CostumeArtist

“Hey Paige…You’re on Front Page of Reddit…”

When my smallish @costumeartist Instagram suddenly got an influx of followers, I wondered if a project had been posted somewhere. The answer was in my DMs with an avalanche of "Dude...check your Reddit." Wow. There I was (well Abbey, anyway). And the enthusiastic interest in the image, reminded me how much I loved that project. Most of the support was overwhelmingly kind, and cleverly fun (as…

It starts in a thrift store. It always does.

I was over the MOON when I received an invitation to Wild Wild West Con in Tucson, Arizona! A previous visit a few years ago was cut short, and I had despaired of ever having the opportunity to attend WWWC again. So after my hard and enthusiastic ‘YES!’, I realized that I wanted to bring a unique costume project, especially aimed at the 2020 theme,…

The interview request was very detailed and included a need for images, particularly for the Inquisitor Oriza costume. But, in truth, the costume wasn’t really finished. I’d worn her twice, but had not completely the vision for her. Inquisitor Oriza was unarmed.

That’s heresy.

So with a photography deadline looming, I turned to my junk pile and my friends Drew and Tina Gardner for help building a Warhammer 40K inspired Inferno Pistol for Oriza. Here’s how it happened:

Starting with two big-ass plastic wall sconces from the thrift, a candlestick, a Human Torch translucent Halloween mask, the foot of a pair of pantyhose, a tassel…I took it all to Drew’s workshop for guidance on making a working prop.

Drew suggested clear resin panes to hide a lighting apparatus, and Tina instantly mixed up resin to pour into molds cast from Drew’s distinctive leather work (The relief image looked like bubbles, boiling in a fuel chamber!). My idea of stuffing a flashlight in the chamber is just the kind of thing that makes Drew crazy – and was swiftly shut down. Knowing I have zero tech skills, Drew designed and 3D printed an LED stick and controls so the ‘fuel chamber’ would pulse with light. He showed me how to solder the connections, but mostly fixed my mistakes. Together, with my friends, the gun began to evolve toward a real thing.

After we modified all the parts, and created lighting, at Drew’s shop, I carefully placed all the pieces in my hatchback for home assembly. Then, I picked up one of my sons from a friend’s house. My son threw his backpack into the back of the car.

Right on top of all the carefully crafted parts.

Breaking the light stick in half. Damnit.

(Good Lord. I love my son, but I really wanted to sell him for parts when I saw what the backpack did to the carefully printed lighting structure. It was an accident so he still has his kidneys.)

With really no time left to rebuild Drew’s carefully printed structure, I had to find some way to keep the broken lights centered and in place with things around my house.

Enter, Press ‘n Seal wrap from the kitchen drawer and lumber strapping from Home Depot’s trash can. I removed the LED strip from the broken stick and glued them onto a folded piece of the flexible lumber strapping. Making a cylinder from clear plastic discarded by a sign company, I wrapped the light strip in layers of Press n Seal which both created flexible squishy layers that both held the lighting in place AND diffused the illumination perfectly.

The resin light panels that Tina and Drew cooked up hid most of the terribleness, and the flame “igniter” made with the top of The Torch mask covered the rest. And damn if it didn’t work… like a champ.

Two LONG plastic wall sconces from the thrift provided the ‘barrel’ for the gun.

With the planter part removed, Drew’s paint booth was perfect for knocking the barrel parts and candlestick down to black.

Drew’s elegant solution for LED strip lighting. It was so perfect.

Here’s Drew making the magic. Me trying to learn,. Drew is a polymath, with endless skill and knowledge.

When I broke the elegant light structure, these are things I tried to fix it with.

Gluing the light strip onto lumber strapping, encasing it in layers of kitchen wrap, worked for the fix.

The lighting works! Drew’s clear resin panels are perfect texture for the ‘fuel chamber’. (Clear resin, colored with orange markers)

The Torch Mask…

I cut the top of the head off. It’s flexible!

The mask flame bit, rolled up, sprang back inside the “cage’ so its held in place by pressure. Did not plan that, but glad it happened.

Hiding the light switch and power pack = the foot of some gold tights, knotted. A tassel added for movement and disguise, and a WH40K icon gifted by Chris Ahrendt!

The high points of the Inferno Gun assembly.

Inquisitor Oriza’s weapon of choice, the Inferno Pistol, came together just in time for a photo shoot at Iron City Cosplay Day in May 2019. The images (coming in another post) were ideal and premiered in a two-part interview with Bell of Lost Souls.

Here are the links to Parts 1 & 2 of the interview:

  https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2019/08/40k-cosplay-interview-the-works-of-paige-gardner.html

  https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2019/08/40k-cosplay-interview-pt-2-the-works-of-paige-gardner.html

  This project never would have worked without the generous support of my friends who had the skills, patience and spirit of generosity to help me move an idea to fruition. I recognize the gift of their friendship…Thank you, Drew and Tina! And thank you, Chris Ahrendt for the WH40K icons that keep adding style to Oriza!

Dragon Con 2018: It’s Changed…For the Better

Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of opinion (lament) about how Dragon Con has changed.

“It’s become way too crowded.”

“It’s turning into a frat party, with too many drunks.”

Call me an optimist, but even with the inherent costs of burgeoning attendance as geek moves more mainstream, I see Dragon Con moving its pieces around to retain its core as a mecca for fandom to revel in their various…

‘Seraphina’: From Russia, To Dragon Con

With Russia often in the news in 2017, it’s no surprise that recreational thoughts were also drifting across that cultural landscape. This effort included my own take on a traditional kokoshnik headpiece, fur trims a la Ivan the Terrible, with garment cues and colors taken from Russian royal fashion (pre-Rasputin). I’m happy with the silhouette of the project, but candid photographs revealed some…

ODD BEAUTY: The Techno-Eccentric World of Steampunk

I only knew Art Donovan by reputation. I’d followed with enthusiasm an art exhibition that he had curated in Oxford years earlier. His own body of work as a distinguished light designer and artisan captured my attention and held it in the intervening years. So it was rather a surprise to be contacted out of the blue by Art and his wife, Leslie. They were planning a new show at the and invited me…

CostumeArt: In the Media

Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of talking about costuming, steampunk and related interest in media outlets. And sometime the various costume projects appears in other outings from small films and art galleries, to magazines and blogs. I’ve tried to keep a record of these along the way … mostly to prove to my future descendants that I was eccentric LONG before the age-related mind skips…

A Junky Journey to Warhammer 40K Cosplay at Dragon Con 2016

Inquisitor Oriza, a Warhammer 40k costume. Image by Conography (Joe Hacker) for Blastr Media With just 5 weeks to build a legitimate Warhammer 40K costume using only salvage and thrift materials (excepting corset and boots), I didn’t have a chance to try the whole thing on before taking it to Dragon Con 2016. That’s cool, though. I knew going in that there were some lingering issues and that the…

Dragon Con 2016: Paige Gardner and Her Poor Feet

I’ve been invited back to Dragon Con 2016 as an Attending Professional, and I’m more excited I’ve ever been. Mostly because it’s the 30th Anniversary year. But also because I’ve had a difficult year personally, and really need to recharge my battery through close (crowd crushing) association with 60,000 of the best sort of people. I’ve made a new costume. I don’t know if I like it yet. But I did…