at the Venice Beach Mardi Gras Festival, 1935 On August 16th, 1935, California’s fabled Venice Beach kicked off its very first Mardi Gras Festival. The celebration (which was inspired by New Orleans’ Mardi Gras) included events such as parades, the Miss California Beauty Pageant, the coronation of Queen Venetia by King Neptune, and a gala ball that concluded the three-day celebration. Miss California on her float surrounded by giant papier-mâché masks during the Venice Beach Mardi Gras, mid-1930s Clark Gable mask, Venice Beach Mardi Gras, mid-1930s Since you can’t have a proper Mardi Gras party without giant papier-mâché masks, take a gander at the ones hanging out on Venice Beach in the following photos from the mid-30s. The masks, which were three to four feet tall, are as whimsical as they are super creepy. Which makes them totally fun to look at. Come on everybody, let’s party like it’s 1935! Wheee! Venice Beach Mardi Gras masks, 1935 Venice Beach Mardi Gras, 1935 Giant papier-mâché masks at the Venice Beach Mardi Gras, 1930s Giant papier-mâché masks hanging out on Venice Beach during...
Ok, so the giant food sculptures we started making a few weeks ago are (almost) finished! Here are some of the ones who finished yesterday. Aren't they scrumdidlyumptious?! This donut needs sprinkles I feel.. Sushi Roll Tomato-less Hamburger Sweets for all! Have a look at my last post on the giant food sculptures, to see
In collaboration with University of the Arts, StudioXAG create a larger than life shoebox maquette as part of the London Design Festival.
I started making giant cardboard food just for the fun of it and it turns out... it's amazing. I love creating just because it brings me joy.
At the Horecava: a big dutch event for everything restaurant-food-cafe-bar related we worked with Icova the dutch marketleader in recycling. Their slogan is: “making more from waste!”. Now that’s something we can work with. On the spot we created a superlarge puppet called Bettie (the name is borrowed from Bettie Serveert, a famous dutch indie […]
THIS WEEK AT PST PREMIERE! "Pinocchio" by National Marrionette Theatre Wed, Thurs & Sat | July 27, 28 & 30 | 10:30am & 1:00pm Show: Wed, Thurs, & Sat | July 27, 28 & 30 | 10:30 am & 1 pm$8/Members, $10/General Admission About the Show: Carlo Collodi's epic about a puppet who wants to become a real boy is a classic example of storytelling at its best. Our adaptation is a faithful re-telling of this childhood favorite. Follow Pinocchio as he goes on a series of adventures and discovers that only by being truthful, selfless and kind to others will he realize his dream of becoming a real live boy. Recommended for Ages 4 & up. Approx. 1 hr. About the Performers: National Marionette Theatre is one of the oldest continually-running marionette theatres in the United States. Founded in 1967 by artistic director David A. Syrotiak, this award-winning company has been entertaining and amazing audiences around the world with their imaginative productions for over forty years. Each year this remarkable company travels some forty-five thousand miles across the USA perfoming for many different types of venues from elementary schools and theaters, to libraries, summer camps and outdoor fairs and festivals. Noted for their amazing manipulation technique and fully staged productions, National Marionette Theatre is committed to bringing audiences the very best in family entertainment. BUY SHOW TICKETS! Special Workshop: Inside Gepetto’s Workshop: Marionette Construction and Design Sat. July 30th, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm $5/person | Recommended for ages 5 & up Building puppets for a show like "Pinocchio" requires great skill and a keen eye for detail. Kids and adults can learn more about the materials and methods used to make marionettes in this construction demonstration by NMT's master puppeteers. From Gepetto's workshop to the Syrotiak Family Studio, see how this great tradition has survived for centuries! Recommended for ages 5 and up. BUY WORKSHOP TICKETS!
Michael Curry sees himself between art and physics; both are fascinatingly intertwined in his production designs. This play is featured in his many collaborations with the world’s foremost entertainment companies. These projects are supported by Michael Curry Design, Michael’s dream team of designers, makers, and assisting staff that is the pride of the industry. What is unique about MCD is the direct link between design and production: having designers and builders working under the same roof is simple and effective. Clients include Cirque du Soleil, Metropolitan Opera, Royal National Theater, Disney Theatrical Productions and Universal Pictures.
