Anthony J Arevalo

I'm currently building this couch for Oliver Button is a Sissy, outreach show, and I'm very pleased that I can collaborate with others on this. I started off by refurbishing a previous box using the original structure as a base and turning it to versatile set piece. Painting it and then working on the cover. For the majority of this project, I worked by myself and other parts I worked along with Tiara Lewis and Erin Finnegan. 

 

This project started off with dismantling the previous parts of the original box then adding new custom pieces. Challenges on this project had come from working with PVC. I don't often get the chance to work it so I was excited about how it held paint, adhesives that worked and how to shape it to my liking. For this project, I sanded the PVC portion with fine grit sandpaper. Applied a thin layer of primer followed by applying washes. I was given instructions to have rusty pipe elbows so I chose red iron oxide paint color as the base with a coat of silver metallic paint to contrast the two colors. From a distance, you primarily see the silver and some rust. Really happy that the paint sticks so well onto the PVC. 

 

I then worked on getting the elbow rest constructed. I started off by attaching 3 layers of 2" upholstery foam with super 77. Cut the pieces identically and to proper scale. Started to carve both out so that it would match the ideal shape. Made a hole underneath both so that it lined up with a whole on the box. Applied PVC with Great Stuff foam inside the whole and moved to construct the couch cover.

 

To work on the mock-up for the couch cover I started by getting dimensions of the couch shape. Then I went to see the fabric which gave me an idea of how it would drape over the couch. I constructed my template with measurements allowing a  1" seam allowance throughout. Made my mockups with muslin then shortly started to use the fabric for the final product. 

 

Really excited to see how this piece will look during the run of the production.