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Katherine Telkamp

Props Designer and Technician

Graduate Projects - Year One

Several pieces of wood cut out into pillar-like shapes, arranged on a table saw.

The first leg of a bench, made out of several pieces of wood and attached together.

The first leg of a bench, made out of several pieces of wood and attached together.

This is the nearly-complete bench, both legs attached to the seat and upright.

This is the nearly-complete bench, both legs attached to the seat and upright.

This is the nearly-complete bench, both legs attached to the seat and upright.

Wooden trim that has been cut and attached to the legs of the bench.

Close up example of paint treatment on the bench, a driftwood-type grey woodgrain.

The bench as seen on stage in Tantrum Theater's 'Twelfth Night'.

The bench as seen on stage in Tantrum Theater's 'Twelfth Night'.

Twelfth Night Bench

This bench was my first project in my Graduate program, and also the first piece of furniture of any kind I'd ever made that wasn't from a box. Though it was very stressful, I learned a lot from the process, and it definitely reinforced my confidence in my decision to come to this program.

Director: Shelley Delaney
Properties Designer: Grace Easterday

Advanced Hand Props - Stage Combat Fish

This project was an exercise in proportion, scale, subtractive sculpture, and finishing techniques. I chose to do a 'frilled shark', one of the oldest sharks in the world. It's stage combat ready, and made with upholstery foam, EVA foam, liquid latex, and acrylic paint. I found reference images, rendered it to scale, then carved into upholstery foam, adding EVA foam inserts into slits with hot glue to add fins, teeth, and tail details. After coating it with liquid latex, it's painted with acrylic and spray-paints.

A painted foam sculpture of frilled shark with a background of the sea floor.

An illustration Frilled Shark, including its scientific name, Chlamydoselachus anguineus.

A close up photo of a frilled shark's mouth.

A scale drawing of a frilled shark on brown paper.

A rough cut out of a fish-like object made out of foam.

A more defined and smooth cut out of a shark-like form made out of foam.

A hand holding a frilled shark made out of various kinds of foam.

A hand holding a frilled shark made out of various kinds of foam.

A hand holding a frilled shark made out of various kinds of foam.

A hand holding a frilled shark made out of various kinds of foam.

A close-up photo of the foam frilled shark's mouth.

The foam shark sculpture hanging from a string, coated in latex.

The foam shark sculpture hanging from a string, coated in latex.

The foam shark sculpture hanging from a string, coated in latex.

The foam shark sculpture hanging from a string, coated in latex.

A painted foam sculpture of frilled shark with a background of the sea floor.

A finished sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

A photo of the painting entitled 'The Prairie is My Garden', painted by Harvey Dunn.

A close-up photo of the painting entitled 'The Prairie is My Garden', painted by Harvey Dunn.

A white clay sculpture of a woman.

A white clay sculpture of a woman.

A white clay sculpture of a woman.

A white clay sculpture of a woman.

A white clay sculpture of a woman.

A white clay sculpture of a woman.

A partially painted sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

A partially painted sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

A finished sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

A finished sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

A finished sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

A finished sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

A finished sculpture of a woman holding scissors and a bouquet of flowers.

Advanced Hand Props - 'Hummel' Style Sculpture

This project was an exercise in proportion, additive sculpture, and painting. I chose to replicate the main figure in one of my favorite paintings of all time, making the woman out of wire, masking tape, Sculpey clay, and acrylic paint.

Advanced Hand Props - Period Toy

This project involved finding a toy from a period preferably pre-80s. I love old toys, and am fond of old teddies and soft toys. I chose to emulate the teddy-style of the Steiff bears, as well as a company from the UK in the 1940s. I found a pattern online that I altered for scale and joints. I then added in the joints (that I made myself to save on shipping and transit time) and constructed it out of some aged-looking faux fur.

A white fabric mockup of a teddy bear sitting against a floral bag.

Traced pattern pieces on the backside of brown faux fur.

A cut out piece of grey and brown faux fur.

A cotter pin joint.

A cotter pin joint inside a teddy bear.

The head of a brown teddy bear with shiny brown eyes.

A cotter pin joint inside a teddy bear.

The head and body of a teddy bear.

The open seam of a teddy bear's arm.

A grey-brown teddy bear with a red ribbon.

A grey-brown teddy bear with a red ribbon.

A 9 in 1 ancient board game set with a drawer.

A product photo for a 5 in 1 board game set.

A pile of wooden boards.

Pieces of wood with grooves cut in them.

A photo of two wooden boards joined by a finger joint.

A wooden drawer held together with finger joints and no handle.

A three-sided box with interior grooves.

A three-sided box with interior grooves.

A three-sided box with internal grooves, holding a handleless drawer, several wooden boards, and dowels of various sizes.

A wooden board with many straight lines drawing a curve.

The interior of a drawer, lined with a blue textured fabric.

A painted wooden board with green triangles on it.

A painted wooden board with red and green triangles on it.

A painted wooden board with black, red, and green triangles on it.

A painted red, blue, and yellow 'X' on a wooden board.

A painted wooden board with a rough brown square on it.

Two painted game boards on a single wooden board.

Carved foam game pieces shaped like the heads of dogs and jackals.

Rectangular wooden blocks in a dark and light color.

Two sharpened rectangular game pieces.

Four angles of a sheep knuckle.

Clay knucklebone dice and other clay game pieces.

Painted clay game pieces.

A group of half-painted clay cowrie shells.

A 9 in 1 ancient board game set with a drawer.

Advanced Hand Props- Ancient Board Games

This project was a surprise gift for my partner, but also fulfilled the class project of 'something in a box, something in a bucket'. I basically took a picture of the 5 in 1 game board set and designed my own, adjusting the size to accommodate more games. I then did a bunch of research into all of the games, asking as few questions to my partner as I could as to not raise suspicion.

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