[SML] Building big fake topiary....

[Terry Price]

It's been a while (years??!) since I've posted here, so I'm a bit rusty.

I have had great success building topiaries using a light-weight 
armature of wood that supported poultry netting (chicken wire) or 
something similar (the smaller the holes the better). The leaves are 
created with shredded foam.

Create the desired shape(s) with the wire netting and set aside to rest. 
Divide the shredded foam into three or four equal piles. Soak each pile 
with different shades of the desired color - I'm assuming green - and 
allow to dry. (This will take some time.) After confirming the foam is 
dry, mix all the colors together into a single batch. Using a strong 
spray adhesive, attach the foam to the netting. Depending on the size of 
the holes in the netting, you may need to do this a couple of times - 
keep going until the desired density is reached. The nice thing about 
this approach is that there are portions of the topiary that are 
see-through adding to the effect. The color variety sells it nicely too. 
BTW, these do not play well if they need to be moved quickly or often.

hth,
tp

Terry Price
Director of Emerging Media
Texas Lutheran University

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Jon Ares<jonares at arescreative.com>  wrote:

> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2017 17:44:11 -0800
> From: Jon Ares<jonares at arescreative.com>
> To: Stagecraft Mailing List<stagecraft at theatrical.net>
> Subject: [SML] Building big fake topiary....
> Message-ID:
> 	<CAN1Z+zbis3AowBk_dnD7SK6Es6EeBRRDWE=9s-mMes_8NW0ezw at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> Ok, so I thought this would be easy  and cheap.... guess not.  Giant
> styrofoam ballz are really expensive.  I mean REALLY expensive.
>
> Here's what I'm looking to do: two topiary:  an 18" diameter ball (of
> fake boxwood, or whatever), with a 12" diameter ball above that... and
> above that, a cone that's 10 to 12" at the bottom, up to the point,
> about 2' tall.
>
> And I'm building two of them.
>
> What would YOU recommend?
>
> It's more of a stylized thing... Restoration comedy... lovers hiding
> behind over-the-top topiary...
>
> -- Jon Ares www.arescreative.com http://backstagethreads.com