Our fourth project was based in asian style theatrical beards and wonderflex headpieces. For my project I intended to use it as a part of my final project based on the painting "Men Are Square" by Gerrit Albertus Benekker. In addition, this final project is intended to be in the style of Kurios, a theme used by Cirque de Soleil.
Originally my concept was to create a wonderflex skullcap and apply the vintage welding goggles on top of it. To do this I started with a paper pattern of the goggles.
Then I used a bonnet base to create the skullcap pattern for myself.
Using this pattern I cut in darts to allow me to cut out the flat wonderflex.
I sewed together the four quarters of the skullcap and then dropped them into boiling water to harden.
Using a different style of wondeflex I molded the 3D goggles.
Along the way, I lost my skullcap and with this lack of parts came up with a new idea. Using polly plastic I filled in the gaps meant to be covered with the skullcap.
To connect the goggles to the headpiece I used additional polly plastic to create the illusion of foam nose pads. Additionally, I added lights inside of the helmet, embedding them in the polly plastic, to create the illusion of molten steel.
For the beard we made the armature out of wire clothes hangers and then wrapped them in yarn. To make my individual strands I braided together multiple metallic fabrics to bring the theme of steel through the piece.
Here is the entire ensemble, fully painted:
