Breaking down and dressing up

dyeing and cogs

Working in heat this weekend and the puppet seems a bit harder to assemble when M. comes around to see it for the first time....does bamboo expand in warm weather? We work the puppet using the head, which is now fixed correctly. and Db. experiments with movements. We find we have a whole range of very expressive things this beast can do.  (There is now the film footage of the puppet in action on the updated 'elphant skeleton' post, from the first time we got it walking.)

The sunshine is very welcome because I have some dyeing to do, and things won't dry in the cool we have been used to. I notice the purple dye tones with my newly opened roses, but you can't see the roses in the image, because I have framed the photograph to avoid the junk mountain on the patio....Was I really wearing my woollen hat this time last week?

And finally, we transfer the making to the communal gardens at the rear of our home, where there is some dappled shade ( it is really too hot on the tarmac at  the front). It's cogs all the way now as we fashion the quintessential components of a steampunk elephant.

A big headache

Saturday was an extremely cold and miserable day for working outside in the street. No sun, and a chill in the wind. Undeterred Db. and I set to work on the puppet...well, we have a deadline...

So we trundle the pieces of puppet out of the garage, and assemble them once again on the road...This time we make things unnecessarily complicated by raising the main spine of the beast to it's actual height, before adding the shoulders and ribcage...so now we have the interesting phenomenon of working at height. Hmm.

At this stage some elderly neighbours, on their daily constitutional, walk by, stop, and ask what on earth we are making. Very kindly they offer any help, saying we need only ask  'you know where we are.'. I am speechless, because I seriously doubt they could do anything of practical help, but I am touched by the offer all the same.

Once again it's a day of feeling mostly like little progress is being made. I think this is largely because with gaps between actual workdays, you have to reacquaint yourself with the job, and find yourself doubting things you have done, and rethinking, only to arrive back at the same place again. 

The fabric on the ribs proves problematic, and we tweak this for much of the morning....and I then spend the early evening back in the warm sewing alterations.

The street is partciularly busy today, and a group of young men in a car gawp, and pull up to ask what we are making; they seem impressed. This is great news since I can only see a load of bamboo, and a huge amount of work before it looks remotely like the thing I have designed. And to be honest I am beginning to doubt it ever will look like the thing I designed....It is that stage in the process, and it is very cold.

But with a bit more effort, and a few more neighbourly exchanges, the day resolves quite nicely at around 3pm. We have a working head, with one ear. Db. and I try the puppet out to see how the operation of the head works. Apart from the fact that the bamboo I am operating the head with is too thin, and bends, making me lose control of it, (it swings down and plants itself in Db's groin)...this goes better than expected. 

To our delight more neighbours appear at this point to see the puppet in action; they can actually see what it is, and congratulate us...'it's really coming on,' they smile.

The little boy opposite has a friend to visit, and the friend asks us what it is...the neighbours boy answers for us, 'it's an elephant'. He says this in a matter of fact way, and his friend looks on in awe, 'that's ace' he says (or perhaps he says something more contemporary?). I am astonished, for we are dismantling the beast, and it has no head at this stage, and to me it looks like an ugly bamboo frame.


Nothing a hot bath can't cure.

I am slightly sad that the neighbours won't see the finished item, since next weekend we move it to the WOW to dress, paint and rehearse with it.

gaiter heaven

...possibly a slight exaggeration, but actually it is extremely satisfying to have spent the afternoon perfecting the 'gaiter'. Really it is.

Gaiters modelled for me here by my youngest, 'little plum', who is so thrilled with them he is keeping them on until his dad gets home....to see if he notices...?

the team comes together

It's been a great week for bringing together the group in various ways.

We've had the first rehearsal at the WOW, which was great to establish the fact that we are engaging in a piece of street theatre with roles and a story....M. was in full flow as director, her cat movements are particularly memorable....and the arrival of a big bass drum took the potential for our band to new levels whilst proving to be the perfect cure for one teenagers headache....

We've also had the first of what I hope will be many informal making sessions, with developments in props and costume, oh, and the elephant now has 'sails'....

Highlights include watching 'Queen ebay' at the sewing machine...surely a first? And a great mother/son partnership pattern cutting and sewing together. In between construction the kids run around and play. This is surely what it's all about?

 

silhouettes

I've been playing with some silhouettes of costumes, to give an idea of how I'm planning to interpret the characters. This technique works really well for this as a period piece, where clothes have a distinct style and shape.

By placing a cut out silhouette over magazine pages (interior style mags. work best) you can begin to see ways of breaking up the form with decorative details, changes of pattern, texture, colour. I'm playing with a palette of distinct colours for the different groups, and you can see that emerging from the silhouettes. Though finding the exact palette is a bit tricky since interiors are still dominated by 'neutral tones'. If I were working to a less frantic schedule I might make up my own texture sheets from cut outs, swatches, or even painted designs.

 This silhouette is a circus performer. The emergence of striped tights, in a contrasting tone to the more structured top is a feature I may want to play with, either as striped textiles, or in line with the 'punk' element as slashed tights or leggings.The contrasting tone on the sleeves is interesting, suggesting potential for playing with fabrics, or textures, cutting off sleeves, adding fabrics.

 Band members: structured short jackets, with epaulets. The detail on the jacket might be interpreted by a button detail, and the right leg might translate as a leg gaiter.....The angled area across the hips, could be a large belt slung low, displaying cogs and gears.

Above: Same silhouette for a band member, but the detail on the jacket is far more striking. This could be interpreted as decorative needlework, or steampunk accessories.

Below, 4 versions from the same silhouette. These explore different ways of breaking up the leg area, which could be interpreted as different layers. And there are different approaches to interpreting the torso, including jackets with military detail, a greater variety of textures  in a more obvious military palette, and a completely different textural approach, flouncy layers instead of structured tailoring.

None of these is offered as a final design, just a method of playing with ideas. I am letting you see something of my process warts and all; not finished product.

 

steampunk eyewear

From old swimming goggles, metal junk, fabrics, paper and glue, we have fashioned these.

making the skeleton

The difficult bit of any project is always when you begin to translate the model into full scale. No two projects are the same, and you always feel a bit lost to begin with...this has been no exception.

In theory, making a scale model helps you solve many of the making issues, and this did appear to be the case here. We were doing really well with our elephant skeleton, until Db. tried to wear it....and walk with it.


It's been a long weekend of taking the puppet on and off, and trying something else....

Which is really frustrating, when you just want to get on with the fun bit, of making it look good...


The good news is that after many attempts the puppet fits Db. comfortably, and it now has legs which Db. can move.

Here's a short  film clip of the puppet skeleton in motion. It really was exciting to see the bamboo frame become a living creature, sloping shoulders and a proper stride.