Photo Bird

An update in pictures on what I've been doing.

Working Bird

All I've had time for recently is work-type things. Fortunately, there's still a bit of room for painting at work every once in a while. 

Summer Reading is almost here!

work bird: a time of politics, violence, and bubble gum

Catch the Fawkeses for us, the little Fawkeses that are ruining...Parliament.

For my library Costume Party Program, the teens requested that we celebrate Guy Fawkes Day, as the program was on November 4th, which is close enough.
Because we cannot burn effigies in or on the library grounds (nope, sorry teens! not even in the dumpster), my alternative was to create a Guy Fawkes piñata. Since teens are generally endowed with super-human strength, unlike toddlers, I decided to make four small piñatas rather than make one large Guy.

  

Toilet paper rolls and balloons make fat little Fawkeses.

By Friday morning, two Fawkeses were not yet dry, so my brilliant mother suggested that we bake them in the oven for a while. It was a bit startling because the heat popped the balloons.

I painted them black while working at the front desk (multitasking!). A patron asked me if I was making Tar Babies. 

I made the hats and Daniel D. assisted by making the capes. Several teens asked me why I had V for Vendetta dolls. 

The Fawkes hunt is over! (heh)

Let the bashing begin!

The British teens were the most enthusiastic about hitting the Guy.

Oh, the carnage!!!

working bird

Batik is fun. Here is a video about it:

We're doing basic (very, very basic) batik at the library for a program this afternoon. I made a shirt to practice on because of course I did.

Here it is! I melted white unscented candles. Always use a double boiler to melt wax. DO NOT melt the wax directly over the stove because it will CATCH ON FIRE. AND EXPLODE. ALSO, POSSIBLY, BURN A HOLE IN THE OZONE LAYER.


If you are like me and you don't have a double boiler, use two pots of differing sizes. It sort of works ok enough to keep the world safe.


I used a glass and a shot glass to make the pattern: dip the rim of the glass in the melted wax, stamp on shirt, repeat.


I used RIT dye to dye the shirt. 
Note: this dye is not ideal. You are supposed to use cold water dye, but I couldn't find any on short notice. I mixed the dye with warm water and then let it cool. If you put the shirt in the dye while it's hot, the wax will melt and you will cry. And cry.

Here is a close-up of the pattern.

Here is my outfit! Chris said I look, "Surprising."




Surprise!

Here is my outfit again, but with a dragon.

And here is my face. Because it is so charming and I know you wanted to see it.

UPDATE:

I forgot important information.

Ok, so I put wax paper inside the shirt to keep the wax from bleeding through the whole shirt. I did stamp the back, but I didn't want a mirror pattern. 

When I was done, I let the shirt sit for a very long time to let the dye get as dark as possible. 

To get the wax off, you are supposed to put the fabric in a pot of boiling soapy water. However, since the dye is a hot-water dye and I didn't want to lose all of the color/pattern, I put it in a pot of hot, but not boiling, soapy water. Use lots of dish soap! (Don't use detergent. All of the websites agree that this is bad.) I had to sort of scrape at the wax with a spoon since the water wasn't boiling, but it still worked. Then I washed the shirt in cold water and dried it. And, yay!