Hey Folks, It is the season when normal, sane adults dress up in foolish costumes and prance around New York City. I personally love the Village Parade and will be joining the festivities again for the 4th year in the row on October 31st. In the mean time I’m brainstorming some costume ideas. First Up, Snow White. Weather you love the girly original Disney version, the slightly tattered Snow White and The Huntsman/ Kristien Stewart look or tough girl gone outlaw Gennifer Goodwin/Once character Snow White has a lot to offer. I’m a big fan of Once so I whipped together a costume look that can be put together with regular clothing items. Tunic? Check. Brown Leggings? Check. Just add some leather and you are good to go.
As the summer wedding planning continues I have been helping with drafting up the programs and menus for the upcoming nuptials of K&J (which are taking place next week in upstate NY). There are some great resources out there for DIY printing and templates. Here are some of my favorites and below is my final product for the Wedding Menu.
The template for the Menu was provided by The Wedding Chicks. Their program is very easy to use, you just type in the text you want and pick your color. I went a step further and using Photoshop replaced the text they had the font that K&J picked for the event.
Menu for K&J
Other great options are this menu template from Martha Stewart which comes in black or orange.
Image Provided by Martha Stewart
This menu template and matching escort card by the Wedding Chicks is sweet and simple.
And with a little tweaking this super cute library card by LoveVs.Design could be made into a menu or escort card.
For the program we are using the same design as we used for the menu above, but here are some other options:
Aylee Bits makes fan programs for a fee but also has a free download for those that want to try the project themselves. She also has a paddle fan template you can download here.
Image Provided by Aylee Bits
Martha Stewart has a bevy of program ideas and templates that you can download including the one pictured below.
Image Provided by Martha Stewart
Last but not least, Chica and Jo have a step by step guide to making a program booklet. One of my friends made these for her wedding 2 years ago and they were very pretty.
I studied under David for a brief time in Graduate School. So was thrilled to see his blog here on wordpress which gives step by step instructions on how to make scale models. Take a look!
Please note first of all before you start reading this older post that I have long since included an updated/expanded version in the constructing section of my Materials pages which can be accessed above.
I’m really very keen now to get a better idea of just how many people are working with this wonderful stuff or have even heard of it? I’ve been working with it for years having been introduced to it by a good model-maker friend from the US. I’ve always assumed it must be well known to architectural and product model-makers here in the UK but since I don’t mix with them (as much as I might like) I’m really not sure anymore. Another reason for my doubt is that 4D in London are now planning to stock it (partly at my suggestion) but they’ve always been very much in touch with what their customers might be…
I recently moved into a new apartment with a good friend of mine and for the first time ever I have my own studio/office. It’s wood paneled and has windows on two sides. Needless to say, I’m in love with the space and am in the process of brainstorming ways to decorate. Things are still in boxes, so I can’t show you everything, but here is a sneak peak of the new work space. I will keep you posted on how it goes and stay tuned tomorrow to see my living room/wall trim make over!
I just looked at the date on my last post and realized it’s been nearly 2 months since I wrote here! I can’t believe how fast the time as gone. A lot has taken place since March, I opened a new show (pics to come) which got reviewed by the New York Times! I moved into and repainted a new apartment (I’ll be giving you all the lowdown on painting rooms shortly) and I went to Hawaii for 3 weeks for a much needed break. I promise to start posting images from all the projects I have going on soon but in the mean time here are some photos of paradise that I took to tied you over. I used Hipstomatic’s Buckhorst H1 Lens, with Ina’s 1969 Film and no Flash, for those of you who want to replicate the look. Happy Thursday!
It’s been a bit crazy over here, we have had guests in town, are fostering kittens and I am working on 3 different projects, but I thought it was about time I shared some of the work I have been doing for the show I load in next week. HA! The Play will be opening at the Jewel Box Theater in less then two weeks and I have been working on the set and props for the production.
Traditional Russian Embroidery
The Play has 3 very different settings and the challenge as a designer was to create a space that would work in all 3 stories. The first scene is Greek, the second is turn of the century Russia, and the third is otherworldly. The other major challenge was the lack of backstage space. Every set piece that moved had to be able to fit into the dressing room with the actors. My solutions are below, I made some basic computer sketch-ups of what the space will look like, and hopefully I can pull it off:
Act 1 - Greece
The Basic space will have a checkerboard floor, two translucent fabric columns which will be lit from the inside with lighting instruments, and a large picture frame on the back wall for the projectionist to project against.
Act 2 - Russia 1905
The furniture, projected images and curtain colors will change for each act. Above you see the first draft of the Russian set, the chairs are being replaced with a couch but the overall effect should be the same.
The otherworld or God’s Classroom
The final scene is set in God’s Classroom, where god is a Master’s Student who goofed off on the last day and is now paying the price during his thesis defense. (Did I mention this was a comedy). This room is strictly black and white tones with little pops of color introduced through “earth samples” such as the russian embroidery in the photo above.
I load in next week so stay tuned for before and after photos!
As a prop person I am always seeing random things in stores or films and thinking “I could make that!”, but then I get distracted by work and my own projects fall to the wayside. One of my favorite trends at the moment is lettered pillows and sheets and Wit & Whistle have a great tutorial on how to make a lettered pillow with only fabric, cardboard, a letter stencil, a fabric marker and a pencil. The results look amazing. (For the full tutorial click here.) Maybe this time around I will actually be inspired to make something for myself!
Last night I spent a good 2 hours painting, not in a theater but in a house. My two good friends are redecorating their one bedroom apartment and have asked me to help design the look and feel of the space. I will be spending the next few weeks on this project so you can expect to see some before and after photos but for now here is our inspiration:
Across the Pond and Back Again 