Sheetwalls-art - 12/26/00
"On the Creating of Sheet Walls" by Lady Meliora Leuedai de Ardescote.
NOTE: See also the files: camp-kitchens-msg, firepits-msg, camp-showers-msg, ticks-art, insect-prtctn-msg, lightning-msg, feast-decor-msg.
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NOTICE -
This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set
of files, called StefanŐs Florilegium.
These files are available on the Internet at:
Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author.
While the author will likely give permission for this work to be
reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first
or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris
AKA: Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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On the Creating of Sheet Walls
By Lady Meliora Leuedai de Ardescote
(with many thank you's to the gentles of the Middlebridge)
Sheet walls are used by many SCA groups to add to the atmosphere of a school or other mundane location used for an event. Basically, these are sheets that have had a brick-type pattern added to them so that they will appear, from a distance, to resemble castle walls. They are easy to create, hang and store.
Sheets can be obtained from purchase, or donations from gentles or other groups. The group that created our Barony's sheet walls obtained the sheets from a hospital, who donated old sheets. We have 40 in all, so the donation was a large one. I would recommend checking with local hospitals if you plan on doing a number of walls. Paint can be obtained from hardware stores. They usually have mis-matched paints for sale at a reduced price. Look for acrylic paints in flat earth tones, whites and the like. Water based paints will be easy to clean up, but will dry to be a permanent paint.
For preparation, use RIT or other black (or dark brown) fabric dye and mix it so that it is weak (dilute it down). You can test a corner of each sheet to see how long it will take to dye the entire fabric to the desired shade - mortar gray (if the sheets are of made of a different fabric blend, they may take the dye differently). If the sheets turn out to be different shades, they can always be used in different locations or down different hallways.
Dye the rest of your sheets (you can use a couple of new garbage cans if you have a lot of sheets or don't want to use the washing machine). The gray on the sheets will be the color for the mortar and for the center of the bricks. The brick pattern will be created by painting over the gray sheet. If the dye on the sheet turns out to be too dark, run it through the washer a couple of times, or use a lighter paint to create the brick pattern on the sheets.
When sheets are completely dry, use masking tape to tape the mortar pattern onto the sheet (this will create lines between the bricks). If you are creative, you can do door or window shapes, as well as wall patterns, but random patterns usually take longer than a standard pattern. Then place the sheets on a solid surface that can be cleaned up easily (like a tile floor or driveway) and look for a place with good ventilation. Use sponges, towels or dry paint brushes to paint on the bricks by patting on darker shadings of acrylic paint over the tape, starting from the center and working outward. Paint until the bricks look good, then allow them to dry.
When the paint is dry, remove the tape and discard. At this point, you can paint on vines and ivy, cracks in the brick or other details.
Using the sheet walls is relatively easy. You can make holes in the corners of the sheets (preferably with an eyelet maker) to hang the sheet walls, or just put them up with duct tape.
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Copyright 2000 Sandy Danielewicz, 27883 Sutherland, Warren MI 48093. <ladymeliora at tir.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited and receives a copy.
If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in
the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also
appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being
reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.
<the end>