Making the thorn prosthetics

I used air dry clay to sculpt the rose thorns. I began by rolling a small amount of clay between my fingers then squashing each side between my fingers until I had created a point at the top. I then used a sculpting tool to smooth the edges.

 

I then built clay walls around thorns and mixed together a plaster mixture (plaster of paris and water) and evenly coated each piece of clay with a small amount of the plaster mixture and blew it into the edge to remove any air bubbles. I poured over the rest of the plaster mixture and allowed it to dry.

Once the plaster had cooled and set completely, I removed the clay from it, revealing a plaster mould. I then filled it with layers of latex (drying and apply talc between each layer) until the moulds were completely filled.

Once the latex had dried thoroughly, I removed each prosthetic from the mould and then painted with pax that I made using pros-aide and acrylic paint. 

I then applied the prosthetics to my arm along with the fullers earth to see how the two elements looked together and I am really pleased with the look. 

 

Making the Costume... The Skirt

I purchased a large mosquito net online to act as the skirt for my costume. When it arrived, I cut out the centre and removed the wire from it. I then threaded elastic through the area which held the wire and stitched it together. Next, I cut the skirt to the correct length to fit my model, cutting diagonally around the sides and back to create a long train.

I then began to stitch each petal on one at a time, overlapping one another and continued this around the entire skirt.

 

 

Problem solving!

As I was sewing each petal on, overlapping the sides of the petals, I soon realised I would need far more than 300 home made petals to cover the entire skirt as I had planned and with each petal requiring 4 layers of latex, it soon became an impossible task. Due to this, I then decided to unpick all of the rose petals I had stitched and then re-stitch them back on more sporadically and without overlapping them too much. I focused most of the rose petals on the top to cover the models modesty and began to leave larger gaps between them the further down I went.

I also cut the train shorter to help with the petal placement and painted a few paper petals pink to fill in any smaller gaps. I then used pva glue to stick the edges of some of the petals together as thy folder over in some places due to the ruffling in the skirt.

To add the final details to the skirt, I layed it out and coated certain areas with watered down pva glue. I then sprinkled and pressed a mixture of artificial snow and silver leaf into the glue and allowed it to dry, concentrating on applying the snow to the top of the skirt and at the bottom to reflect natural snow fall. I added final detail with a few diamantes. 

 

Making The Headdress

I used the same method and materials that I had used to make the top to make the headdress. The only difference was how I applied the materials. Instead of sporadically drizzling the gelatine and hot glue over one another, I guided them upwards in straight lines. I did this to coincide with the icicles that sat on the shoulders on the top piece.

I used a plastic tray, which I coated with linear layers of gelatine. I then applied the same technique using hot glue and coated with a mixture of pva glue and glitter. To further decorate, I applied broken glass pieces, diamantes and artificial snow. Once dry, I gently picked up an end piece and pulled it away from the tray as I dusted talc underneath to stop it sticking to itself.

I then used hot glue to attach it to a plastic tiara I already had. 

Making the Costume... The Top Piece

After designing and sketching my costume that I intended to reflect an ice and rose theme, I began to bring the costume to life, starting with the top piece, which I had initially planned to create with gelatine, liquid latex and hot glue.

 The top piece

I purchased a female hanging mannequin and used this as my template to work from. I started by melting a gelatine and glycerine mixture in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and used the end of a paintbrush to pick up small amount of the melted gelatine and drizzled it in different directions over the entire mannequin body.

I continued to melt small amount of gelatine and use the same technique to drizzle it over the mannequin until the desired shape was created. I ensured to use more gelatine to cover the breast area so fewer gaps could be seen.

 

Once I was happy with the amount of gelatine I had applied, I then used the same sporadic drizzling motion to apply hot glue directly from my gun. I moved the gun quickly and in different directions, covering the gelatine. I decided to use hot glue over the gelatine as I think the glue looks more like ice in colour and texture when dry against the slightly yellow tone of the gelatine.