The ‘Little Girl Giant’ of Royal de Luxe, animated by a team of puppeteers … In part one I gave a brief overview of the marionette. In part two I hope to offer encouragement to pa…
Explore mx. blight's 12842 photos on Flickr!
adorable infestation of Felt Mistress creations takes over Wales Millennium Centre
During an evening rehearsal, backstage, a bright light shines through an eight-foot tall rhinoceros constructed from plywood, scraps of fabric, two round red reflectors, duct tape and staples.
Giant 3D Printed Man-Eating Plant: Every year in Melbourne, Australia, I try to go bigger and better than the previous year's Halloween decorations. This year the goal was to get some movement on a big prop, all the better to scare the kids with. When it came to deciding a theme, I f…
Director: Shelley Butler | Lighting Designer: Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz | Scenic Designer: Sibyl Wickersheimer | Costume Designer: Angela Calin | Sound Designer/Composer: Josh Schmidt | Stage Manager: ...
I generally hate sharing process photos before a cosplay is finished, since I'm semi-convinced it jinxes my ability to ever finish the thing, BUT... I think the time has come. So let me walk you through the life-consuming project John and I began about three weeks ago, on the very day we learned there was going to be a Labyrinth Ball during Dragon Con this year. (A moment of sadness, however: the Ball tickets went on sale a few hours ago, sold out in less than 2 minutes, and we didn't get one. S'ok, though; this has been way too fun to let that get us down.) As with all our previous cosplays, John and I wanted to do a character that's never - or very rarely - been done before. We also wanted a challenge we could both work on, which meant both structural elements for John and more creative, free-form elements for me. Plus it had to be something really over the top. I think you'll agree this lovely lady fits all those criteria: So. Let's begin. First, a quick PVC frame: With mandatory "head" jokes GALORE. (Just look at that grin.) John continued work on the junk pile while I took over for the head. It's a big a Styrofoam ball, so I covered it with masking tape before re-attaching it to John's ingenious neck pivot: She won't be a puppet, but she WILL move. Hopefully enough to seriously startle some unsuspecting con-goers. ;) Then I sketched in features: It's Balloony from Phineas & Ferb! Adding crumpled tissue paper and more tape to rough out the more prominent features: The eyes are a ping-pong ball, cut in half. A coat of paper maché for strength: Which we placed outside to dry and/or scare the neighbors: Now on to sculpting with paper clay, since weight is a concern: My only sculpting tools are from a $2 plastic cake decorating kit: a small spatula and a few pointy sticks. I think I'm ready to spring for something nicer now. I only covered the visible areas with clay: her face and a little of her neck. Next, paint! I base-coated her with a sickly pale flesh tone, then stippled on areas of pink and lime green. (All of my paints are the 89 cent acrylics from the craft store.) At this point she's looking pretty zombie-like, but we're not done yet! Next, aging: A watered-down wash of brown really brings those wrinkles to life. At this point I'd been literally nose-to-nose with this lady for maybe a week, and wasn't particularly phased by her nightmarish visage. Then I added the eyes. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIEEEE The eyes were done using the exact same method as my eyeball roses, minus the veining, so check out that tutorial if you're curious. I ordered an enormous curly blond wig from ebay, then spent an evening destroying it with a comb and flat iron: I used spray paint to add sections of browns and grays to further dirty it up. Frankly, I'm a little annoyed that it STILL doesn't look all that bad up top. As with everything cosplay-related, you have to go BIG and over-emphasize absolutely everything to really make an impression. You can tell Junk Lady loves her new 'do: "Are those... bangs?!" Testing her position on the new rolling frame: She and her junk pile are removable from the rolling base, giving John and I the option of either wearing her on our backs or shuffling along inside the PVC frame. A lot of this will depend on just how heavy the finished product ends up. I'd hoped we could use some latex zombie gloves for hands, but the Halloween ones we ordered were enormous and completely unusable. So, more sculpting for me: The hands have a base of coiled wire covered in newspaper, masking tape, and paper maché. The tubes are place-holders for her rope straps we'll be adding later. Veins and warts. Those veins were what finally made them look like hands to me, though of course I'm still not 100% pleased with them. (Discovering I friggin' LOVE sculpting, though. Who knew?) Another test fit: I'm completely ignoring all of John's work at the moment, I know, but you can see his progress on the junk pile here. I will say we are