just the pictues ...and the rest of the story.

All the contestants and me on night one. Close of night one.

Mattie Crowns Natasha Parson on final night



Foam set pieces. painted peices left to dry



I wanted to quickly add a pictue of my set design from Miss Gay Texas State Pageant that was held Labor day weekend.  I was so pleased with how it turned out... the full story will follow but I wanted to post the picture now. I built a golden teple for out Ladies on Safari theme. Set Design by Mattie Madison.

Set Design by Tomas Flores and Wendy Flores...my unpaid intern.

Guest Performance during the pageant

Opening Production: Jungle Head Hunter

 

the rest of the story: 

I have now completed my year as Miss Texas State At large.  There were many tears shed, but all were tears of happiness. I am very proud of the work I did all year long.  I was also glad to see my girls shine like stars in this year’s state pageant.  I am also thrilled with my successor, Natasha Parson of Dallas. Natasha is the new Miss Gay Texas State at Large 2013.  She will do a great job. Joining Natasha is her counterpart, Madison Deveroux Miss Gay Texas State 2013.

Kristen Paige and I are so sad to go, but these new girls will do a fine job!

I was also pleased with my set design. I had been working for several months on coordinating, planning and creating the pieces that were needed to create a Golden temple in a jungle.  This was all part of our “ladies on safari” theme.  Our opening presentation would showcase the outgoing title holders, Mattie (me) and Kristen Paige.  Kristen had coordinated the music.  I was taking on the challenge of the set decorations. 

how to make a banana tree

I had drawn a quick sketch several months ago and had the concept in my head.  I collected items to use for the stage. It is part of my creative processes. I would look at something and think what I could do with that.  I would use my imagination. Luckily, I had access to wood, hardware and cardboard from my job.  All of these things have a non-value and are usually discarded. Anything I wanted, the warehouse would save for me.   I had also asked friends to borrow large plants and faux trees for completing out jungle theme.  I worked hard painting the foam pieces.  The pieces were sold in four feet sections that could easily be transported in my car. I would not have a van until the day of the pageant.  It was money out of my own pocket. I would have to budget my money. I had already spent over $300 in supplies.  It would be easier to use precut pieces and not a full 8’ by 4’ sheet that are also available at the Home Depot.   I painted each to resemble a stone blocks.   The day of the pageant would be the first time I would see my left and right sides assembled, due to my small work space at home. I had already covered the dinning room table to use it as a work table for painting. 

There were also many greenery pieces that I made before the pageant. My living room looked like a work shop. Leaves, vines, grass, and floral moss.  I would turn these supplies into unique set pieces with creative crafting.   I made banana trees out of cardboard tubes.  I was in Dallas to the warehouse fabric stores.  As I was checking out, I noticed a barrel full of cardboard tubes. The tubes were used to roll the fabric and were usually thrown away after the fabric was all gone.  I asked if I would have some of them. They happily gave them to me.  They were four inches in diameter and about five feet in length.  I took them home.  I covered them in brown packing tape first.  Then I painted them with left over brown, black and yellow paints.  I started with a base coat of brown paint then dry brushed them length wise with black.  The combination of colors looked like bark.  Then I high lighted with yellow.  I used the same dry brush technique.  I had bunches of faux banana leaves at a local store. They were flat wide leaves.  I attached them in a staggered pattern to the tube. I attached them near one end of the tube.  This would be the top of the tree when it was vertical.  Then I arranged the attached bunched on leaves to mimic and natural pattern of how they might grow. I then hot glued floral moss to cover the screws where the leaves were attached.  It was a great idea that was visually perfect. They looked real.   I made several other plant pieces.  It was fun to see how real I could make them look.

              I also made a rock.  I made it out of chicken wire and spray foam insulation.  I wrapped a medium size box with chicken wire. Then I filled in the space between the wire and the box with plastic grocery bags.  Then I began spraying foam into the holes of the wire.  The foam expanded over the wire and then began to harden.  After it was formed, I removed the box and plastic filler bags.  I was left with a foam rock shell.  I then painted it gray and brown and highlighted the bumps of the rock. I then added moss to the bottom for a more realistic look. I used hot glue to attach the moss.  It looked so real and weighed about 1 pound.

The day of the pageant I was stressed from the start. I had slept very little from the show the night before.  I had drank a little too much.   I had rented a cargo van to transport the tree and set pieces.  I had gotten up early to pick up the van then drive south to pick up the trees and then return to the club.  The contestant meeting was at 10:30.  I hoped  to find time to start setting up the stage. But I would have to wait until after the meeting.  The meeting was good. The contestants were in a good mood.  One girl came late. Kristen and I quickly put together some gift bags for the contestants. She and I purchased small items to put in the bags.  These included candy, small trinkets and a stuffed monkey. We wanted to show our girls that they we wished them good luck.  The monkeys were so cute and went with our theme.  This is also how we drew numbers for the pageant.  The bags were numbered.  The girls chose bags randomly. 

After the meeting, I continued to work on the set.   I quickly put together a small mock up of the set.  The set on night number one included trees and a stone pillars. That was all.  The pillar pieces would be repurposed for final night. Because the pageant was two nights, I wanted to save the full assembly for the final night. It looked simple but great on night one, night two look amazing with the full temple built in the middle of our faux jungle!  I also made all the centerpieces for the table in the bar.  I took bamboo place mats and cut them in half and glued them around foam disks.  I hot glued floral moss and raffia around the outside and added battery candles inside. They were the perfect table lanterns. 

Day two: I had to take all these small set pieces and assemble them into a temple.  But how?  I had a plan in my head.  Each ”block” of foam would then be arranged in a triangle stack. I wanted more of an Indiana Jones temple and not an Egyptian pyramid.   I would accomplish this by building a frame work of 1x2 wood planks on the floor.  I originally was going to staple the foam in place using a staple gun. This would have been faster to assemble. But the foam was easily punctured and the staple would pop through and not hold.  The foam would need to be screwed to the frame.  I added washers to the screws to keep the foam block in place.  I love making things and have all my own tools. I love anything creative.

I also want to thank to my sister Wendy for helping me.  She is always my unpaid intern.  I have thought about paying her, but then she will want benefits and holidays off….so I guess we will keep it like it is for now.  She held the ladder while I mounted the set pieces, carried trees and even swept the van before we took it back. She is a hard worker. Plus she is willing to put up with me.  She also kept the volunteers away from me while I worked.  People kept bugging my while I worked.  They had good intentions. Sometimes I work better with out distractions from people who don’t know what the heck I’m doing.  Plus I had no idea what I was doing either.  I had a pile of pieces that I had to make match the vision in my head. I had to bring everything with me I may need.  I brought the staple gun, drill, craft box, and a box I use at home full of hardware such as screw, nuts, bolts, washers, nails and fasteners.  That was the challenge. I didn’t want to forget anything I might need to assemble a frame.  I felt butch using my power tools. I quickly took the pillars apart.  I took the trees and moved them over to one side.   It would be easier to work on one side of the stage at a time. I worked in the after noon to complete the set.  I erected two temple pieces around the existing doorway.  Each side was about 8 feet tall.  I built the frames on the floor, tiled them with foam blocks and lifted them into place.  Once both sides were done, I added the topper over the door way.  The plants were added in place.  I added up lights on the floor. The lights made the yellow stones more visible behind the trees. I had so many compliments from friends about the set. I felt like I had made a Hollywood set.  I have to admit, I am proud of my self. I can make anything!