Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Can you make a faux column?

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Kim L.
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Joined: 2/03/07
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Topic: Can you make a faux column?
Posted: 8/31/07 at 6:12pm

I am looking ahead to our Pride and Prejudice production in the spring. I have a design in my head that requires 4 white columns. They maybe Greek columns.

Is there a way to cheaply make these? I want to say I saw someone do this in a book out of a wood fram, chicken wire and paper mache'. Would you be able to get a smooth finish with the paper mache'?

I would love to hear any ideas.

Thanks...again,
Kim

Kim

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Gaafa
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Posted: 8/31/07 at 7:36pm

If you want a 'corinthian' style flueted column,

corinthain

http://www.cmhpf.org/kids/dictionary/ClassicalOrders.html

I have made them from PVC [plastic] corrogated roof sheeting ;-
plasic roofing sheeting;- http://www.ecplaza.net/ecmarket/imageview.asp?imageUrl=http://ima ge.ecplaza.net/offer/k/kuenjyi/4319725.jpg

Cutting out a plywood disks to suit the diameter required & tek screwing the roled sheet to the disk.
You can produce Capitals & base in the same maner.
They are stable depending upon hight, the higher you wish to go, the larger the base required.
They come in a miriad of colours & do have different corrogated profiles.
Also what I have done for the odd opera/concert. is place a lamp in the base & also changed the colums colour with a lamp above & a colour wheel.
If you want a straight column a 12' broadloom carpet tube does the trick.
they can be tarted up by covering in gauze, but I think they look good with out it.
Also pvc 'storm water' drainage pipe is good.
This is all much easier than messing about with paper mache & chook wire.

Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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DramaMamaStill
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Posted: 8/31/07 at 7:46pm

My husband made greek columns for a production of The Birds this way

because these needed to be flush up against some platforms he made semi circles of plywood... one for the bottom and one for the top and two more for the middle... these were 10 feet tall

he then took 1x2s and ran them vertically about 3 " apart up the outside of those circles from bottom to top

then he put white glue on the 1x2s and covered them loosely with muslin to create the corregated look folding the fabric over the 1x4s and into the grooves... I think we might have used a thinner mix of glue and water over the top of the whole thing to size it and stiffen it before paint

We painted them and then I veined them to look like marble... they turned out great

they were open in the back about 1/4 of the way, but that part was never seen by the audience... it also made them quite easy to move. when we have used them for other shows since we could just throw a pig weight or two in the inside to keep them in place. They were pretty cheap to make and very reusable

Life is Mysterious don't take it too serious

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gracie
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Posted: 8/31/07 at 9:42pm

We recently created columns using sonnet tubes. They are the hard round cardboard forms used for pouring footings in construction. You can find them in your local lumberyard. They come in a variety of diameters 8", 10", 12" and larger.

I'm not sure what lengths they come in, but we used 4' lengths. We then put two tubes on top of each other to give us an 8' pillar. Then screw 3 - 1"x2"x8' evenly spaced on the inside of the tubes for stability. You can use masking tape to cover the seam where the tube ends meet.

For the base and top, we used 2" thick polystyrene, cut into a square shape, a circle cut out of the center to fit around the tube.

We didn't give ours a greek or colonial look, we had them painted to look like marble.

Here is a pic of what the tubes look like:

We did have a small problem with the top/bottom wanting to shift and not sit around the tube properly, perhaps the thing to do would have been to glue/caulk them into place. But, there comes a point you just don't have enough time. Here's a couple pics of our finished product:

For our last show, we even took the tubes, cut them in 1/2 lengthwise and screwed them to the wall for the Beverly Hillbillies mansion set.

www.vermillionplayers.com

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Kathy S
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Joined: 8/21/04
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Posted: 8/31/07 at 11:53pm

This probably won"t help much unless you feel like researching though back issues of Better Homes & Gardens magazine.... What I saw was in a summer issue that had lots of July 4th stuff in it and it showed some faux columns made from white corrugated cardboard. It was within the last three years, if that helps.

Edited later: OK, I just looked it up on the BH&G website and it's in the July2004 issue (I recognised the cover art) If you can get a back issue it is really a quite nice looking, stylized paper/cardboard version of what I described. Or maybe your local library has back issues.

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doublezero420
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Joined: 4/13/07
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Posted: 9/01/07 at 6:29pm

If there's a carpet store near you, the cardboard rolls/tubes that the carpet is rolled on make great columns.

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neilfortin
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Posted: 9/01/07 at 8:24pm

Hey! We just finished a run of A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the forum...and used the sonnet tubes to make our columns...they worked out great we had at least 15 of them scattered throughout our set...and they worked beautifully...you can see some pictures posted earlier in the forum. Good luck!

