Makes: Flamingo
The flamingo costume was created for a conceptual production of the opera 'Die Vogel'.
I chose to make the flamingo out of recycled materials to reflect the human pollution and destruction of birds natural habitats. The make required a broad variety of skills, including:
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Foam carving
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Millinery
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Tufting
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Beading
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Pattern making
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Sewing
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Wig making
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Dyeing
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Painting
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Breakdown
Process
I sourced the materials from scrap stores, donations, off-cuts from the workshop and textile scraps I had saved over the years. Lots of pink and orange scraps to create the tufting effect of the flamingo feathers.
I used the inside of a hard hat to create an adjustable and secure base for the headpiece, stitched onto a buckram millinery base which I made from scratch. This created a stable base that I could easily attach the flamingo neck to.
Using a bandsaw, I cut the shape for the flamingo neck and head out of scrap plastazote foam. I stuck the pieces together using a contact adhesive.
I then refined the shape by carving the foam with a sharp knife and then sanding down by hand to create a smooth surface.
I created a pattern from the flamingo to make a fabric cover out of a stretch jersey. I hand painted the fabric with dyes to enhance texture before sewing it up.
The head was then attached to the millinery base and the body was structured with EVA foam.
I cut the wig extensions and glued them to a strip of twill tape, with hooks that attached to loops hidden in the body of the flamingo so that it would be easy to remove if needed.
I painted the beak with acrylic paint and created the eyes out of a broken pair of jeweled earrings, embellished with small glass beads that I hand stitched on to the fabric.
Using a laser cutter, I used some of the leftover orange and peach fabrics to make circles which I glued to the neck, to create a textured effect.
I used a mix of dyes, brunette dry shampoo and dry brushed white acrylic paint to create depth and highlights amongst the fabric feathers and on the neck and head.
