Time flies....and so does Pegasus

Two years.....two years since posting anything on this blog!  Every time I post, I chide myself for not doing it regularly!  So, once again....CHIDE CHIDE!!

A bit has happened....I returned to Arizona Broadway Theatre as Prop Master after 4 years at Encore Creative doing everything from linen manager to scenic ninja to event producer.  I have also been dying a LOT of yarn and making batts and spinning yarn. I think I will start a whole new tab for FIBER.  In the meantime, I will just add some pics and captions highlighting craftiness that I have been up to.......here goes:

Pegasus puppet pieces in ABT's Xanadu

Pegasus

Cousin ITT from Addams Family...about 7 wigs!

The dead goose from Addams Family.  He is pretty much life-size!

Some yarn I spun

The yarn I spun...on its bobbin

The future Granny Wagon for Addams Family

Dying roving and yarn and fleece

Sock blanks, knit on my knitting machine, then hand painted

I always seem to go back to blues and greens while dying

More yarn I dyed

I made a bunch of newspaper stacks for Guys and Dolls

Our new shearer, Mick

I had to make several of these for Mamma Mia!

I knitted these socks for Nickela.

Mamma Mia! set...I made all the bougainvillea out of chicken wire and tissue paper

More past projects

Sound of Music

Before/After

I bought 2 of these fun shabby chic chairs from my favorite Antique Strip Mall, but sadly, had to reupholster them to fit into the Von Trapp house for Sound of Music.  I also did a sofa and 2 other chairs for the show.  Nick Mozak, our designer from Chicago painted the wood, and I just kept on stapling.

I made 2 cute pillow to go on the sofa.....

Hay carpet

Kim mostly made this hay carpet thingy that went inside a hay cart.  She spent DAYS tying string and yarn to bird netting.  It was worth it in the end, as it has already been in two shows!  Doesn't it look like fluffy straw?

 I made this Prie-Dieu (a prayer kneeler) ALL BY MYSELF!  I am trying to work on my Prop Carpenter skills.  Sadly, it was cut from the show for needing to be placed in an awkward spot on the set that everyone was running into with their Nun Costumes!!  

Thanksgiving Lefse & Chocolate Covered Cherries

For Thanksgiivng, we went to Gramma's in Pahrump, Nevada.  We made over 200 chocolate covered cherries.  My Mom's recipes for both the cherries and the lefse have been used nearly EVERY YEAR for the past 50 or so!!!

Fondant of powdered sugar and Eagle Brand Milk

Dipped in any kind of melted chocolate

I felt like Lucille Ball with all that candy!

We had two lefse griddles going to make this traditional Norwegian  food that we always have around the holidays.  Spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar is my favorite way to eat it!

Arizona Craft Rave

Nickela & I had a table at the Arizona Craft Rave this year. Nikki taught how to make the cute butterfly necklaces, and I taught making charms and bobby pins with cabochons and fun beads and paper decoupage.  We had a blast!

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

There are lots of fun props in Seven Brides!  I made 6 fake axes that men have to dance with, a fake stretched animal hide.  (When asked what animal, the scene shop boys thought I should say "Nawga"!)

Future Fake Axes

I also resolved myself to researching an making some snow shoes!  I got a bit obsessed.  They are a nice touch on the trapping cabin in the winter!  I dare say, they look pretty real....but I wouldn't test them against any polar bears!

Upholstery Week

This week I am upholstering about 11 items!  I have 5 Ethan Allen dining chairs that I took on as a side job.   Then I have 2 pair off of side chairs,  a sofa,  and a prayer kneeler ("prie-dieu"). 

I am now an expert on double welting, thanks to a new Bernina welting foot!

About time.....

Boy, it is about time to make a new post!!!  I just got asked to be in Into The Woods at Arizona Broadway Theatre, and since I am publishing this blog address in my bio, I figure I had better keep it active!  Who knows, maybe someone will actually READ it some day!  I have tons of things to post, but I will start with this photo of my harp that I am making for Into the Woods.  Styrofoam props take a particularly long time to make.  First there is the drawing out of the pattern, the tracing onto the foam, cutting the layers, gluing it together.......then carving in the details.  After that, I have to make it strong enough to be hauled around on stage and stored back stage without breaking.  I have coated it in Sculpt or Coat and muslin.  The next step is to paint it and paint on more details.

The harp....before the muslin coating.

What I learned today......

I learned:  MAKE A BETTER BOX!  And:  BUY RICE.....
I was trying to make a mold of a dagger for Tarzan.  The You Tube videos from Smooth On (my product of choice) says to make an acrylic box and to ratchet it closed, then pour the rubber over your model.  Another You Tube video had said that really, any acrylic rectangle would work to make a box.  My problem with making that kind of box was that I could not ratchet it tight.  The hot glue did not hold my box together and I had an oozing mass of Mold Star 15 (SLOW CURING) rubber all over the table, all over Ally who was filming the process and all over myself!  We hastily tried to scrape some up and save it.  Then I used Corroplast (corrigated plastic like they use in yard signs) to build a better box.  Then I used duct tape for the ratchet and taped the box completely around it!  The result was that the mold finally worked but I have a weird and huge GLOB of cured rubber I don't know what to do with!

The dagger I carved that I am trying to cast in a flexible plastic or rubber.

The cured mass of Urethane rubber....such a waste!

After that mess, I moved on to a successful mold of a spearhead/rock I need to do.  Again, the You Tube videos say to first pour rice into the mold, then pour the rice into a clear container.  This will give you an idea of the volume of liquid plastic you will need to mix to pour into the mold.  Well, I did not do that!!!  (I was in a hurry and Ally was filming and all...)  I mix up the Smooth Cast 320....this only has THREE MINUTES TO CURE!!!!!  I start pouring and have a cup full left!  I race around trying to find older molds to pour the remaining plastic in, I don't want to waste it!  I am telling Ally, there must be SOMETHING we can make!!  I find a couple of molds of flat decorations.  PERFECT!  I start to pour, and SCREECH!  The plastic cures mid pour!

(HARD AS A.......well Hard as Smooth Cast 320!)

Luckily, the casting turned out fine, but still, the WASTE!!!  

Ally is the one that reminded me.....next time......BUILD A BETTER BOX AND BUY SOME RICE!!!

The Better box....duct taped  and waiting for tomorrow, when I try expandable foam to make the dagger....THAT ought to be a hoot!