Vol. 5, No. 150, October 15, 2020

5150 - Creative Sprint Day 15.

There is one scene in the Little Mermaid where Ariel is sitting in a bathtub. Obviously in a high school show she can't be nude, so we have to disguise the fact that she is dressed. Today I came up with the perfect solution. A few weeks ago, my aunt gave me 2 sheets of half inch foam. They had just been sitting at my house while I contemplated a use for them. Last night it hit me. The foam would be perfect to "fill" the bathtub, creating a bubbly layer to cover the clothed Ariel, without trapping her inside. After stapling in the foam, I covered it with some glittery white tulle, creating the appearance of a bathtub filled with bubbles, thus camouflaging Ariel's clothes. Unfortunately I was too late to get a picture of Ariel in the tub.

Vol. 5, No. 146, October 11, 2020

5146 - Creative Sprint Day 11.

Today I spent 8 hours at the theater doing set work for a high school show without any students present. Not only was it something new, it was something I said I would never do. I always tell the kids, if you're not there I won't paint. Well part of the set needed to be spray painted and it was too large to move outside. So I had to paint it at a time when others wouldn't be present. I went in to paint the cauldron, this should have taken me 2 hours tops. Then I got to work finishing the ship, and the grotto, and the hair pieces, and organizing the backstage, and setting the stage for tomorrow. I'm sure that I could have found more to do, like clean and organized the paint room, but at 10 pm I called it quits.

Vol. 5, No. 095, June 5, 2020

5095 - Nature Hunt.

I took some Miller Littles on a walk/nature scavenger hunt this morning. We had a tough time finding everything on our list and decided to get creative. I was assigned to make a butterfly. I used different sized leaves from a weed at the park to make the wings and antennae. Then I used a stick for the body. The body was a little long, so maybe it's a dragonfly.

Vol. 4, No. 295, October 22, 2019

4295 - Make Some Noise.

My project today isn't a traditional instrument, however it does make noise when it is dropped on the ground like it is in the play I am working on. We started the show with a ceramic like vase that seemed sturdy. However every time it was dropped, it broke in a new way and is now unusable
 We were frantically trying to come up with an alternative as our first show with an audience is tonight. During my prep time, it hit me, i could connect plastic containers with hot glue and tape to create a new vase. After assembly, I rushed to the theater to start painting. After 4 hours I had built a vase, applied 2 base coats of spray paint and added details. Fortunately the vase had another 2 hours to dry completely before it was actually touched and dropped.

Vol. 4, No. 288 October 15, 2019

4288 - Transformation Tuesday.

As an art teacher during clay week, I wash my hands a lot. This means that I use a lot of paper towels, which usually go right into the trash. Today I saved one and during rehearsal tonight I fashioned a poppy using only the paper towel and one of those little rubber hair bands that always get caught in your hair and can only be used once. I laid the flower out on the stage to take the picture, as I was trying to get the best angle and lighting, the light masters changed the light color making my white flower appear this beautiful combination of purple and orange.

Vol. 4, No. 263, September 20, 2019

4263 - Bountiful Blooms.

While the flowers were hung about two weeks ago now, I finally made it up to the front of the school to take a picture. The rule for placing flowers was that it had to touch another flower. The vase got a little full on the right side. Hopefully next quarter we can balance it out a little.

Vol. 3, No. 205, July 24, 2018

3205 - Biggest Blame Fool.

Tonight, I went above and beyond, designing a drink in a coconut shell, complete with a hand rolled paper straw and an umbrella that can open and close. Creating the drink and it’s details were easy. The hard part came after. I got the drink finished about halfway through the first act of the show. During intermission, I placed it on the tray, disposing of the bowl like shel we had been using. I took a picture and returned to my seat for the second act. I cringed when the Cat in the Hat brought the drink in on a tray and the shell rocked back and forth nearly tipping off of the tray multiple times in the short scene. I knew immediately that it would need some support. I didn’t want to go out and buy magnets; Velcro would be too loud; and it gets taken off the tray to be drank by Mayzie, so glue wasn’t an option. I decided I would try using hot glue to create a bowl of sorts to support the drink; that didn’t work. Next, I found a shallow dish, spray painted it silver and glued that to the tray. While it doesn’t look super professional, it seems to work. The real test will come tomorrow, in front of our families.

Vol. 3, No. 202, July 21, 2018

3202 - Old Fish.

Today at rehearsal, it was discovered that we need 9 fish rather than the 8 that we were planning on, which meant that I had to make one more. I decided on an old orange fish as we didn’t have any that color yet. I used blue for the details and made sure that add in a scraggly beard, just like in the book. I think this is one of my favorite fish, except for the fact that my marker was drying out so the lines aren’t very dark in some places.

Vol. 3, No. 200, July 19, 2018

3200 - Mayzie In Palm Beach.

I thought about doing a real art project, but decided to skip it on account of it being my birthday. So, I volunteered to make the postcard prop for the play. The postcard is a letter from Mayzie; I think it is supposed to be to. Gertrude so that is who I wrote it to. I felt like Mayzie would have written in cursive using a pink pen. While Mayzie is actually sending the card from Palm Beach, the director, thought it would be funny to use a Twine Ball Postcard. I took a postcard that I had made for the Twine Ball a while ago, took off the Twine Ball information and added “Wish you were here”, the classic postcard catch phrase.

