Tag Archives: light festival

Giraffe Family

Illuminated giraffe family made for JUMP’s Illumibrate festival, March 6, 2020, Boise, Idaho. They are life size, reaching up to 16 feet. They were lit from the inside using LED lights sequenced to be controlled by a digital theremin that members of the audience could operate. Surrounding them were several foam trees fabricated by JUMP and also lighted and controlled by the theremin.

This was a collaboration with the JUMP team and several other volunteers. Special thanks to JUMP team members Maggie Soderberg (administration, approval, financing), Jesse Cordtz (coordination, technical support), Amanda Fitch (head sculpture), and Mark Freckleton (wiring). Also a big thanks to Ross Butler and his team for lighting, sequencing, programming, etc.

This project was a rush with little more than 2 months from conception to completion. I never liked how spindly the legs on the big giraffes came out, but with the time constraints and the fact that most of the body work had to be completed before it could be lifted up onto the legs, this was the best that could be managed. I’m working with the JUMP staff to rebuild the legs (particularly the thigh areas) to give them more bulk, as well as redesigning the knees, and adding in feet, which we didn’t have time for.

Though more time would’ve been appreciated, we were lucky: if the event was a week or two later, it likely would’ve been shut down by the growing pandemic.

My girlfriend’s family came by for a look-see
Quick little video
Ah yes, those spindly legs! In foreground are the controls for the lights shaped as flowers. The closest one could be spun to cycle the color patterns, while the others had lasers pointed at the ceiling as the digital theremin. Putting a hand above them to break the beams would change light intensity, colors, etc.
Night before the event. Almost ready! Problems with the electronics dogged us in the final 24 hours leading up to it – poor Ross was up deep into the night working on it. But he got it!
Small giraffe getting skinned. LED lights wrapped around the frame are clearly visible. The skin consisted of chicken wire for shape, followed by a layer of bubble wrap and two layers of quilt batting. These layers helped diffuse the light coming through for even illumination without any shadowing from the frame showing through.
Big thanks to Amanda! She brought these guys to life with her detailed work on the heads.
Working on the big ones. Here you can see the layers. Zip ties were used to make the neck fringe.
Basic framing for the little guy. Chicken wire was later added to give more shape. In the background is seen a small prototype for the Illumicone – another Ross Butler creation. At the event he also had the full size version up and running. It must’ve been around 30 feet in diameter.