Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Double-Whammy Tuesday: 4AM & Miss Nelson is Missing!

I have a whole week where I don't have to be anywhere for my projects, so I'm taking the time to update what I've been working on these past months.  Time moves so quickly! 

So back in November, right before Thanksgiving, I designed a fun little show called "4AM".  This was for the lower school of NSCDS, so the kids are all around junior-high age.  It was a one act play about sleep, dreams, and anixeties (that's kind of a short version, if you want more there's an official website you can link to).  It was easy and fun at the same time, and simple characters meant I got to go all out on the "Monster Under the Bed".  Yep.  Because it ends up being a cuddly monster, the director and I decided on a muppet-type look that wouldn't be too scary, but still looked mean.  And because it was a school play with younger children, the face needed to be open for the boy playing the part.  I'm really happy with how it turned out!   I grew up on the Muppets so it was fun to get to make my own.  Check out the googly muppet eyes and nose.  And I also took a cue from Jim Henson and used a marabou boa for "fur". 


Here's a slideshow of more photos from the show, or you can view them directly in my Picasa album



Next up is "Miss Nelson is Missing!", just performed last week.  Another fun kids' show, this time with the upper school (high school age).  This play was based on a series of children's books about Miss Nelson and her unruly class.   With this design, I needed to capture the cartoon illustrations of the books and translate them into real people.  This meant alot of bold colors, simple and large patterns, and cartoon-ish touches like oversized glasses and ridiculous hairbows.  The best part was creating the iconic figures of Miss Nelson and her evil counterpart, Miss Swamp.  Compare the book illustrations to the photo, and I think you'll agree that this also turned out well!





And for more photos , here's another slideshow (or you can view these in my Picasa album)



So what was I doing in December, between these two shows?  No, I wasn't enjoying the holidays, because that would mean I finally got some time to myself.  Instead I enjoyed a burst of creativity for my little side project on Etsy, where I make vintage-inspired handbags.  I also had the opportunity to partcipate in a holiday market selling said handbags, sponsored by a new gallery space in Berwyn called 22.  I encourage anyone in the area to check them out!

Looking ahead, the next couple of projects on my calendar are "Alice's Adventures with Poorly Cooked Cafeteria Seafood" in February, and then Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Gondoliers" in March (at least I think it's March).   This is going to be interesting!