VIRGIN VOYAGES: Silicone mermaid tails for Virgin’s photo campaign to promote their new cruise line, March 2020
this campaign was never run due to the cancellation of the cruise but some behind the scene shots are shown here
shoot stylist: Cameron Loeb
the concept was “mermaid New Yorkers”- New Yorkers doing everyday things like going on a date in Washington Square park (shown here), eating pizza, getting a haircut, and enjoying the Virgin Lounge at JFK airport, where we did our last day of shooting.
AFTER
process shot: silicone tail airbrushing
we had to source used tails, because they are prohibitively expensive to purchase new. The tails were in great shape physically, but needed re-painting. Using a combination of airbrushing and hand-painting, I revived the tails and made minor repairs to the fins and side seams using Smooth-on Dragon Skin and Smooth-on Psycho paint and silc-pig pigments.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
silicone tail airbrushing - as you can see, the color on the scales had chipped away and worn off with water damage from chlorine or salt water(these were used for swimming!). The bottom shows areas where I reapplied pigment, while further up the original state of the tails is apparent
Costumes for “The Eggs” by Adam Rapp - silk taffeta, silk and wool blend gabardine, silk voile
draper: Megan Dawson Jaffe
1890’s walking suit and underpinnings
shirt, waistcoat and skirt toile
blouse and skirt drape
assembled blouse - striped cotton voile
corset toile - based on an 1890’s English corset pattern
assembled corset body in traditional ticking stripe twill
The Mensch - an Abortion Access Front holiday giving campaign - marionette and set
The Mensch waits on set - set is printed and mounted on foam core. As is characteristic of Seuss illustration, every element was drawn in exaggerated forced perspective- including the chair. (don’t worry, his faithful canine companion’s head was firmly on his shoulders by shoot time!)
process shot - The Mensch had 2 sets of velcro eyes to increase the flexibility of the puppet’s expression
screen shot of iPad vector illustrations for puppet set and furniture. Drawn in Adobe Fresco
counter protest of anti-abortion lobbying at the State Capitol in Madison, WI
Intimate Apparel - 1890’s corset construction
Becoming “It” - face casting, prosthetic sculpting, mold making and prosthetic painting and application
sculpting the forehead with monster clay, once this is done, a second silicone mold is made, this time with the sculpted elements over the life cast.
the prosthetic is pre-painted with the same makeup that will be applied to the actors face. That is sealed, and then details are added over top with skin illustrator alcohol based makeup. the alcohol face paint is thin so it sticks well to heavier cream makeup, and it dries quickly which allows for steady layering of shadows and skin texture.
the prosthetic is casted by pouring smooth-on dragon skin silicone into the mold and sandwiching it with the original life cast underneath. this creates a custom prosthetic that fits the curves of the actors face precisely, which means a more seamless application
casting the forehead in silicone and stabilizing it with plaster
heat resistant synthetic lace-front wig set in curlers and steamed to set the curl
life-cast in plaster and ready for sculpting
preparing two part silicone