Spirits Dancing Portfolio » sculpture

Christmas elf

hil — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:21:52 +0000

This little elf head was made for The Fool Factory. He plays a part in their Christmas entertainment shows. The head is made from paper mache and is about 10cm tall.

Drop bears

hil — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:19:47 +0000

Two drop bear characters made for HighWire for roving entertainment at Foriade 2007, where the theme was Aussie icons.

Flickr photo gallery of making
Blog post: Beware the drop bears are, and she was

Butterflies

hil — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 07:44:04 +0000

These two butterfly character heads and wings were made for The Fool Factory.

Thanks to The Fool Factory for these two photos, taken at Canberra Day 2008 celebrations in Commonweatlth Park:

Replica Federation Skippet

hil — Mon, 21 May 2007 07:03:23 +0000

During 2007 I made two replicas of the Victorian skippet (seal box) that is attached to the Australian Federation documents. They were made for the National Archives of Australia, and are used as hands-on items in the National Archives Charters of our Nation exhibition. I also cast small brooches of the lion and unicorn for Constitution Day celebrations.

The lid was molded in super sculpey

and then cast in resin and aluminium powder.

Flickr photo gallery of making
Blog post: Federation skippet replica

Little Chinese horses

hil — Tue, 15 May 2007 06:28:32 +0000

These two little horses were props made for Jigsaw Theatre Company’s production Emma’s Dynasty. They are based on an earthenware Chinese Han Dynasty horse that is in the Australian National Gallery collection, but they are tiny in comparison, only 17 cm high at the head. They are made from armature wire and super sculpey, with a painted finish.

Flickr photo gallery of making
Blog post: All the wild little horses

Shark fins and oversize binoculars

hil — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 07:49:15 +0000

Made for the Fool Factory, this shark fin debuted as part of the ‘Between the Flags: 100 years of Surf Lifesaving’ exhibition, and 2007 Australia Day celebrations at the National Museum of Australia. It is remote controlled and made of light EVA foam sheeting.

Here’s a funny photo of one of the lifesavers with the oversize binoculars I also made:

Videos of the fin: Roadtest; kids following it like the pied piper, at the museum.

Reindeer

hil — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 05:16:53 +0000

This reindeer head was made for HighWire Events and Entertainment. It is made of light EVA foam sheeting and covered in fur fabric.

Flickr photo gallery of making

The Moth Tree

hil — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 07:35:58 +0000

Designer and maker for Canberra Youth Theatre’s end of 2006 production, The Moth Tree: An Awesome Adventure. The play was developed in a collaborative process involving the group of 8 to 12 year olds.

The moth tree itself was made with a process of wrapping one of the heritage trees at Gorman House in clear packing tape to make the tree.

The tree partly finished, and the dragon puppet in rehearsal:

At the end of the play the moth tree had to regenerate; it was lit from inside with christmas lights:

The tiny moth puppet had a 15 cm wingspan, and springloaded wings that flapped when the rod was motioned up and down.

The dragon’s head constructed out of sheet foam, and spray painted in a graffiti style:

The Oracles were large puppets, standing about 2 metres tall. They had cracked plaster faces:

The illustration for the poster for the play:

Flickr photo gallery
Blog posts: The Moth Tree opens tomorrow night; Happy New Year

Espresso coffee hats

hil — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 06:35:09 +0000

Espresso coffee hats made for the performance art group A Bunch of Posers. They were first used for performances of the group Acappellacino at Floriade 2006. The hats are fashioned out of foam sheeting, muslin, dacron, paint and latex.

At Floriade:

Flickr photo gallery
Blog post: Espresso coffee hats

Giant cross-section flower

hil — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 05:19:44 +0000

This large cross-section flower was made for CSIRO’s Division of Plant Industry, initially to be the centrepiece of their display at Floriade 2006 in Canberra. The flower stands about 180 cm tall. It is likely it is now in CSIRO’s Discovery Centre.

The petals are molded from felt that has been saturated in white glue, while the middle section is carved out of polystyrene, covered with muslin, and painted with a paint/latex mixture.

In situ at the Plant Industry display tent in Floriade:

Flicker photo gallery of making
Blog post: Giant cross-section flower