I want to talk a little about
celastic. I spent many a day up to my elbows in
acetone (or lacquer thinner for form-fast which replaced it) and it was not pleasant. But there is no comparison with Brusan cloth, friendly plastic nor any of the other safer replacements for
celastic.
Celastic could be cut and sewn, it became like wet fabric when immersed in
solvent, it could be draped beautifully and allowed the artist to show the structure underneath when desired and it hardens up like a board. I am not encouraging anyone to bathe in solvents but I have not yet seen a comparable replacement which does not require a
solvent. That is why we wear chemical gloves and respirators when working with the stuff. Here are a couple of photos to illustrate my
point:
This is the
newel post for the masquerade scene in Phantom of the Opera:
A statue for Lance Burton in Las Vegas:
A 13' tall figure for the Merry Widow and a Moulin
rouge party:
It is dangerous stuff and needs to be used with care and caution but the results are incredible in the hands of a capable artist.