Scraps of dessert

For An Inspector Calls at Remy Bumppo, the show opens at the end of a dinner party. The characters are supposed to be finishing last bites of dessert as the maid cleans the plates and dishes away. I made these quick plates of lemon cake and custard from upholstery foam and wax. 

 I tore very small bits of upholstery foam from a block I had, 

 I arranged the bits onto plates and then poured a bit of wax that I dyed to look like custard over each piece. 

In addition to creating a nice appearance of sauce, the wax served as the adhesive to attach the foam to the plates.
We purchased one small loaf of lemon cake at the grocery store. We will slice the cake and freeze it. Each week the stage manager will thaw a slice of cake and put one bite onto one of the plates so that one of our characters can have a real piece of cake on her fork to eat before the plates are taken away.

large sugar crystal

Unfortunately for the blog, I didn't remember to take photos of the project until after it was over, but I will try to explain my process as well as I can with the images I have. 

 I started with a bar of wax I had leftover from other projects. I used a hammer and a screw driver to break off a variety of small chunks. 

I attached the chunks together in a random pattern, melting each one a bit to hold it in place. 

Once I had the shape and size I was looking for, I coated the entire things with a coat of melted wax dyed yellow, and then once the first layer was dry another coat that was more orange-brown. 

After the wax was cooled, I began to carve away bits of wax with my matte knife. I needed to remove all the smooth and rounded corners and to remove the majority of the darker wax.

 

 Once it was completed, the small cuts gave the crystal a much sharper look, made it appear to be composed of far more smaller crystals, and gave of a sparkly shine because it had so many smooth surfaces at a variety of angles reflecting light.

Fake Pineapple Chunks

These fake pineapple chunks are to be a part of the same sangria mix that the fake berries in the last post are for.
My inspiration for this idea came from another props blogger, Anna Warren at Fake n' Bake, who used wax and concentrated wax pigments to make pieces to pickled herring.
Wax, she explained, is a great material for prop foods because of it's translucence and price. I figured this would be the perfect project to experiment with the material.

First I cut raw candle wax into roughly pineapple shaped chunks. It's a little tricky to cut, but I used my heat gun to heat up the metal blade of my knife to make the cuts easier.

and here is a closer picture

I melted down some more wax with a bit of concentrated yellow candle dye (sold in blocks at craft stores and you don't need much)

I used a cheap brush (because I assume it will be ruined by the wax) to paint a thin layer of the hot yellow wax over each chunk. the hot wax also helps to smooth and round the edges of the cut pieces.

and here is the final product.

smushed plum

In the upcoming production of Cherry Smoke at The Side Project theatre in Roger's Park, one of the characters is supposed to be rubbing a piece of fruit on her skin. I needed a piece of smushed fruit that was believable in a small space, and was comfortable for the actress to press against her skin without getting her messy (the show moves very quickly scene to scene and she wouldn't have much time to clean herself and get back on stage.
The director decided she wanted the fruit to be a plum so I started out with a rubber racquetball.

I cut a whole in it and painted it dark purple.

For the inside of the plum I used wax. I figured it would feel smooth and slip easily across the actor's skin without leaving a residue. 

I bought two candles that were approximately the color of the inside of a plum. 

I melted the yellow one into the ball first and then used the red on top in a hope to duplicate the correct coloring.

I don't know if the yellow ended up having an effect at all, but the end result is still pretty convincing.