Once the hot glue had dried, I really liked the effect of the gelatine and hot glue combined and thought an icy effect was already created without using liquid latex to add more texture so I opted to not use it.

 

I then ensured that the hot glue was stuck securely to the gelatine by applying pva glue over the entire top piece. When I had previously carried out a practise test of combining the two materials, I noticed that the hot glue came away from the gelatine it was applied to when peeled off of the mannequin, so applying pva glue added the extra strength it needed. I also added silver glitter to the pva glue to add an extra effect and sparkle, which immediately made the piece look wintery and icy.

While the pva glue was still tacky, I sprinkled artificial snow over the entire piece and lightly pressed it into the glue. I then added further detail to the piece by sticking broken pieces of glass and diamantes onto it.

 

I then made another two gelatine pieces to fit onto the shoulders using the same drizzling method. Once the gelatine was dry, I used hot glue to attach my d.i.y icicles onto the small gelatine pieces. When they had adhered, I attached the pieces to the shoulders of the top piece I had made and added the same ice effects (hot glue, pva glue, glitter, artificial snow and glass and diamantes) to merge the pieces together with the top piece. 

 

 

I plan to adhere this piece of the costume onto the body using pro-aide, as it is a very strong glue. I plan to apply the flue to the shoulders, on the front of the neck and around the edge of the design as I did not want to apply too much glue to my model. I am hopeful that pros-aide will be strong enough to hold the piece on!

Making the Costume... The Rose Petals

Making the rose petals

I decided to make the rose petals myself as I knew exactly how I wanted them to look in my head and I also like to be as creative as possible with my designs.

My first thought was to make them with gelatine, using a silicone mould, however, I soon realised that the gelatine would be too heavy and also very fiddly to work with as it dries very quickly and requires to be heated. So I then decided to use liquid latex, as it is a product I am very used to working with. It is easy to work with, dries quickly with the help of a hair dryer and is a lightweight material.

To save myself a task, I decided to add acrylic paint to the latex, rather than colour the latex petals later with pax paint. I mixed together two different shades of pink (one light and one dark) and added liquid latex.

 

I then brushed on the darker shade along the bottom and around the edges of the petal veiner before blending the lighter colour into the centre.

Once that layer had dried, I lightly dusted with talc before apply another 3 layers. Once all the layers had dried, I dusted with more talc and peeled the latex away from the veineer. I then dusted the front of the petal with a peach powder to add a slight hint of colour and help merge the colours together. The powder also gave the latex the same velvety texture of a rose petal.  I went on to make 300 rose petals.

 

The petal  veiner

I sourced my silicone petal mould from a cake decorating store online. The mould is actually used to mould sugar and icing when decorating cakes and is called a veiner. I thought liquid latex would pick up the detail as well as icing and sugar does due to its runny consistency and it did work when tested. Phew!

Making the Costume... The Rose

I decided to make a whole rose to add to my piece (although I am not sure where I am putting it yet!) by combing paper rose petals I had made and painted with water colours.

I looked closely at some roses that I came across to see how closely they were placed together and the different shapes they folded in so I could make a realistic looking rose flower.

 

I began by wrapping a petal tightly around a cotton bud and securing in place using hot glue. I continued wrapping the individual petals around the cotton bud, loosening the tightness with each layer to make the rose look as if it is opening.

To add final touches to the rose, I brushed pva glue onto the edges of the petals and pressed artificial snow onto them, to fit the theme.

I may add this to the back of the hair or the back of the skirt...

Costume Design Ideas...

I have designed three ideas for the costume for my final piece, combining snow and ice themes with pink rose and watermelon snow themes. The costume is being made to help represent a powerful, feminine character that is beautiful.

Design 1

Design 2 

Design 3

Design 3 is the design I have chosen to represent my snow and rose theme for my final piece. I have chosen this design as I feel it is the most powerful and feminine looking and uses an array of materials to create different textures including gelatine, hot glue, artificial snow, liquid latex and diamantes. From here, I will begin creating the costume and adapting my design to suit.