At the same time as making the larger horned headpiece for Dance Wi' The Deil we also decided to add a new suitcase to the performance. While it is used openly to store the performer's coat, it also has a secret compartment which is full of stolen hearts. The suitcase itself we found online, and you can see the stages of the build below -
1. I constructed shelves inside the suitcase using balsa wood, as I wanted to add as little weight as possible. They needed to look expensive and old, so I knew I would be painting a wood effect on them 2. The hearts were carved from blocks of soft foam, string hot-glued for veins, then skinned using a mix of silicone and oil paint (a very effective technique which I keep coming back to). In this photo they have had one opaque pink coat and some transparent red applied in patches. I also rounded off the corners of the shelves to match better with the shape of the suitcase 3. I drilled and glued 5mm dowel rods into the shelves to support the hearts, cut two smaller shelves for the bottom section, then primed them all using gesso. In this photo the hearts have had a few more transparent coats of silicon and oil paint first to build up their colours, then to add smaller details 4. In this photo the shelves have been painted with one flat coat of yellow ochre, and grey on the dowel, then a wet glaze with a darker brown in loose stripes. I also added small sections of beading where the shelves meet to smarten it up a bit and reference old furniture pieces 5. The hearts were hot glued to the dowel rods, and I worked into the wood effect with a yellow colour and a lighter neutral brown 6. I painted over all the wood effect with a dark brown wash which I rubbed back slightly using a rag, this stage really helped it look more convincingly like wood, then I varnished it with household wood varnish 7. I fitted a piece of red velvet as lining behind the shelves and hot-glued the shelves in place 8. Here's a more detailed shot of one of the hearts, the wood effect and the red velvet
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI am a Glasgow based collaborative artist Archives
January 2024
Categories |