I thought about Poison Ivy's Monster Staff after reading about the sand-papering of poison ivy.
She shared her process for making a monster staff for her Poison Ivy costume.
I cut the Styrofoam ball in half.I used a spoon to create the mouth area.I used a heat gun to heat the scrap strips and then attached them to the Styrofoam, creating an open mouth effect, and let them cool.The base head shape was complete once cooled.I sprayed the back of the head with expanding foam after holding the Styrofoam base in place.I carved the foam with a utility knife after it was dried.The process was repeated on the front of the head around the mouth area, spraying it with expanding foam and carving it once it was dry.I filled in the grooves that were left from the air pockets.I took paper clay and rolled it into a thin sheet with a rolling pin because I wanted to achieve a smooth surface before covering the head.I sanded the head smooth after covering it with a clay sheet.I used my heat gun to cover the outside and inside of the head and mouth.The lengths I needed to cover the bottom and top of the mouth were measured.The end of one of the cylinders was cut to fit the two lip measurements.I used scissors to cut the cylinder in half to make the base of the top and bottom lips.I made sure the lips fit around the mouth edges by cutting them into shape.I used heat to adhere the lips to the head.
I used carboard to create a rough shape of a tongue after spraying expanding foam onto a work surface.I carved and sanded the tongue using a utility knife.I used wood filler to fill in the grooves.I used the same method to roll paper clay into a thin sheet.I sanded the tongue smooth after covering it with a sheet.I used paper clay to make teeth and plant tendrils to cover the top and bottom of the head.I put the tongue, teeth, and tendrils on the head with heat.The head was complete with the creation of organic root/vine-like details off of the head tendrils.I took the two cylinders and cut them to the length I wanted.I narrowed the cylinders in the grip area of the staff to make it easier for my hand to fit around it.I cut the leaves from the foam and attached them to the staff.I used a heat gun to cover each cylinder.When it gets too hot, polyethylene does not take to heat well.This step needs to be done with care.I would experiment with wrapping the cylinders in duct tape to reduce the heat applied to the foam.
I snaked the two cylinders around each other and heat formed them together.patience is required for this step.If you take this step one small portion at a time, you will be able to work your way along the length of the staff.To make sure I had a comfortable area to hold the staff, I aligned the two sections I narrowed for the grip together correctly.I smoothed out the edges of the scrap pieces with sculpting tools after heating the area.My staff was constructed.