The Boasting Ghost: March 2014

Sunday, March 16, 2014

New Headdresses!

While the rest of New Orleans was busy deglittering their apartments as part of the annual Lenten purge, I was determined to make one last costume run. Mardi Gras might be over, but festival season is just around the corner, which means it won't be long before people start shopping for their next bedazzled get up. Hopefully I'll be sending these off to Fifi Mahony's in the next week or so.

Friday, March 7, 2014

That Sinking Feeling...

Royal Artists is looking to do some renovations, which would mean gutting our current sink station, and my coworker, Dan Dalrymple, wants to donate it to the Louisiana State Museum as part of their permanent Mardi Gras exhibit. I was over there today taking pictures of it to send to the curator, and couldn't resist the urge to post them here. It's just too epic.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Mermaid Gras and Soggy Gras

I mentioned in a previous post that I would be decorating a wedding cake for a couple getting married on Mardi Gras dressed as merpeople. I'm pretty happy with the results, especially considering the whirlwind that was Lundi Gras.

The mercouple and fish are made out of gumpaste, painted with luster dust and food coloring:

I poured white chocolate into seashell candy molds, then dusted them in edible gold pearl dust.

Here's a few photos of the happy couple on Mardi Gras day, complete with their own float and legion of fish folk:

As far as my own Mardi Gras festivities, this was one of the coldest and wettest Carnivals on record. It stayed in the 20's and 30's all day and never. stopped. raining. I got a few pictures of me before leaving the house, but not much past that, because I pooped out early. In no time I was sopping wet and shivering uncontrollably, and my costume was meeeelting. Mardi Gras is about enjoying yourself, not forcing an outdoor activity when it's just miserable. So instead it because a sazeracs in the hot tub sort of day. Sometimes nature wins. Though it does further inspire me to make a hardcore waterproof nobody's-raining-on-MY-parade costume some time in the future, just to have in the back of my closet for these sort of occasions.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Proteus 2014

Proteus! Painting the satire parades is a joy, but Proteus has a special place in my heart. Part of it certainly has to do with the fact that I'm also designing them, so there's more of a sense of ownership. But it's more tan that. It's the oldest night parade in the city - it's been rolling since the 1880's and still uses the original chassis, fashioned from old cotton wagons (complete with wooden wagon wheels that have to shipped off the an Amish contractor in Texas for repairs). One of my coworkers, Dan Dalrymple, described our work as the Galapagos of stagecraft. This is how things used to be made - papier mache, hand painted designs on stretched canvas, plywood cutouts, paper decorations. It's like travelling back in time to a George Melies set. There are bigger and higher budget parades at Mardi Gras. There are parades with celebrity guests and parades that spend thousands of dollars a head on custom-made throws. But Proteus has history and craftsmanship and beauty, and that's enough for me.

This year's theme was "The Ancient Elements of Alchemy". While there are some challenges with such an esoteric theme, the strong advantage is the seemingly endless amount of artwork on the topic that has been preserved over the centuries. To see some of the inspirations for the floats, check out my pinterest that I made while researching for the designs.

"1881: The Dawn of Proteus"
Painted by: Daniel Fuselier

"Philosopher's Stone"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Aether"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"The Great Work"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Gold (Sun)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Silver (Moon)"
Painted by: Ryan Blackwood

"Mercury"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Copper (Venus)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Copper (Venus)"
Cut out by: Scarlett Torrence

"Copper (Venus)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Iron (Mars)"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

"Tin (Jupiter)"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Lead (Saturn)"
Painted by: Ryan Blackwood

"Lead (Saturn)"
Sculpted by: Randy Morrison

"The Emerald Tablet of Thoth"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Water"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Transmutation"
By: Caroline Thomas

"Fire"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Air"
Painting by: Hokmayen

"Earth"
Painted by: Hokmayen

"Tria Prima"
Painted by: Caroline Thomas

Also: one of the perks of my job is the "prop truck". It is Royal Artists' responsibility to ride with the parade with the necessary tools in case any repairs need to be made along the route (if, say, a float breaks down or a prop needs to be resecured). But, being creative people, the prop truck has evolved into a float in its own right. While our ride might mot as glamorous as the others, we have a blast throwing beads and toys to the hoards of people just the same.

This past year, one if our former coworkers passed away, and, as a tribute, Dan fashioned a Dias de los Muertos-style portrait of him. I hope I get such a grand send off.

RIP Jules

Oh, and be sure to check out Hokmayen's work here. And our other float painter, Ryan Blackwood, keeps a tumblr of his work for Krewe D'Etat and various commission work here.

Until next year!