Alter Egos

So I've decided to add a new group of images to this site, which requires me to reveal a side of myself known only to my friends until now. I call them my alter egos. You can call it wearable art, costumes, cosplay... as you like. 

I've always been a fan of make-believe places and interesting characters. The joy has not faded since childhood, and Halloween is the perfect time of year to play in that fantasy world as an adult.  Every year I delve into costume-making; sometimes creating outfits for the kids or family members.  

But this year I discovered some new technology that brings everything to a new level.

Cosplayers may be quite familiar with Worbla thermoplastics, but I only became acquainted with the moldable plastic material a few months ago. And of course now I'm obsessed with the stuff. 

This summer, at a Maker Space booth at my son's middle school, I was also introduced to a wonderful tool called a 3D pen, which uses plastic filament to "draw" shapes. I love this thing!! 

I'm only beginning to figure out all the ways these amazing tools can inspire and enhance my creative work. For the purpose of this year's alter ego, I used them to create a Valkyrie's armor.

This is my first practical experience working with moldable plastic, so the results aren't perfectly smooth. Full disclosure, the one shown here is the 3rd version of the armor chest plate!

The first image shows the Worbla after I molded it to my body form. The black lines you see on the 2nd image were drawn on with the 3D pen, and then the whole thing was spray-painted with "antique silver" spray paint.  Later I hot-glued the chest plate onto part of a corset, which I also spray painted silver, so that it could be worn as clothing and be adjustable. 

I used the same basic Worbla/3D pen technique to create gauntlets for her arms and parts of her winged helmet.

Click on Other Media in the gallery page and scroll down to see more images of my alter egos in their final forms. So far "Valkyrie" is the only one featured, but I will add more as I get them photographed.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!