BRONZE WORK.
Bronzing is the latest improvement in waxwork, and if properly made
cannot be detected from the most expensive artistic bronze. It answers
for table, mantel, and bracket ornaments, and may be exposed to dust
and air without sustaining the slightest injury. It can be dusted with
a feather duster like any piece of furniture, and is a very desirable
and inexpensive ornament.
The colors required in bronze are: Silver bronze, gold bronze, copper
bronze, fire bronze, and green bronze.
THE ART OF MAKING A VASE IN BRONZE.
For instruction, let us take a vase to be finished in copper bronze.
First the vase must be molded. The casting material is one part wax,
one part spermaceti, two parts mutton tallow. Melt the three articles
together and color with burnt umber. Have a coil of fine hair wire,
cut into one-half inch lengths, and when the mixture is melted to the
consistency of thick cream stir in the cut wire by degrees until there
is a sprinkling of it throughout the mixture; then pour into the
elastic mold and let stand till perfectly cold and solid; then loosen
the sections of the mold and take it out. Should any of the ends of
the wire project, they can be cut with a pair of sharp scissors. Trim
the seams caused by the sections of the mold; then take a piece of
soft flannel cloth, dip it in the refined spirits of turpentine and
polish the vase with it, after which it is ready for bronzing.
Take copper bronze No. 4000, and with the tinting brush bronze the
vase evenly, and polish it with a soft piece of white silk. Now take
another brush and with copper bronze No. 6000 give it the last coat
The vase is now ready for draping. The most simple drapery is an ivy
vine. Take an embossed ivy leaf (or embossed muslin leaves, as they
are named), lay a fine wire along its midrib, leaving two or three
inches of wire for stem; cover the leaf with brown sheet wax, press
them together well with the finger and thumb to make the wax adhere to
the leaf, get the impression, and hold the wire firmly; then lay
another piece of wax on the under side, press the edges together and
cut away the superfluous wax, leaving the edge plain (the ivy leaf is
not serrated), cover the wire stem with wax and the leaf is ready for
bronzing. Rub both sides with turpentine, give one coat of bronze No.
4000, then the last coat of bronze No. 6000. When all the leaves are
finished, weave them into a spray, grading them from large to small
till the end of the vine is reached, then bronze and drape around the
vase in an easy, natural way.
The natural fall leaves, pressed, make pretty draperies for these
kinds of vases. Sprays of mixed leaves, oak leaves and acorns, small
maple leaves, the holly leaf and berry, mixed ivy and fern leaves, and
many other kinds of leaves and vines are equally pretty.
THE ART OF MAKING A MOTTO IN BRONZE.
Take a box frame of the ordinary motto-frame size (gilt face) and line
it with either crimson or royal purple velvet, and it is ready for any
design. The word "Welcome" is the simplest to begin with. Take a thick
blotting pad, lay it on a table, rub some arrowroot or rice power over
its upper surface, and lay a sheet of either calla or pond lily wax,
_extra thick_, on this powdered surface. Select the style of letter
preferred; German text is very appropriate for the motto "Welcome."
Cut the pattern letters out in pasteboard, or any kind of thick paper,
if tin letter-cutters are not convenient.
Begin with the letter W. Lay it on the sheet of wax and cut out the
waxen letter after the pattern with a penknife previously dipped in
water. Next cut the E, and so on till the seven letters are cut out,
care being taken to powder the blotter every time a new sheet of wax
is laid on. Lay the back of the box on the table, having melted glue
ready, and with a camel's-hair brush apply a small portion of it to
the back of each letter as it is set in its relative position,
pressing it gently against the velvet with the palm of the hand. The
letters should be set an inch apart, and when all on the frame should
be set away until the glue is thoroughly dry and the waxen letters
adhere firmly to the velvet, then they are ready for ornamenting. This
is done in various ways, and all depends on the artist's taste, but a
few suggestions may not be amiss.
Take a two-inch fern-cutter and cut the ferns out of double sheet wax;
then bronze them as directed on both sides, either with gold or silver
bronze. Begin with draping the letter W. Take the stem end of the fern
leaf and with the bead end of the curling-pin fasten it to the lower
side of the letter; then turn it over and fasten it down in the
middle, letting the point turn outward. Set the ferns on the letters
in such a way as not to obscure their form, _i. e._, the form of the
letters. If the motto is made in white wax it should be frosted with
diamond dust.
