Karan Snow (left) and Katrina Thomson building a seashell
and a sea-horse lantern. Photo by Jane Dawber.
On the top floor of a large old warehouse in Vogel St,
Katrina Thomson and Karan Snow are making huge lanterns for the
midwinter festival.
It's cold and draughty, but they need a big space to work and
a big door to get the finished lanterns out and the owners
have provided this free of charge.
In line with this year's theme, "creatures of the sea",
gigantic sea-horses, clams, shells and other sea creatures
are taking skeletal shape.
Bamboo is used for the structure with cane for the contour
lines, held together with masking tape so they are strong and
light and safe, Katrina says.
For safety, up to 10 candles wired inside the structures have
to be a certain distance from the cane and covering tissue
paper which acts as a diffuser.
Holes are left above the candles for chimneys and small doors
in the sides allow them to be lit.
It means the structure has to be part of the design as the
cane is seen as a shadow.
It's like drawing in 3-D with cane, Karan says.
The artists won't see the full effect of their work until the
carnival procession when the enormous lanterns will be lit
for the first time.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.