The Ladies Book of Useful Information Part 30

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, sh.e.l.ls, 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; sh.e.l.ls in silver, copper, gold, and some may be tinted with fire bronze on the exterior of the sh.e.l.l, but the interior of almost all sh.e.l.ls 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 isingla.s.s, 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 Vand.y.k.e 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, gla.s.s, 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.