A pretty style of motto is clasped hands in the center, of pure white
wax, surrounded with sprays of fine flowers and buds, finished in fire
bronze.
Another style of motto is a vase in the center, from which vines in
different colors of bronze run. Green, fire, and copper bronzing
should have a light background; silver and gold bronzing should have a
dark background.
THE ART OF MAKING A FLORAL BASKET IN BRONZE.
Take a medium-sized basket (chip or any solid substance), brush it
with glue on the inside, fill it with moss, and set it away to dry
till the moss is stuck to the basket. The moss should be raised in the
center in the form of a mound. Have the wax sheeted in carmine. Make
the center of the basket in roses, rosebuds, and carnations, as they
are the most durable. Mold the petals over the embossed muslin petals
and bronze them with fire bronze--Nos. 4000 and 6000--as previously
directed. Drape the basket and the handle in smilax, having the wax
for the smilax sheeted in chrome green; then mold over the embossed
muslin leaves, bronze in green bronze, and drape loosely. Such a
basket makes a pretty table ornament.
DIRECTIONS FOR BRONZING.
All kinds of ornaments may be made in bronze--small animals, fish,
shells, birds, statuary, etc. The mixture for casts should be the same
shade as the bronze used.
Fish may be bronzed in silver, gold, and copper bronze; shells in
silver, copper, gold, and some may be tinted with fire bronze on the
exterior of the shell, but the interior of almost all shells must be
tinted with paint; dogs in zinc, silver, and copper; birds in almost
any shade.
GREEN BRONZE STATUARY.
Prepare the mixture in chrome green No. 1. A little rosin may be added
and a thick sprinkling of cut wire. Trim the object and rub with
spirits of turpentine, then apply the green bronze--the two numbers,
as directed.
COPPER BRONZE STATUARY.
Prepare the mixture in burnt umber and proceed as directed.
BRONZING STATUETTES.
Statuettes, or any object in plaster of Paris, may be made to resemble
bronze by first rendering the plaster nonabsorbent with drying linseed
oil and then painting it with a varnish made by grinding waste gold
leaf with honey or gum water.
Another method is by first painting the article, after it has been
rendered nonabsorbent, of a dark color made of Prussian blue, yellow
ochre, and verditer, ground in oil. Before this becomes quite dry,
bronze powder of several colors should be dusted on those most
prominent parts which may be supposed to have worn bright. Plaster
casts may also be made to resemble bronze to a certain extent by
merely brushing them over with graphite, which is a brilliant
blacklead.
METHOD OF MAKING EMBOSSED MUSLIN LEAVES.
Take a piece of green muslin or calico and size it well with
isinglass, then take the natural leaf, lay the sized piece of muslin
over it on the under or veined side of the leaf, let the muslin remain
on it till almost dry and the impression is set; then with a pair of
sharp scissors cut the muslin around the leaf, either plain or
serrated.
The impression may be taken of any leaf or flower in this way. The use
of muslin leaves tends to make the work more durable and is found very
convenient for the artist.
THE ART OF MAKING EXOTIC LEAVES.
The begonia rex makes a beautiful parlor plant. Five or seven leaves
make a nice-sized plant: Select five or seven healthy begonia leaves
of different sizes, as no two leaves of the rex are of one size on the
same plant. Cut the leaves closely off the stem and immerse them in a
solution of cold water and castile soap. Leave them in this twelve
hours before using. Melt the wax to the consistency of cream, in
chrome green, permanent green, dark olive-green, and verdigris-green.
Now take a leaf out of the soapsuds and lay it on a marble slab,
keeping the under surface or veined side uppermost; then with a
camel's-hair brush lay on the melted wax in different shades,
following the shades of the natural leaf. The soapsuds having made the
leaf transparent, all the shades and spots can be plainly seen on the
veined side, which is the side the waxen leaf has to be formed on. The
belt of light green over the silvery markings of the leaf should be
put on with verdigris-green. Begin the leaf in the center and continue
on each side of the midrib till the edge is reached and the leaf has a
thick coating of wax. Then lay a wire along the midrib or center of
the leaf, fasten it in the wax by pressing, care being taken to leave
it long enough for eight or nine inches of stem. Wire must also be
laid on all the side ribs or veins leading to the midrib. These small
wires are all brought to the center wire and laid evenly by its side
till they all come to the stem, where they are all twisted around it
to form one long, thick stem. Give the leaf another coating of dark
olive-green wax (this covers the wires), then finish with a thin
coating of burnt umber tinted with Vandyke brown, and the under
surface of the leaf is finished. Remove the natural leaf from the
waxen and tint the veins lightly with carmine. Brush a little carmine
loosely on the darkest shade in the center of the leaf, and before it
sticks blow off as much as possible, when enough will be left to give
it that reddish-green tint peculiar to the begonia rex leaf. The next
is to finish the silver belt or silvery leaf-markings midway between
the center and the edge of the leaf. This strip must be rubbed with
spirits of turpentine; then with the tinting brush apply a coating of
silver bronze (Nos. 4000 and 6000), care being taken that the bronze
does not scatter over the leaf. Now the leaf is finished.
