“We Are This Thing” was our first project of the year, it was a sculpture-based project that could be anything from an animal to a prop, costume or animatronic. There was a clear variation in ideas among all the students but our group chose to do a piece inspired by “under the sea”. With the parade being outside, the idea was to use materials that would be exaggerated in an outdoor environment, for example, we used paper chains to replicate the tentacles of a squid that would move organically in the wind and create water-like sounds with movement.
We did not immediately choose this idea and went back and forth on changing ideas within the group, from ideas on a smaller scale to ideas much more abstract and less literal than an underwater themed sculpture.
Mind map with initial ideas and thoughts.
One of our first ideas, inspired by the senses with four individual sculptures/hats.
Further development on the senses idea.
Rough idea going along with the “under the sea” theme.
The idea sketch for “under the sea”.
Our sculptures started off with a rectangular wooden structure base and then we added thin and flexible sticks from each corner to create a pointed shape, this was then covered by a thin sheet of white fabric, hot glued onto the structure. The idea from this point was to layered different fabric and use multiple mediums to create a colourful and textural look of a squid. We tested this with many different fabrics and materials and found it was not appearing in the way we had in mind.
The wooden frame with the white fabric attached.
Starting to add different materials like foil and plastic rings.
From this point we started to change our idea of how we wanted to create our sculpture. Instead, we mixed up glue and water with strips of magasine and started to paper mache on top of the fabric. We did two layers of this over two days and it created a strong structure that had a much more distinct shape. Because of this new texture, we had a great base to paint on, using mostly red, yellows and pinks with complimentary blues, our squid started to take shape.
We also creates two curved shapes, made from foam material and paper mache, that would sit on each side of the squid. Two eyes were made in the same way, using foam material and covering it in paper mache.
The paper mache layer built upon the fabric.
Paper mache in the works.
Base layer of red acrylic paint.
Starting to add details and the painted eyes and testing out using foam material for the tentacles.
After this, we began to attach our tentacles, first with the ones made from light blue foam fabric cut into a smooth and curved shape, we also used transparent dark green plastic and cut it to appear like sea weed for extra detail around the tentacles. Later on, we created paper chains with a variation of colours to appear as tentacles. When parading, these created a great water-like sound that added much more dimension to our sculpture.
The paper chains before being attached to the sculpture.
Attaching the tentacles and details.
Layering different materials on the paint.
With everything attached and the final details added, our squid was finished and ready for the parade. We were all able to get inside of the squid when parading and move it around to simulate underwater movements and sounds!
Finished Sculpture!
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