Community Theater makes us smile

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Set Design and Construction
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Set Design and Construction

Author	Message
Kim L. Star Joined: 2/03/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 86	Topic: Can you make a faux column? Posted: 8/31/07 at 6:12pm
	I am looking ahead to our Pride and Prejudice production in the spring. I have a design in my head that requires 4 white columns. They maybe Greek columns. Is there a way to cheaply make these? I want to say I saw someone do this in a book out of a wood fram, chicken wire and paper mache'. Would you be able to get a smooth finish with the paper mache'? I would love to hear any ideas. Thanks...again, Kim
	Kim

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Gaafa Celebrity Joined: 3/21/04 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 1181	Posted: 8/31/07 at 7:36pm
	If you want a 'corinthian' style flueted column, corinthain http://www.cmhpf.org/kids/dictionary/ClassicalOrders.html I have made them from PVC [plastic] corrogated roof sheeting ;- plasic roofing sheeting;- http://www.ecplaza.net/ecmarket/imageview.asp?imageUrl=http://ima ge.ecplaza.net/offer/k/kuenjyi/4319725.jpg Cutting out a plywood disks to suit the diameter required & tek screwing the roled sheet to the disk. You can produce Capitals & base in the same maner. They are stable depending upon hight, the higher you wish to go, the larger the base required. They come in a miriad of colours & do have different corrogated profiles. Also what I have done for the odd opera/concert. is place a lamp in the base & also changed the colums colour with a lamp above & a colour wheel. If you want a straight column a 12' broadloom carpet tube does the trick. they can be tarted up by covering in gauze, but I think they look good with out it. Also pvc 'storm water' drainage pipe is good. This is all much easier than messing about with paper mache & chook wire.
	Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house}
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DramaMamaStill Lead Joined: 2/07/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 31	Posted: 8/31/07 at 7:46pm
	My husband made greek columns for a production of The Birds this way because these needed to be flush up against some platforms he made semi circles of plywood... one for the bottom and one for the top and two more for the middle... these were 10 feet tall he then took 1x2s and ran them vertically about 3 " apart up the outside of those circles from bottom to top then he put white glue on the 1x2s and covered them loosely with muslin to create the corregated look folding the fabric over the 1x4s and into the grooves... I think we might have used a thinner mix of glue and water over the top of the whole thing to size it and stiffen it before paint We painted them and then I veined them to look like marble... they turned out great they were open in the back about 1/4 of the way, but that part was never seen by the audience... it also made them quite easy to move. when we have used them for other shows since we could just throw a pig weight or two in the inside to keep them in place. They were pretty cheap to make and very reusable
	Life is Mysterious don't take it too serious
	IP Logged

gracie Walk-On Joined: 4/04/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 8/31/07 at 9:42pm
	We recently created columns using sonnet tubes. They are the hard round cardboard forms used for pouring footings in construction. You can find them in your local lumberyard. They come in a variety of diameters 8", 10", 12" and larger. I'm not sure what lengths they come in, but we used 4' lengths. We then put two tubes on top of each other to give us an 8' pillar. Then screw 3 - 1"x2"x8' evenly spaced on the inside of the tubes for stability. You can use masking tape to cover the seam where the tube ends meet. For the base and top, we used 2" thick polystyrene, cut into a square shape, a circle cut out of the center to fit around the tube. We didn't give ours a greek or colonial look, we had them painted to look like marble. Here is a pic of what the tubes look like: We did have a small problem with the top/bottom wanting to shift and not sit around the tube properly, perhaps the thing to do would have been to glue/caulk them into place. But, there comes a point you just don't have enough time. Here's a couple pics of our finished product: For our last show, we even took the tubes, cut them in 1/2 lengthwise and screwed them to the wall for the Beverly Hillbillies mansion set.
	www.vermillionplayers.com
	IP Logged

Kathy S Celebrity Joined: 8/21/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 303	Posted: 8/31/07 at 11:53pm
	This probably won"t help much unless you feel like researching though back issues of Better Homes & Gardens magazine.... What I saw was in a summer issue that had lots of July 4th stuff in it and it showed some faux columns made from white corrugated cardboard. It was within the last three years, if that helps. Edited later: OK, I just looked it up on the BH&G website and it's in the July2004 issue (I recognised the cover art) If you can get a back issue it is really a quite nice looking, stylized paper/cardboard version of what I described. Or maybe your local library has back issues.
	IP Logged

doublezero420 Star Joined: 4/13/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 50	Posted: 9/01/07 at 6:29pm
	If there's a carpet store near you, the cardboard rolls/tubes that the carpet is rolled on make great columns.
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neilfortin Celebrity Joined: 11/20/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 210	Posted: 9/01/07 at 8:24pm
	Hey! We just finished a run of A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the forum...and used the sonnet tubes to make our columns...they worked out great we had at least 15 of them scattered throughout our set...and they worked beautifully...you can see some pictures posted earlier in the forum. Good luck!
	Community Theater makes us smile
	IP Logged

Topic: Can you make a faux column?( Topic Closed)