Beethoven's Zombies Official Footage!

The official video recording of the performance by the ROD (Roy O. Disney Music Hall) Staff.

"Dawn of the Hero"

"Dawn of the Hero" zombie scene @ 27 minutes in!

I'm the zombie with the super bobbly head!

Stop Motion Magic

Shot my short stop motion film yesterday with these characters!  How funny that they also involve a magician and assistant!  I've had this magician character for over a year now, it's exciting to bring him to life!  Images/preview coming soon!!!

"Simple Magic" @ CalArts

"Simple Magic" Conceived, Written and Directed by Miriam Jones (MFA2 Puppetry).

I was puppetry assistant, helping with drawing and creating objects, and graphic designer.

Preview was this Wednesday!

Performances Thursday-Saturday!

Tickets available @ Eventbrite

or rush tickets @ CalArts Box Office.

It is a beautiful one-woman show about a magician's assistant named Hettie, who is coping with the death of her beloved magician, Thaddeus.  She has created this world for herself filled with hand-made objects and remnants of their life together.  With these objects, she shares the rituals she has created with them.  These objects help her to catalog the details of their love, thus preserving Thaddeus' memory as she copes with his death.

The drawings seen in the show are based on the drawings of Henry Darger (Henry Darger), created as tracings of pre-existing images interpreted in a new way.  It is the hand-made aesthetic that is important since Hettie, who is not necessarily a visual artist, has created all of the seen images herself, in haste or with care, in fits of emotion, whether it be love, rage, or simply a need to remember.

Prop preview!

I don't have scans of the finalized cards, but here are some of the tracings from earlier on in production for a lovely card sequence.

Hettie is replaced by the cabinet and the

cabinet is replaced by Thaddeus bowing.

 

The show is more lovely every time I see it!

Way to go crew and way to go Miriam!

Hand Puppet Casting, Continued

Right now, I'm on the neoprene stage, which is a bit further along than these show.  Photos coming soon.  However, here is some of the mold-making process in readying the clay sculptures for the neoprene casting.  Characters: Faerie and Pirate; relative characterizations...they may change.  It depends on how the castings come out.

Built up clay walls and foam core walls to prepare for a plaster pour for the first part of a 2- or 3- part mold.  Both heads are 3-part molds, the hands and ears are all 2-part molds.

Once the plaster was dry, I tore off the foam core and flipped the molds.  Then, I removed the clay wall and replaced the foam core walls in preparation for pouring the plaster on the other side.

Second part poured.

The babiest hand!

Preparing to pour the third plaster part of one of the heads.

Time to separate the molds!

Struggled with the pirate's hands.  When I pried into the side of the mold, out popped the hand attached to the flathead of the screwdriver!

Had to do a partial re-sculpt of the hands and recast the second side.

Not all of the molds worked the first time around so I had to recast several sides.  For example, the pirate head went from a 3-part to a 4-part mold when I opened it, i.e. the third side cracked in two.  Repaired it today.

My "army of molds," as my friend Chase calls it!

The neoprene is poured and setting in all but one of the six molds, to be removed tomorrow!  If the repaired pirate head plaster mold is dry enough tomorrow, I'll do the neoprene pour.  It's exciting learning new things!  Though, I recommend doing one mold at a time as opposed to six.  It's a little bit crazy.

Sculpy Figure Part 2

New pose -- a dancer on the ground with back leg in "attitude".  Baked it, thus far, so I can build it up and sculpt in the finalized anatomy/characterization.  So, for now, it's in rough sculpt phase.  Probable next step: plumber's steel epoxy putty to add strength to weak points, then more sculpy, then magic sculpt.

Sculpy Figure Part 1

Wire->Skeleton->Organs->Muscle-Skin->Awesome!

More images coming later today!

accidental ink transfer tattoo

 the best!

"why, cruel world?!"

also, intestines.

...

More soon!

Pirate

Beginning stages of the Pirate head.  Constructed in the same way as the Faerie.  Separate ears and hands also.  Right now it is covered in water clay as well, waiting for plaster to make the 2-part mold.