Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries

Caitlin O’Donnell 

BA [Hons] Design for Stage + Screen Character MakeUp Design

I began this journey because I had an interest in makeup and a curiosity surrounding how things were created – particularly in film. Four years later, and that curiosity has been replaced with knowledge. Throughout my college years, with a lot of time and work, I have developed a wide range of skills including technical makeup, sculpting, mould making and prosthetic application. I am grateful to have been a part of various college projects, as well as independent projects, that have allowed me to develop these skills further. I absolutely love what I do and couldn’t imagine anything different!

She Creature

The story follows a travelling circus on their journey after finding a real mermaid, it follows the tale of events as the mermaid turns out to be more dangerous than they anticipated. I wanted to recontextualise the film to a modern audience and drew parallels between the symbolism of a mermaid and the modern woman. The mermaid represents the sexual expression of the modern woman and how she is demonised for this expression. I explored underwater creatures and in particular focused on creatures with a bioluminescence. I focused on exploring the creature as she evolves through her three states of a mermaid, a human and a queen. For my final piece I wanted to create a trailer that evoked the feeling of a full bodied character without actually creating a head to toe piece. I created physical pieces to show the final characters, these included painted sculpts and gelatine pieces.



From the Child-Woman to the Woman-Child: Mourning Etiquette for Girls and Women in 19th Century Britain.

My thesis looks at the pedagogy and gender roles within C19th Britain, through the lens of mourning etiquette to show how young girls were being conditioned to follow societies expectations and become a mother. I focus on the time from mid to late C19th, where during this period, within the typical structure of a family, the journey from girlhood to womanhood was a cyclical process occurring in each generation. This discussion looks at ways in which C19th ideas of domesticity were instilled in young girls, particularly those from a middle-class social standing. I have considered their surroundings of their home environment when in mourning, their outward appearance during a time of mourning and how they were taught to mourn. I have used their ritualistic practices at a time of mourning to focus on one aspect of a young girl’s life in order to identify the steps that were taken to prepare a young girl for womanhood.