Stage Designs

Cluster Fun

Paul Smollen from La Croix United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau, MO brings us these clusters of square donuts. (Originally posted November 2012)

They recycled their Wavy Apps squares that they built last year.

They used an MDF 24″ by 24″ template to cut out the squares and to add the 12″ holes in the center. The pieces were made from sheets of 1/4″ thick shower stall material so they had a smooth, white finished surface on one side. They used a bottom-bearing flush-cut router bit to follow the template and keep the cuts uniform. The baked enamel paint is so hard it can cut you if there is a sharp edge so they used gloves and sanded the edges smooth. They edged the pieces on top with 1/4″ black pin-striping tape from a car parts store – it took about 16 rolls to do all the pieces.

They laid down 4 16′ by 5′ cattle grate panels on the stage which were spray painted flat black. Then they arranged the finished squares on top in the pattern they wanted. They drilled holes through the squares and used small, white cable ties to attach them. Using their Skyjack scissor lift, they raised the pieces into place and attached them to their ceiling grid with black aircraft cable and “Gripples” from a company called VER Sales. Since the cattle grate has a natural curve to it they weighted the lower ends with black rope and sandbags so they would hang straight.

Finally, they used colored lighting from their Technobeams, Studio Spot 250 fixtures and some Elation TriBrick fixtures aiming up from the floor. They programmed several different looks using projected gobo patterns and color washes for variety.

Throwback: Crazy Lines Throwback: Stretch Grid

2 responses to “Cluster Fun”

  1. Trudy says:

    We made similar squares out of cardboard and hung them from the ceiling in straight lines. This gives me a great idea for recycling those squares and using them again in this fashion. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Nicolas says:

    Do you guys have any pictures on how the cables were attached?

Leave a Reply to Nicolas Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.