If the work is done according to directions, the waxen leaf will be a
true copy of the original. Continue in the same way till all the
leaves are made, then wax the stems and run them through the begonia
stemming, when they may be arranged in their natural growing manner in
a flowerpot filled with moss; or, if preferred, the flowerpot may be
filled with wax, in _terre-verte_ green, and the stems must be placed
in it before the wax gets hard.
HOW TO MAKE BEGONIA STEMMING.
Procure the bristles of a very young pig, five or six weeks old. After
washing, put them in a very strong solution of chloride of lime and
let them remain in it till whitened; then rinse well in warm water
till free from chlorine. Color them while damp, some in different
shades of green and some in different shades of brown. After the
bristles are ready, the next thing is to make the stemming. Take a
square piece of cambric and fasten it in a stretcher, then give it a
thick coating of mastic varnish, and when the varnish is dry cut the
cambric on a true bias into straight strips of different widths, from
an inch to two inches, and half a yard in length. Lay one of these
strips on a table or some smooth surface, add another coat of varnish,
then cover it with glaucous green flock, care being taken to leave a
narrow margin bare on one side to lap under the other when the piping
is being made. Dip the bristles in mastic varnish, sprinkle them
thickly over the flock, and leave for twenty-four hours to dry; when
thoroughly dry, revarnish the bare edge, and turn it in underneath the
other edge, thus forming the strip into a pipe, ready to receive the
wire stems of the leaves. Brown and crimson flock may be used.
For begonia rex, use crimson flock; for the rubra, use glaucous flock;
and for the palmata, use brown flock. Very good stemming may be made
by tinting canton flannel, which has a very long nap or pile.
GERANIUM LEAVES--ROSE GERANIUM.
This leaf is of a dark chrome green. Prepare the wax in two shades,
dark chrome green and light; immerse the leaves in soapsuds for six
hours; take out of the soapsuds and lay it on the marble slab. As
there is neither shading nor marking on the leaf, all that is required
is to give it a coat of dark chrome green, thick enough to prevent the
wires from showing; then lay the wires over the veins and coat them
over with a light shade of green. Remove the natural leaf, and as the
texture of the rose geranium leaf is rather rough, rub it over with
green flock mixed with hair powder. The stems may be left in different
lengths.
The best directions that we can give for the tinting and marking of
leaves is to copy from nature. The cyclamen leaf is well adapted for
the practice of marking and tinting.
The leaf of the pond lily, lotus, canna, maranta, rubber tree,
magnolia, camellia, orange, and all leaves which have a waxy surface,
should either be varnished or bronzed.
All kinds of leaves may be made by the foregoing directions.--_Popular
Art Instructor._
DECALCOMANIA.
This is another name for a style that has been in vogue for an
indefinite, period of time, and comes under the head of transferring.
It is almost superfluous to mention the variety of purposes to which
decalcomania may be applied, as it can be transferred upon everything
for which ornamentation is required, and the variety of designs which
are printed especially for it is so great that something may easily be
procured to suit the taste of the most fastidious.
A few of the articles that may be decorated can be mentioned by way of
showing what a variety this style of ornamentation will embrace: All
kinds of crockery, china, porcelain, vases, glass, bookcases, folios,
boxes, lap desks, ribbons, dresses, etc. The method of transferring
beautiful designs is so simple, and all the materials requisite for
the art so easily procured, that it brings it within the means of
everyone. Flat surfaces are more suitable than concave or convex ones
for this style of decorating, for when the surface is curved the
design has to be cut to accommodate the shape, and in this way is
often spoiled unless done by the most careful and skillful hand. The
materials required are cement, copal varnish, designs, a duck-quill
sable, and a flat camel's-hair brush.
