Class: Maquettes plus bonus tutu
My class this semester is Masks and Armor, and i've been so busy with the shows in process at work that i have neglected to share some photos of their first project, maquettes, which they completed a couple weeks ago.
Maquettes are small 3D "sketches" of a mask. Often when a crafts artisan is working with a costume designer or other artist to create a mask, 2D renderings and research images are only so helpful. It can be a great aid in the process to do a maquette, usually in 1/4 or 1/3 or 1/2 scale, to clarify elements of the mask design before taking on a 3D sculpture at full scale.
My students--though they are typically all graduate students in costume production or very advanced undergraduates--often have a wide range of experience, from those who have made several masks to those who have never made one, from those who are confident sculptors to those who have never sculpted.
So, hence this first project. It allows them to get into a sculpting headspace and mess around with 3D production without too much investment or fear of the medium or the product. After all, sometimes I'll make 3-4 maquettes and throw them all away in the making of masks for the stage.
Clockwise from top left, all in polymer clay:
Seahorse maquette by 1st year grad Kelly Renko.
Demon maquette by 2nd year grad Adrienne Corral.
Plague Doctor maquette (with eyes of red lighting gels!) by undergraduate Lydia Hanchette.
"Crazy unicorn" in flat-patterned foam by undergraduate Jess Adams.
Jess will be making this mask full size for the upcoming production of The Milford Project and used the maquette in conversation with the director and designer.
Left: grasshopper maquette by 2nd year grad Candy McClernan.
Right: old man maquette by 1st year grad Leah Pelz.
And, one last image of a third-year thesis project. I've mentioned in past posts about how in the third year of this program, our grads produce a collection of particular projects all of which combine to constitute their graduate thesis, essentially. One of those projects is a classical tutu and ballet bodice. The head of our program, Judy Adamson, worked as a draper and personal assistant to the famous Broadway costumiere, Barbara Matera. Matera's was known for, among many other things, their methods of classical tutu production, which is part of what our students learn in the pursuit of their degree.
Some of our students elect to make a tutu of their own researched design, but some choose to make the tutu for a professional ballet company as part of their stock. Our two third-year graduates, Kaitlin Fara and Claire Fleming, have had the opportunity to make their tutus for the Carolina Ballet's upcoming production of Balanchine Rarities.
Tutu and red velvet ballet bodice by Kaitlin Fara.
(Claire's looks just like this one, hence only the one photo.)
Maquettes are small 3D "sketches" of a mask. Often when a crafts artisan is working with a costume designer or other artist to create a mask, 2D renderings and research images are only so helpful. It can be a great aid in the process to do a maquette, usually in 1/4 or 1/3 or 1/2 scale, to clarify elements of the mask design before taking on a 3D sculpture at full scale.
My students--though they are typically all graduate students in costume production or very advanced undergraduates--often have a wide range of experience, from those who have made several masks to those who have never made one, from those who are confident sculptors to those who have never sculpted.
So, hence this first project. It allows them to get into a sculpting headspace and mess around with 3D production without too much investment or fear of the medium or the product. After all, sometimes I'll make 3-4 maquettes and throw them all away in the making of masks for the stage.
Clockwise from top left, all in polymer clay:
Seahorse maquette by 1st year grad Kelly Renko.
Demon maquette by 2nd year grad Adrienne Corral.
Plague Doctor maquette (with eyes of red lighting gels!) by undergraduate Lydia Hanchette.
"Crazy unicorn" in flat-patterned foam by undergraduate Jess Adams.
Jess will be making this mask full size for the upcoming production of The Milford Project and used the maquette in conversation with the director and designer.
Left: grasshopper maquette by 2nd year grad Candy McClernan.
Right: old man maquette by 1st year grad Leah Pelz.
And, one last image of a third-year thesis project. I've mentioned in past posts about how in the third year of this program, our grads produce a collection of particular projects all of which combine to constitute their graduate thesis, essentially. One of those projects is a classical tutu and ballet bodice. The head of our program, Judy Adamson, worked as a draper and personal assistant to the famous Broadway costumiere, Barbara Matera. Matera's was known for, among many other things, their methods of classical tutu production, which is part of what our students learn in the pursuit of their degree.
Some of our students elect to make a tutu of their own researched design, but some choose to make the tutu for a professional ballet company as part of their stock. Our two third-year graduates, Kaitlin Fara and Claire Fleming, have had the opportunity to make their tutus for the Carolina Ballet's upcoming production of Balanchine Rarities.
Tutu and red velvet ballet bodice by Kaitlin Fara.
(Claire's looks just like this one, hence only the one photo.)