striving for complete screen-accuracy, and John is building nearly everything: every chair, every satchel, every giant drum and toy abacus, completely from scratch. And what we aren't making from scratch we're finding at thrift stores and aging up with paint and sand paper and whatnot. It's been an incredibly fun scavenger hunt, both in studying the film over and over to figure out what's IN the junk pile*, and then trying to find or make an exact copy here in the real world. That rug beater was an $8 find, and you'd think we'd just won the lotto with it. Ha! (We're also striving to keep the cost at "dirt cheap." So far, I think we're succeeding.) [*FUN FACT: there is a live rat in there - can you spot it? Ours, however, will be a stuffed toy.] I'll also say I've never seen John have this much fun with a project. EVER. Me: "John, that toy desk-organizer with a built-in abacus on the back of her pile is barely visible even with the TV brightness set to max. Do you REALLY need to build one from scratch? John: ".... " [already in the garage building one from scratch] Though we're striving for total screen accuracy, John and I will also be hiding some Easter Eggs from the movie into the junk pile - and I am SO EXCITED about this part. I've decided Junk Lady is 30 years older now, so of course she's picked up more things from around the Labyrinth, right? I won't spoil them for you yet, but suffice to say there will be plenty of mementos from other scenes for fans to play I Spy with when we're done. And finally, I recently discovered Brian Froud has a similar Junk Lady in his Goblins of the Labyrinth book named Agnes, but it's unclear if this is the same character. So hey, anyone out there friends with Mr. Froud? Because I would love - LOVE - to ask him to name our Lady. I mean, c'mon, Mr. Froud, how could you resist DAT FACE? :) K, that's all I have for now. Next time I'll show you guys some build photos for a few of the dozens of props we're finding/building for the junk pile. Also, believe it or not, we are planning to debut Junk Lady in less than one week at MegaCon. She may not have all her Easter Eggs installed by then, but she should be loaded up and ready to party regardless. Now, just cross your fingers she'll fit in our friends' van... and will fit out our front door. Ha! 'Til then, as the Dread Pirate Roberts would say, rest well, and dream of large, scary junk pile women.
Bristol artist Luke Jerram is pictured with his scuplture which he has named after the Greek god of the wind, Aeolus. It will feature as part of an exhibition in Cornwall.
Explore this photo album by Arvada Center on Flickr!
Oh, how things might have been different if Confederate Gen. Patrick Cleburne had actually been 14 feet tall when he was leading troops during the Civil War.
My name is Vincent Lam and I am entering my last year studying Model Making at IADT. I have made many different types of models,props, working models,puppets and sculptures through the years. I often use moulds so that I am able to replicate the models I create.I have used plaster,silicon,two part plaster,thixo, latex and vermiculite.I am a bit of a perfectionist and hope I use my creativity to make things that can impress and delight people.
Michael Curry sees himself between art and physics; both are fascinatingly intertwined in his production designs. This play is featured in his many collaborations with the world’s foremost entertainment companies. These projects are supported by Michael Curry Design, Michael’s dream team of designers, makers, and assisting staff that is the pride of the industry. What is unique about MCD is the direct link between design and production: having designers and builders working under the same roof is simple and effective. Clients include Cirque du Soleil, Metropolitan Opera, Royal National Theater, Disney Theatrical Productions and Universal Pictures.
In early October, my Sculpture I. class and I embarked on what came to be known as the “Big Head Project”, aka The Headline. Each student picked a celebrity and based on that character,…
Leaving it (typically) to the last minute, yesterday I made... ...some tiny driftwood birdhouses... ...some teeny beach huts... ...and decorated some polystyrene eggs with the boys... ...and ta-da!! We have an Easter tree!! Hope you all have a great Spring break!
If you would like to learn how to make the perfect papier mache mix, as well as be inspired to create all kinds of awesome projects, check out this page!
Nicole Havekost describes her towering figures as exhibiting the contradiction of “sublime embarrassment… Bodies are magical and glorious and gross and bewildering. Bodies are civilized and feral.” Through hand-sewn sculptures, the Rochester-based artist explores the ways aging affects peoples’ figures and the emotional process of adjusting to a new reality. She stitches large anthropomorphic works from industrial felt, shaping bodies that are bulging and covered with knots and uneven seams that serve as a reminder of restoration. More
