USITT Costume Commission Symposium--Sneak Peak!

Well, dang. I wrote this entry last night late and attempted to post it, but the hotel wireless was on the fritz. So, here's my second attempt, on my way out the door this morning:

Aight y'all, it is late and i have just gotten home from an 11-hour day at the symposium followed by barhopping, so forgive me for not posting a serious well-composed write-up of Day One. (The subject of the symposium is bighead/walkaround/full-head creature masks, and puppetry/macropuppetry.)

I do have over 50 photos already, and will be reporting in-depth on the whole event as soon as i have time to do something besides, you know, attend it and sleep...but for now, i've simply got some initial teaser photos, from the Puppet and Mask collection here at Ohio University, all of which were on display today during the intro section of the symposium!

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I've got posts coming soon on the workshops, in which we are making creature heads using a range of methods and materials! First though, i have to sleep, for real. And do it all over again tomorrow.

Creature Symposium: Day One, Part One

This year's symposium is hosted by the costume program at Ohio University. OU's graduate program offers concentrations in Costume Design, Costume Production, and Costume Crafts, and with its "triple-threat" faculty of Holly Cole, David Russell, and Kjersten Lester-Moratzka, it's really become the place to go for an MFA if you want to do creature crafts, walkarounds/bigheads, and macropuppetry. Also assisting with the symposium are OU grads Brandon Kirkham and Marit Aagaard, as well as several other former and current students and colleagues of the hosts.

The first day of the symposium consisted of a general overview (including the survey of their mask and puppet collection, photos of which i posted earliers) and some initial lectures from Holly and David about their respective workshops: foam construction and Veraform (thermoplastic mesh) construction techniques. Then (after a delicious prix fixe lunch at a local Middle Eastern restaurant) we all split into two groups and began working!

I've got time to post some photos and overview info on our first workshop--carving matrix sculptures in blue insulation foam, for the purpose of making Veraform heads! This workshop was led by David Russell, and our subject at hand was rabbit heads. (I gather Mr Russell recently made something like 40 rabbit heads for a production of The Velveteen Rabbit so was now intimately familiar with this particular head shape for the purposes of teaching large groups.)

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