Urhu Erhu Lute

Another prop finished for the Desert Set. This, the sacred string instrument that the Serpent Sage Musician, Urhu, plays all day everyday by his painted tent in the desert.

Sherie was the "starter" for me on this (that's the designation for my wonderful project assistants who I assign to kick a prop or set off and then I can progress it easily. Project Rule #68; Rolling on a task someone has started with you is far easier than trying to start alone from nothing.) She and I decided the Sage's instrument should follow the petal-shape motif used in his tent design. After auditioning many possibilities, we cobbled together how it might work (upper left) using the bottom of an empty dishwashing liquid bottle and odd wooden shapes I had on hand, including chopped twisted chopsticks.

She started sanding and painting the basecoat on what we'd devised last time. We decided the strings would be golden to connote the sacredness of this spiritual being and his music. We made the center of the flower-petaled bridge a little window on another world by gluing a glass half dome over dried yellow dahlia stamen. Appropriate material to use, yes, but its effect is like a looking into a strange landscape in miniature. Perhaps it's a glimpse into where the character comes from (noted for future episodes in the film!)

It's a Halflandian cross between a cello, a mandolin, a snake, East Indian primitive culture, Middle Eastern primitive culture, Asian primitive culture, and a flower at essence.

The neck has faux ivory inlay details and a tuning peg near its carved scroll head stock. The body, shaped from newspaper and masking tape, was given a hollow wood instrument look by filling in the seams and cracks a few times with layers of wood filler, sanding, and painting with raw sienna acrylic. The final coat was clear natural paste wax for a soft polished sheen.

Sherie cut and fitted an oval of nude leather for the face which was later stained and tinted with Nova's rich transparent Indian Yellow acrylic, tinted, near its wood oval sound board in the middle, with walnut ink shading.

I used metallic gold thread for the strings which begin at the neck and travel around the tail piece underneath. They are held away from the body and separated by the wooden flower petal bridge.  It won't actually play any sounds. But in the film will be resonate like a cello as the strings of the bow are drawn slowly across them.

Sherie is slamming on the Desert Set progress. Next time she comes over I'll ask her to make a start on the bow!