Lawrence University

Materials: Mixed Media
Project Advisors: Rob Neilson, Karin Kopischke
Year of Graduation: 2021https://lux.lawrence.edu/artgallery_se2021/1038/thumbnail.jp

Kelly, Isabel

Isabel Kelly
The 
Skriker 
Art Process Book
Table of Contents 
Artist Statement         3
Mood Boards (June 2020)       4
Renderings (July 2020)        13  
Digital Sculpting (July-Aug. 2020)      22
Sculpture Construction (Sept. - Nov. 2020)    25
Costume Construction (Jan. - April 2021)    31
Painting (Apr. - May 2021)       36
The Final Product         40
2
Artist Statement 
Much of my life has focused around storytelling, especially featuring stop-motion 
animation. My previous art was inspired by their many styles but lacked the narra-
tive spark.  It wasn’t until I entered the theatre department here at Lawrence that I 
was formally introduced to theatrical storytelling. They provided an understand-
ing of character analysis in which has allowed me to expand my ability to convey 
a story in my artistic endeavors. This collection of work is based on the play, The 
Skriker by Caryl Churchill. As a small synopsis: Two young women, Lily and Josie, 
living in London, are being manipulated and terrorized by a shapeshifter/death 
portent called the Skriker. I have depicted three forms of the Skriker as sculptures 
and Lily and Josie are depicted through painting. 
Currently, I’m working with a combination of traditional and digital media tech-
niques in my mixed media figurative sculptures. Over the past two years, I have 
been reacquainting and refining my digital sculpting skills and have started to 3D 
print my work. My emphasis in Theatre, costuming (both costume construction 
and design) has been another great three-dimensional medium in my sculpture 
creations. The figure’s wardrobe providing you an understanding of the characters. 
Painting has been another medium with prominence in my artistic career.  It has 
allowed me to go beyond some physical constraints set by three-dimensions to 
display a scene from the play. For this collection of work in particular the differ-
ence in two versus three dimensions itself provides a dichotomy between the pro-
tagonists of the paint, and the antagonist.
The combination of sculpting, painting, and costuming are being used to set the 
stage for a narrative diorama showing the trials and tribulations of the main hero-
ines and their tormenter with its many forms, the Skriker.
3
   
Mood Boards (June 2020)
After Reading the play three times, I started forming some visual research through 
the creation of mood boards for both the world of the play and the characters that 
inhabit it. Since I knew I wouldn’t be designing all the characters of this project, I 
focused on the protagonists, my favorite forms of the Skriker, and a page for the 
side characters. 
These boards have been a visual aid for understanding the colors, textures, and 
time period of the play. 
4
Overworld 5
Lily 6
Lily 6
Josie 7
Underworld 8
Underworld 8
Side Creatures 9
Skriker (Ancient Monster) 10
Skriker (Ancient Monster) 
Skriker (Fairy Queen) 11
Skriker (Fairy Tree Topper) 12
Sk
rik
er 
(F
ai
ry 
Tr
ee 
To
ppe
r)
   
Renderings (July 2020)
After finishing my research and getting a visual interpretation of the play, I applied 
my research into the a figural representations of some of the characters. This was 
achieved in the form of digital drawings. 
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
   
Digital Sculpting (July-Aug.
2020)
With a better understanding of the figurative form, it was time to start sculpting. 
As mentioned in my artist statement I made three sculptures, but here is the for-
mation of the Tree Topper in the program Meshmixer. 
22
23
24
   
Sculpture Construction 
(Sept.-Nov. 2020)
When I finished sculpting my first figure, I sent some of the pieces to Angela 
(makerspace coordinator) to start the 3D printing process since the school year 
hadn’t started yet. I got back on campus and started printing as often as possible. 
In the end, I printed roughly 100 pieces including a couple pieces that had to be 
reprinted. 
Once one sculpture was completely printed, I would start the assembly process. 
With paint, I would place dots where I wanted to drill holes and add metal rod 
supports. With the rods in place the pieces would be glued together, gaps were 
filled, and went back and forth between priming and sanding. Eventually, the 
sanding process was complete, and the sculptures were sealed with white primer. 
I needed a break from sanding at one point, so I took a week-and-a-half to con-
struct the bases of the sculptures (pg.29).
25
26
27
28
29
30
   
Costume Construction (Jan. - 
April 2021)
As the sculptures were wrapping up, I bought them to the costume shop. There I 
started to make prototypes of their outfits. Since their figures were not a set size, I 
had to drape and construct the costumes on the sculptures themselves. 
Once I gathered enough information from the prototype, I started cutting the 
pieces out to the fashion fabric (the fabric that final costume is made from). Each 
costume had their own processes of construction: 
The under dress of the Tree Topper had to be dyed because it was more orange 
than expected. Their wings and crown were made from wire and fabric and the 
Topper had a wig with hair made of ribbon with wire in it (pg.33).
The fabric of the Fairy Queen was very delicate, so the whole outfit was hand 
stitched. Due to the unique colorations of the design the fabric also had to be dyed 
(pg.34).
I completely remade the Ancient’s outer most layer. It was originally made in 
leather, but for the size of the sculpture it came off as too bulky. Instead, I used the 
fabric from two second-hand coats. That outer layer was also hand stitched, but 
for more personality reasons. Along with destressing the piece with acrylic paint. 
(pg.35).
31
32
33
34
35
   
Painting (Apr. - May 2021)
In this last step in the process, I not only painted the sculptures, but also did the 
painting of the protagonists that was mentioned early on in the process book. 
This process also enabled me to apply skills gathered through classes I took in win-
ter and spring term. After applying a few layers of a base skin tone, I understood 
where to highlight and contour the figures’ faces with the help of a stage makeup 
class from winter. As for the two-dimensional painting, I was in a figure drawing 
class, which provided a better understanding of proportions and how light hits the 
body.
36
37
38
39
   
The Final Product
Here is the final product of a year of work. Thank you to those who have helped 
me with this project. Our conversations have made this process both a more bene-
ficial and a enjoyable learning experience.  
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48


English

The Skriker - Installation View

Volume CXLV, Number 10, January 23, 2026

Volume CXLV, Number 9, January 16, 2026

Volume CXLIV, Number 10, January 24, 2025

Volume CXLIV, Number 14, February 21, 2025

Progress files and other images in the serieshttps://lux.lawrence.edu/artgallery_se2025/1004/thumbnail.jp

Seelaus, Eleanor

Moving Up

Progress files and other works in the serieshttps://lux.lawrence.edu/artgallery_se2025/1005/thumbnail.jp

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The Skriker - Installation View

Volume CXLV, Number 10, January 23, 2026

Volume CXLV, Number 9, January 16, 2026

Volume CXLIV, Number 10, January 24, 2025

Volume CXLIV, Number 14, February 21, 2025

Moving Up

Island at a Distance

Unicornio

Volume CXLIV, Number 23, May 23, 2025

The Landing of Long John Silver

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