Classwork: Armor!

[labricoleuse]

The focus of my graduate seminar has shifted now from masks to armor, and today I gave the first lecture on the subject. I pulled some pieces of armor from our stock to show the students examples of what sorts of things they should be considering for potential projects. They are required to do one simple piece and one more complex piece. "Simple" projects might be a plain medieval helmet or set of greves, whereas "complex" might be an ornamented breastplate or set of articulated gauntlets.

I took some pictures of the stock armor and images i gave them to share with y'all.


These three are acceptable project examples.


Second view of same.


This breastplate is an example, clearly, of what not to do.

In the background are some renderings of "fantasy" examples: Victorian silhouettes rendered in armor for Federico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba.

Comments

[baronessv.livejournal.com]

That Teacher of the Year Award is all yours. :D

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

I felt a little sheepish about it when a dude came in to interview for a work-study position in the costume shop and the sign was still on the form, but i felt a lot more sheepish when a prospective student came through on tour. Then again, if you are offended by the phrase, "sucks ass," perhaps theatre isn't the route to go.

[lilithschilde.livejournal.com]

I love the bronze breastplate with the seven layer faulds! It's gorgeous! I don't know what that student was thinking, or if they even were. Wow.

[naeelah.livejournal.com]

Hee, is that second breastplate something you made as a bad example, or is it actually in stock?

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

It was actually in stock. No one has ever culled armor stock here, and previous professors of this course may have been less demanding than i, i guess? Or maybe it was for a shoestring budget undergrad production. I dunno. I brought it down because my class is halfway between stock and the dumpster. :)

[martygreene.livejournal.com]

Oh, see my guess was that it was from something where it was supposed to have been created by a character- sort of like the Abraham Lincoln costume in Hair. I figured it was not intended to look real, but more to look halloween costumey or somesuch.

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

The majority of that one is made from 3/8"-thick industrial felt that has been impregnated with shellac. The lion looks like it was cast in plastic separately, but i didn't make it myself so i'm guessing there.

[labricoleuse.livejournal.com]

At least one of my students is going the Wonderflex route, so i'll have some pix of that project when he's done. It's a really cool material, lots of fun to work with. Good luck w/your project!

Unrelated to this post...

[martygreene.livejournal.com]

I'm curious, do you know the average makeup expense for your shows? I'm trying to explain to my theatre that makeup isn't a last minute thing and that the student kits aren't sufficient to create the effects desired by the directors. I've gotten them to admit that dancers need makeup kits too (and to take a makeup course), and they're trying to have me design for more shows, but with a non-existant budget. I know the sound designers got their budget by presenting the average cost of sound expenses for other theatres, so I'm going to try the same. Figured you might have some info which might be helpful.

Thanks!