Cut your designs neatly with a small pair of scissors, apply the
cement by means of the sable to the article to be decorated, place on
your design and press equally over its entire surface to exclude the
air; dampen it a little and keep pressing equally so that the design
may adhere firmly in every part. When the cement is sufficiently dry
dampen again with water (a little more freely) and remove the paper.
Be careful in manipulating this process, or you will remove some of
the colored part with it. If such should occur, instantly replace it
as well as you are able, or, if you have a knowledge of Oriental
painting, your panacea will be in that. You can retouch with these
colors and bring it back nearly to its original beauty. In case you
have no knowledge of Oriental painting, match the colors as nearly as
possible with water-color paints, allow time to dry, and varnish with
copal.
Sometimes the cement becomes too thick for use. It may be restored to
its proper flowing consistency by placing the bottle in a bed of warm
sand, and can then be applied while warm. If you apply your design to
a dark groundwork, it would be desirable to give your picture a
coating of Winsor and Newton's Chinese white. The reason for this is
that some parts of the picture are semi-transparent, and these would
lose their brilliancy if transferred directly upon a dark background
without first painting.
TO TRANSFER ON WOOD.
Dissolve some salt in soft water, float your engraving on the
surface--picture side uppermost--and let it remain about an hour. The
screen, box or table on which you wish to transfer the design should
be of bird's-eye maple or other light-colored hardwood, varnished with
the best copal or transfer varnish.
Take the picture from the water, dry a little between blotters, place
the engraving--picture side downwards--on the varnished wood and
smooth it nicely. If the picture entirely covers the wood after the
margin has been cut off so that no varnish is exposed, lay over it a
thin board, on which place a heavy weight, and leave it for
twenty-four hours. If you wish but a small picture in the center of
the surface of the wood, apply the varnish only to a space the size of
the picture. Dip your finger in the solution of salt and water and
commence rubbing off the paper; the nearer you come to the engraving
the more careful you must be, as a hole in it will spoil your work.
Rub slowly and patiently until you have taken off every bit of the
paper and left only the black lines and touches of your picture on the
wood, in an inverted direction. Finish up with two or three coats of
copal varnish.
TO TRANSFER ON SILK.
Apply a coating of mastic varnish to the design and allow it to dry;
then with a brush wash the paper surrounding the design carefully;
this removes from the paper the preparation, which would otherwise
soil the silk. Apply a second coating of the same varnish, and when
this is slightly dried place the design upon the silk or other fabric
to be decorated, and with the roller press it well down. With the
brush wet the back of the paper covering the design, when the paper
may be at once lifted off. Another method is to cut out the design
carefully and cover it with a thin coating of mastic varnish, and lay
it upon the silk or other fabric (which should be dampened) and roll
thoroughly with a rubber roller; dampen the back of the paper with the
brush and lift it off as previously directed.
TO MAKE WAX FLOWERS.
The following articles will be required to commence waxwork: Two
pounds white wax, one quarter pound hair wire, one bottle carmine, one
bottle ultramarine blue, one bottle chrome yellow, two bottles chrome
green No. 1, one bottle each of rose pink, royal purple, scarlet
powder, and balsam fir; two dozen sheets white wax. This will do to
begin with. Now have a clean tin dish, and pour therein a quart or two
of water; then put in about one pound of the white wax and let it
boil. When cool enough so the bubbles will not form on top it is ready
to sheet, which is done as follows: Take half of a window pane, 7 x 9,
and, after having washed it clean, dip into a dish containing weak
soapsuds; then dip into the wax, and draw it out steadily and plunge
it into the suds, when the sheet will readily come off. Lay it on a
cloth or clean paper to dry. Proceed in like manner until you have
enough of the white; then add enough of the green powder to make a
bright color, and heat and stir thoroughly until the color is evenly
distributed, then proceed as for sheeting white wax. The other colors
are rubbed into the leaves after they are cut out, rubbing light or
heavy according to shade.
For patterns you can use any natural leaf, forming the creases in wax
with the thumb nail or a needle. To put the flowers together, or the
leaves on to the stem, hold in the hand until warm enough to stick. If
the sheeted wax is to be used in summer, put in a little balsam of fir
to make it hard. If for winter, none will be required.
You can make many flowers without a teacher, but one to assist in the
commencement would be a great help, though the most particular thing
about it is to get the wax sheeted. The materials I have suggested can
be procured at any drug store, and will cost from $3.00 to $4.50.