******

After I decided to do this project, I knew I'd have to make a torso. I also knew, I had no idea of how to go about making a torso. Luckily, I was able to find a ResusciAnne dummy. Under the watchful eye of my dog Dante, my friend Kris and I disassembled the dummy and removed the latex skin.

Having a premade torso skin made things alot easier. However, the skin was very flexible and I knew it had to be stronger to support the rib spreader. So I reinforced the form with many layers of kraft paper tape.

After taping and blowdrying ad nauseum, the torso was strong enough to keep its shape. I used red paper to fill the arm and neck holes.

After figuring out the torso, I focused on making the items I would put inside of it. Admittedly, I got a little obsessive about it. The items were way too small for the audience to even notice, but they took on a great deal of meaning for me. Everything had to be perfect. For instance, the humble pie. It's made of fimo clay, glass beads and a wooden disc, and it took about 2 hours to make.

Then I realized what I'd gotten myself into; this wasn't just a presentation, it was a performance. I haven't acted since freshman year of college when I was 'The Angry Vagina' in the Vagina Monologues. So I was extremely freaked out by the prospect of getting up in front of the class and performing this piece.

I chose not to include the video of my performance because, well, it's one thing to perform in front of my class, another thing entirely to post it for the world to see. This project was deeply personal for me, and some of the things I talked about aren't things I want to make public to strangers, let alone family and friends. Nonetheless, I've done my best to represent this project, so I hope you enjoy taking a peak inside my hope chest.