Crossroads: 2005-2007

"The Joneses" series on money. MDF letters cut out on a CNC machine, painted and hung. The ladder runs up and through the "o" representative of climbing the ladder of constantly trying to achieve.

I love using scaffolding. It is inexpensive to rent for long periods of time (for series) and is a lot of fun to light.

"Fuel" series. Retro billboard signs were the inspiration. We cut different shapes out of MDF and connected them together. Lights were wired on to the sign. Back lighting the panels gives the piece a lot of dimension and interest.

Curtain drop for the opening of a new auditorium. The drop revealed the band. Great for a wow factor. This was about a 30 foot drop, so the material flowed down nicely and added drama.

As a part of a halftime show for a Super Bowl weekend service, artist Freekbass played a couple of songs. I dropped in a custom made backdrop and rolled in two band platforms. Lots of fake, white fur.

"Cincinnati skyline" For the Christmas series and first series in our new room. This large center piece was created in collaboration with someone designing the graphics and then breaking it up on to each panel. It was printed on clear acrylic. It was hung with 3" rings and could be lit from the back or front. Very large scale, dramatic piece.

Crossroads: 2002-2005

"Addiction" series. I love to play with different materials. This was a successful experiment. These are panels which are covered with metal screening that has been "scrunched" up and then flattened and stapled to the frames. Then ropes are strung behind the screen. I wanted to represent the entangling, messy world of addiction. The screen was interesting to light, because depending on how you hit it with light and where you were sitting you got lots of cool looks.










"House of Hypocrites" series. Used a "Moulin Rouge/Circus" vibe for a series on hypocrisy in the church. Just a fun look, people really enjoyed this one. Backdrop was made by a local tent company. They were a little confused, but they made it for me anyway.










First scaffolding set. This is a percussion guy's dream world. We just turned a bunch of them loose for a series opening. Can't go wrong.

Another great material to work with is chain link fence. I had these panels made to create an enclosure for the band. We used chains and the fencing for a piece on being in bondage to things in our life.

"MindScrew" series (don't ask). All of these walls and the floor are angled (forced perspective). Crinkled craft paper was glued on the back wall and painted. Really a different look. For the opening of this series, we attached a drum kit to the side wall (and yes the drummer played it), had the bass player in the floor, lead guitar on swing, back up vocals on the back wall and lead singer flying in the air. There is a scrim in front of this set piece so that made for some nice looks.

"Life, the Universe, and Everything" series. Each section of this ring was created with a frame and then covered with muslin so it could be lit from underneath and from the top. Really a fun piece to light. If I would have known what it was going to take to make this happen, I probably would not have attempted it, but I am glad I did. As with most of my sets, thanks to a great team of dedicated volunteers, we could make these things a reality.

"Fresh Breath" series. I used a 70's retro look as inspiration and cut out all of these shapes then covered them with material so they could be back lit. When the back light blends with the color out front you get a lot of great effects. This was a lot of fun. People really responded to this set.

Christmas series. These walls were actually built flat on the floor and then sprayed with glue and covered with sand. That made for a great look, just very messy. Our music director created a lot of middle eastern music for the series, so most of the band sat in the middle on the different levels. Also, for this series, sand was brought in to fill all the aisles. It made for some interesting responses when people walked in, but made the experience much more "immersive".

Simple scrim paneled backdrop. Great to light. "Water drums" out front designed in collaboration with drummer to create a great sound and look.

Event Production Design

As part of a large corporate event, I created performance pieces along with a team of artists. With a lot of planning and preparation, we installed lighting, video, and a set on a very large stage in one day. There were very large wood band shell walls that could not be taken away and did not work for a show involving aerial acrobats and a band. I used large pieces of muslin to cover the walls and used lights to create my favorite lighting effect, large and colorful moving shadows.

Another room for the same event was completely covered with light and had a large white scrim for projection. This created a lot of drama in a small space.

For a different corporate event with the same production team, we created a truss system in a hotel ballroom. Large velour pieces gathered in the center emphasized the movement of the material that the artists hung on as they performed.

At some events, I create environments for an entire room. These are pictures from an event in a hotel ballroom. We created a winter feel for a Christmas party. A lot of things had to happen in this room so I created a lot of different spaces by hanging material around the room. I created lighting with branch gobos, reinforcing the idea of being outside as suggested by the large white barked birch trees in the center of the room. This was not an easy task to get into a downtown hotel, but it was well worth it for the effect. All of the square seating in the center of the room was built on site.

This was a set and lighting design I did for the band Over the Rhine. The material and gothic piece were behind a scrim so I could make them appear and disappear for certain songs. The gothic piece I designed and built with a volunteer several years back. It was made from styrofoam that you would buy at Lowe's. I was able to spend a couple of day’s creating the lighting looks for this concert event. I love to light great music and Over the Rhine creates beautiful music.

Lighting design for dance at the University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music.

I designed and built this interactive structure for kids at a church in 2007. It is a structure that kids can walk through and climb steps to get to the second level and after climbing through a tunnel and climbing a few more steps you arrive at the slide for a ride back down. This structure contains a room with a video screen on the lower level so kids can sit and watch a video if they choose. Lots of windows to look out of to see mom or dad and so mom and dad can see the kid. This was designed to fit within a very modern and urban building. The facade is made up of metal and oak veneered plywood that is "stained" by wiping on paint. This allows you to see the grain but still gives you vibrant color. A very challenging and at times frustrating project but with a happy ending.

Videos

Lighting Design-Ellery


This was a live concert that was recorded and aired on PBS stations around the country. I was responsible for lighting and staging.

Lighting and Set Design

This is a set and lighting design for a corporate event. I worked with the musicians and aerial artist to create an environment for this performance piece. As mentioned above, large band shell pieces that could not be removed were covered with large pieces of muslin and colored with light and shadows.