I mounted the printed picture on to cardboard, to give it some support and hopefully keep it from getting destroyed before the show opens next week. I even created a palm tree postage stamp.

Vol. 3, No. 198, July 17, 2018

3198 - How Lucky You Are.

It takes a village, that’s what they say about raising kids, but it is also true about theatre. There is no way I could be successful as a prop-artist if I didn’t have so many people supporting me. Tonight, with some help, I finished the coral sculptures and jellyfish by adding twinkle lights. Thing 1 was kind enough to model one of the jellyfish for me.

Litchfield Community Theatre’s production of Seussical opens last week. If you want to get tickets visit www.litchfieldcommunitytheatre.com

Vol. 3, No. 187, July 16, 2018

3187 - Amazing Mayzie.

Today's project was amazing. I, along with a handful of helpers, created two coral bouquets. We had enough coral pieces left over to make at least one more bouquet. The bouquets turned out pretty well, and my group and I received lots of compliments. All that is left is to add handles on the bottom and then hope that they hold up on stage.

Vol. 3, No. 196, July 15, 2018

3196 - Notice Me, Horton.

I didn't use my time super wisely today, which meant I was just starting my project at 11:20 tonight. I knew it would be time consuming, but at least I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do. I made my fourth and final fish, the blue fish. I added a star to it's belly to make it more fun.

Vol. 3, No. 195, July 14, 2018

3195 - How To Raise A Child.

My mom had been asked to make the brochure prop for Seussical. The brochure is for a Military Academy. She kept asking for help, so this evening I just sat down and made it quick. It is a tri-fold brochure that is lacking color and pictures. It didn’t turn out as nicely as I had hoped, but it will work for the show.

Vol. 3, No. 193, July 12, 2018

3193 - Havin’ A Hunch.

Tonight was picture night at Seussical Rehearsal, this meant that my work time was cut short, but I also had a few volunteers to help me out. Two jellyfish were made, as was more coral. Unfortunately I didn’t actually do any of the work, just provided the instruction, so I didn’t feel that I could take credit for it. This meant that when I got home tonight I had to still do my project. I decided to get one of my last two fish finished. Today’s fish is based off of “One Fish”.

Vol. 3, No. 191, July 10, 2018

3191 - In Palm Beach.

Today I got to have some more fun with pool noodles. I used scraps from other pool noodle projects to create seaweed and coral to use during the fish scene. I got a lot made, but didn't have time to assemble the bouquets. Also, the hot glue gun that I had was too hot and melted the foam more than held it together, so I will finish making pieces and start assembly later this week. I am excited for the finished project! With only 2 weeks until the show opens, I need to move quickly.

Vol. 3, No. 190, July 9, 2018

3190 - Here On Who.

Tonight while at Seussical Rehearsal, I made my last three instruments. I can’t wait until tomorrow when I get to see them with the Who Marching Band, all lined up in a row. My willing models today were Chloe, Molly, and Oldest Miller.

Vol. 3, No. 189, July 8, 2018

3189 - One Fish, Two Fish.

I began my third task for Seussical today, that is making fish. The Lead Painter and I are both making fish which means we each only need to make four. I am making my fish out of card stock and using the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss as inspiration. The green fish is modeled after the Two Fish, and the red fish is modeled after the Red Fish. I was going to photograph the fish outside, but it was too windy so I did the next best thing, a bathtub. During Seussical, JoJo is taking a bath when the fish appear on the scene. I have to give my mom credit for designing the eyes on the red fish, by designing I mean pulling out the book and then cutting out the white part to match the Red Fish’s eyes.

Vol. 3, No. 188, July 7, 2018

3188 - Alone In The Universe.

I honestly didn’t think I would attend a Setwork Saturday this summer, but the other night at rehearsal, I asked the Lead Painter how she was feeling about how much work was left to do. She was stressing a little because it was mostly detail work left to do, which meant it was hard to trust others to do it right. I knew exactly how she was feeling, as I had been in her shoes many times, so I volunteered to come in today and help out. I planned on going in this morning and helping for a couple hours; I ended up staying for 7 hours. It was only the two of us painting, but we got a lot done.  This picture shows the part of the set that I spent the most time on. The base colors were all done except for the tops of the trees. I added the circles on the door, painted the tree tops, added texture in the grass, and outlined everything in black giving it a storybook feel.

Vol. 3, No. 187, July 6, 2018

3178 - It’s Possible.

It’s possible to get three instruments finished in one rehearsal. Now that I think of it I still averaged one instrument per hour, I just had more time to work. It’s amazing what you can do with pool noodles, duct tape and a few other odds and ends. Today I added shower curtain rings, Dixie bowls, craft foam, and wire mesh ribbon to my supply list.

Vol. 3, No. 186, July 5, 2018

3186 - Egg, Nest and Tree.

Tonight at rehearsal for Seussical, I completed two more Whosaphones in under two hours. Let me tell you, people were impressed at the speed in which I was able to complete them. My models today were Oldest Miller and Young Kangaroo. I am excited for new duct tape colors arriving tomorrow.