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capri0mni(And now I'll share what I said to myself)
The first-cuppa-coffee chat started rolling, because just the evening before,spiralsheep sent me this link to a BBC story about a pterosaur fossil fragment that turns out to be from the largest toothed pterosaur ever (yet discovered): http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15150591
And that reminded me of a podcast I listened to this past summer about pterosaurs and their mobility in the air and on the ground (here: To Err is Human. To Rawr is Dinosaur) where the visiting experts point out that the only way a human could get even close to walking like a pterosaur is to use crutches.
And as I was toodling around the next morning, I glimpsed my crutches propped up in the corner, and was instantly tickled by the thought that, within my circle of friends, I alone could pull off the most accurate pterosaur costume, and make it look the least cheesy.
And that triggered the perennial self-debate about why should crutches or wheelchair be even a consideration in deciding on a costume? Why can't you just dress up as a character that happens to use a wheelchair or crutches?
And this is the answer I told myself:
It's not so much an issue with crutches. But a wheelchair user is surrounded on three sides by a cookie-cutter machine (especially if it's motorized). So the only clear view anyone would have of your costume is face-to-face. And how often does that view come up when you're at a party (or convention, or out trick-or-treating)?
If you're going to put an effort into making a costume in the first place, you want to be noticed and appreciated from all sides. And that means covering your chair. Not out of shame, but using what you've got: a rigid scaffolding with a motor and wheels -- in short: turning yourself into a one-person parade float. :-D
Mother Goose, riding her gander (covering the front and sides of the chair with a foam rubber form in the shape of a goose's chest and wings, with a puppet head and neck for the goose, that I, sitting in the chair, could move by means of the "reins;" my own feet would be in goose slippers, and "Mother Goose's" feet would be dummy/doll feet hanging off the each side of the chair. I'd be dressed as Mother Goose from the waist up, could hang a basket off the back of my chair filled with dolls representing nursery rhyme characters)
A Pot of Gold at the end of a rainbow (make the "pot" out of something like black trash bags, with some way to give it a semi rigid/semi-solid round, rolled edge [hula hoop? vacuum cleaner hose? something like that] at the top and tying them off at the four bottom corners to the frame of the chair. Make over-sized gold coins from cardboard or foam circles, painting them with gold paint, and draping them over my lap. Wear a sky blue sweatshirt and pin polyester batting around my shoulders [and back of my chair] for clouds. Paint rainbow stripes on my face with face paint. Make a tall, "rainbow arch" hat to wear. Use lots of glitter. Give out bags of chocolate coins)
Frog in a pond habitat (paint a clown-version of frog face with face paint. Make the rest of the frog's body from a cowl-and-collar combination [Like an Elizabethan collar, but a lily pad, instead] over a blue poncho that drapes self and chair, painted with ripple and lily pad designs. Make a few giant cattails from foam rubber, dowels, wire and paint, to stick onto the back of the chair to add height. Make some dragonflies, and attach with semi-stiff wire so they add even more height, and appear to fly above my head-- wiggling back and forth as I drive my chair. ...Height's important, especially if you want people to notice you in a crowd. See the rainbow, above.)
Writer overwhelmed by plot bunnies (basically, dress as myself, but carry a giant version of a notebook and pencil, wear a novelty wild-hair wig, and "bug-eye" glasses. Make a couple dozen or so Bunnies [use Styrofoam eggs as the base], and stick them all over my chair with Velcro & pin to my shirt and sweatpants. Make a big "Halp!" picket sign, and stick it to my chair)
The first-cuppa-coffee chat started rolling, because just the evening before,
spiralsheep sent me this link to a BBC story about a pterosaur fossil fragment that turns out to be from the largest toothed pterosaur ever (yet discovered): http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15150591And that reminded me of a podcast I listened to this past summer about pterosaurs and their mobility in the air and on the ground (here: To Err is Human. To Rawr is Dinosaur) where the visiting experts point out that the only way a human could get even close to walking like a pterosaur is to use crutches.
And as I was toodling around the next morning, I glimpsed my crutches propped up in the corner, and was instantly tickled by the thought that, within my circle of friends, I alone could pull off the most accurate pterosaur costume, and make it look the least cheesy.
And that triggered the perennial self-debate about why should crutches or wheelchair be even a consideration in deciding on a costume? Why can't you just dress up as a character that happens to use a wheelchair or crutches?
And this is the answer I told myself:
It's not so much an issue with crutches. But a wheelchair user is surrounded on three sides by a cookie-cutter machine (especially if it's motorized). So the only clear view anyone would have of your costume is face-to-face. And how often does that view come up when you're at a party (or convention, or out trick-or-treating)?
If you're going to put an effort into making a costume in the first place, you want to be noticed and appreciated from all sides. And that means covering your chair. Not out of shame, but using what you've got: a rigid scaffolding with a motor and wheels -- in short: turning yourself into a one-person parade float. :-D
Mother Goose, riding her gander (covering the front and sides of the chair with a foam rubber form in the shape of a goose's chest and wings, with a puppet head and neck for the goose, that I, sitting in the chair, could move by means of the "reins;" my own feet would be in goose slippers, and "Mother Goose's" feet would be dummy/doll feet hanging off the each side of the chair. I'd be dressed as Mother Goose from the waist up, could hang a basket off the back of my chair filled with dolls representing nursery rhyme characters)
A Pot of Gold at the end of a rainbow (make the "pot" out of something like black trash bags, with some way to give it a semi rigid/semi-solid round, rolled edge [hula hoop? vacuum cleaner hose? something like that] at the top and tying them off at the four bottom corners to the frame of the chair. Make over-sized gold coins from cardboard or foam circles, painting them with gold paint, and draping them over my lap. Wear a sky blue sweatshirt and pin polyester batting around my shoulders [and back of my chair] for clouds. Paint rainbow stripes on my face with face paint. Make a tall, "rainbow arch" hat to wear. Use lots of glitter. Give out bags of chocolate coins)
Frog in a pond habitat (paint a clown-version of frog face with face paint. Make the rest of the frog's body from a cowl-and-collar combination [Like an Elizabethan collar, but a lily pad, instead] over a blue poncho that drapes self and chair, painted with ripple and lily pad designs. Make a few giant cattails from foam rubber, dowels, wire and paint, to stick onto the back of the chair to add height. Make some dragonflies, and attach with semi-stiff wire so they add even more height, and appear to fly above my head-- wiggling back and forth as I drive my chair. ...Height's important, especially if you want people to notice you in a crowd. See the rainbow, above.)
Writer overwhelmed by plot bunnies (basically, dress as myself, but carry a giant version of a notebook and pencil, wear a novelty wild-hair wig, and "bug-eye" glasses. Make a couple dozen or so Bunnies [use Styrofoam eggs as the base], and stick them all over my chair with Velcro & pin to my shirt and sweatpants. Make a big "Halp!" picket sign, and stick it to my chair)
no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 05:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 02:26 pm (UTC)I also like the Mother Goose idea but I suspect you'd be misread as other goose/swan riding figures too.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 05:12 pm (UTC)I wouldn't mind that, at all...
But I'm wondering: is that a very large crowd? And of those in the crowd, how may kept their independent personalities after the rise of "Mother Goose"? Or is M. Goose just the nickname for all of them?
[/folklore pedantry]
no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 05:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 06:07 pm (UTC)(I may need a Mother Goose icon)