As part of our module, 'Design Frame', we were given a scene to create from the song '8 Songs for a Mad King' by Peter Maxwell Davies.
I chose to make these ceremonial scepters for the death scene at the end of the song. I incorporated a 'G' for King George, birds for his love of crows and bones to symbolise death into the design of the scepters.
I cut some bone shapes out of polysyrene and carved then with a wire brush to round them out. I added a piece of MDF wood in the middle for support and then plaster bandaged them together.
I carved the 'G' and circle, and birds out of polystyrene and plaster bandaged that too. I cut some leaves out of card, wrapped them in tinfoil and added bamboo skewers. I sprayed all of the pieces gold and added brown paint in places for detail.
The workshop in college made me a wooden base and attached the bones to the base via the MDF in the bones with some wooden dowels. I covered the base with some red velvet fabric.
For the shoot I directed the scene for the group working with an actor that played King George and students who played the crows.
Graphic by Lily Nager
