Museum Final

For my Museum final I based my entire project off of Men are Square by Gerrit Albertus Beneker.

This project incorporated all of the processes that we learned over the semester which included foam working, cloth treatment, horsehair braiding, and wonderflex molding.

For the foam aspect of the project I designed an arm cage that replicates the appearance of a rusted safety cage typically used to surround ladders in industrial settings. 

To begin I had to create my own paper pattern.

Using this pattern I cut out a copy in 1/2" craft foam. With the piece cut out, I hot glued the matching sides together and then scored along the vertical lines. After this scoring I applied hot glue to the inside of every score mark to secure the shape of the foam and avoid tearing. On top of the foam I applied a clear acrylic to seal the surface of the foam and then painted it to look distressed.

For the cloth treatment I dyed my own fabric as well as applied heat to the garment. I was given a natural fiber based fabric and had to pre wash it before could use the fabric. Once it was washed, I could cut out the paper pattern that I made based off of a pre-made apron. 

The cut fabric was then placed in a bucket of boiling water and RIT dye. It then soaked for 30 minutes before being pulled out, run under water and rung out until the water ran clear, and then hung dry. I then attached bias tape to the outside edges and ribbon to the places that needed ties.

On top of the apron the third aspect of the final that was incorporated was the horsehair. I created my own pattern to emulate smokestacks and then sewed the horsehair together around the pattern. This horsehair was then sewed onto the front of the apron. The apron then was burned in three separate places.

The final aspect of my project I used my work from project 4 as my wondeflex and asian theatrical beard.