Today was a very busy one here at USITT.
Started out by going to the Upstate New York meeting, it wasn’t super productive but we were able to decide on general dates for our fall and spring meetings.
Then went to the Prague Emerge Student exhibit for some quick design bash! I really enjoyed it a lot! We had to relate to this text on Greed – I worked on the set design in my group. I was surprised how far I was able to get in the design process in just one hour! Granted I made the model using various scraps of paper, plastic, and pins, but I thought it was really effective! I think I’ll be using small bash models for the rest of my design processes.
After that I went through the professional design exhibit. I really enjoyed looking at their renderings and all the different styles of model building. It gave me inspiration for techniques to use in my own future designs.
First session of the day was W.T.Benda mask making. They went through all his history, as an illustrator and mask maker. After viewing them on the exhibit floor I was startled to learn that the masks were made almost entirely out of paper.
I found out some really great things about flame retardant chemicals as well. Rosco’s flamex are made almost entirely out of salt water – and while there may be a slight odor while you are using the flamex it is actually fine even if you are using it in a non-ventilated space. It is recommended that you use a Hudson sprayer to apply the flamex, so that it is more of a rain effect than a spray of vapor that would form more of a cloud. By creating this rain effect you will also decrease the chances of you inhaling any of the flamex – although it’s not toxic it is still better not to inhale vapors when possible
I also talked to Rosebrand about fabric, I think I’ll have to wait for my sessions tomorrow about fabric to get a better grasp but Rosebrand is definitely the place to go for drapery and spandex 3D forms.
The next session I went to today was about scenic painting outdoors. Specifically at the Muny in St. Louis. After that I went to the Cirque Du Solei session on costume wardrobe.
Overall a very busy day!
