Over the years, as my creative tastes and outlets have changed, I’ve painted. As it turns out, this particular hobby comes in handy when I need to make a prop for the stage in my new capacity as Theatre teacher.
I began with small things, like the occasional canvas, and then added in a flower-pot and a bird house for my great-aunt, Aunt Woman, in honor of her two grandsons and their service in the Marines and Navy and to decorate the yard, respectively.
I’ve painted pumpkins, glasses, an art folio for my daughter, and even a classroom wall, so I think I’ve gotten progressively better.
Then there was a sharpie project, which I think turned out really fantastically. Dollar Store mugs, or maybe Wal-Mart, Sharpies, and then we baked them at 350 degrees farenheit for 30 or 45 minutes and they lasted almost a year.
My latest project was several parts long, including acquiring and moving the original, replacing the wheels, gutting the old one, and then putting it all back together, then making a false front to look like a “new” one on stage. This big project was a piano. A real one. I didn’t get deconstruction or rebuilding pictures, mostly because I didn’t think about it. The following, though, shows the pink styrofoam insulation board I started with, the various coats of paint, the added details, and the final project. It may not look like much in “real life,” but it looked AWESOME on stage!
The final product was used on stage for our production of Little Women, and it was wonderful!
(Yes, I edited the above photo to make most of it over-exposed and blurred. Student safety, guys.)
HappyHonu 