make

Windmill prop

Posted by hil

The windmill prop I mentioned previously was made for the National Museum of Australia‘s July school holiday program Little BIG Things. It ran in conjunction with the museum’s new Landmarks exhibition, which explores a broad history of Australia through stories of places and their peoples.. The kids visiting the Discovery Centre drop-in activity area could make small sculptures of a big thing from where they came from, and then write a story about it to place on the blades of the windmill.

Against the huge windows in the foyer of the museum the windmill looks quite small despite being 3 metres tall. At home when I did a trial assembly of the windmill outside my studio window, it looked enormous! There are some more photos of the windmill in my Flickr photoset.

Ladybird puppet

Posted by hil

This is a ladybird glove puppet I recently made for the Riverstone Family Centre’s early literacy program.  She has a little leather library bag over her shoulder in which she is carrying a little book!

There are some more photos of her in my photoset at Flickr, and a short video o f her.

Mech details for a Ningyo- Joruri puppet head

Posted by hil

mech details for a ningyo-joruri puppet head

(enlarge)

Someone asked me how the movement of the Ningyo-Joruri puppet head that I made during Nori Sawa’s masterclass a few years ago worked , so I’ve drawn a diagram on my iPad to illustrate the mechanism. It makes more sense if you look at in context with my photoset from the class, and perhaps with the original blog post.

Giant garden fork

Posted by hil

I made this giant garden fork prop for  The Fool Factory recently. There are some making photos in my portfolio at Flickr. Before I handed it over we had fun posing with it like the farmer couple in Grant Wood’s American Gothic painting and various other silly things. It definitely invites comic scenarios.

Homemade yoghurt

Posted by hil

I’ve been making yoghurt for a couple of months now, and I’m still blown away by how easy and good it is! I got my recipe from searching Down to Earth.

Here’s what I do:

  • Mix 1 1/4 cups of powdered milk into 750ml cold water. (Or just under a litre of any kind of milk; if powdered, mix according to recommended proportions and add an extra 1/4 cup of powder)
  • Heat milk in a saucepan until it is really really about to boil over.
  • While the milk is heating pour boiling water into the pot the yoghurt will set it, and its lid, to sterilize them. I’m using a kg pot left over from when I last bought yoghurt.
  • Tip the water out, pour the milk in.
  • Put on the lid and let the milk cool to only just warm; this takes an hour or more.
  • Stir in three or so tablespoons of good fresh live-culture natural yoghurt.
  • Put on the lid again, wrap the pot in a towel and leave it untouched in a warm place for about 12 hours.
  • Voilà! Yum!

I’ve taken to making this while I am preparing dinner, then it sits by the fire overnight, and is ready in the morning. But I’ve also had success with putting the pot in an esky with some containers of boiling water. And yes, once you make one batch you can use it to make the next.

Makedo reusable connectors

Posted by hil

How to makedo – extended from MAKEDO on Vimeo.

I’d love to have a play with these cool Makedo reusable connectors!

Bird skeleton

Posted by hil

Seagull skeleton

This suggestion of a seagull skeleton is a prop for a new play I’m working on, but I rather like it as an object for itself. It’s given me some ideas for making some stranger ones when I get some time later.

By coincidence, today I happened across Chris Jordan’s photographic collection Midway: Message form the Gyre, a photographic documentation how albatross chicks on Midway Atoll ban in the middle of the Pacific Ocean often die because they end up being fed heaps of plastic junk. It’s shocking – only look if you are feeling strong.