THE ART OF MODELING

Given "the artistic talent," the ingredients required are clay, wax, plaster of Paris, pipeclay, whiting, putty, large and small cinders, sand uf different colors, powdered fluor-spar, glass, oyster-shells, brick, slate, gums tragacanth, arabic and acacia, white and brown paper, card and millboard, starch, cork sheets and rasping; old bottle corks, leather chips, gutta percha, wood, paints, oils, varnishes, and water; moss, lichens, ferns, and grass ; talcs, window and looking glass, muslin, net, chenille, carded wool, tow, wire, hay and straw, glue and cement.

The tools are brushes of various kinds ; three or four brad-awls, a sharp penknife, chisels, hammer, and punches, scissors and pencils.

Ancient and modern cities, cathedrals, monuments and caves may be modeled in wood, cork, starch, paste, cinders, etc., on brown paper soaked in glue. When nearly dry they should be sprinkled with sand, powdered brick, slate, chopped lichens and moss, from a coarse pepper box, the various parts being then touched up with oil, water or varnish colors.

Form trees, if necessary, of wire covered with brown paper and moss glued on. When a cave is constructed in this way on a large scale, and

328 RUSTIC WORK.

the interior is sprinkled with powdered fluor-spar or glass, the effect when Ut up by candle-light at night is really fine. Stalactites may be represented by rough pieces of wood smeared with glue and sprinkled thickly with the powdered fluor-spar or glass.

To imitate pools of water, a bit of looking-glass may be glued on the stand or base, the edges concealed by paper glued on and covered with sand, or a border of chopped moss to imitate grass.

In constructing models of cork, trees should be formed by transfixing short pieces of chenille with fine wire and sticking them into the cork.

Starch paste, used in nearly all forms of modeling, is made by soak- ing gum tragacanth in water ; when soft, mix in powdered starch to the proper consistence ; a little powdered white sugar improves it. This is the composition used by confectioners for modeling the various orna- ments on cakes, etc.

Modeling with clay, plaster of Paris, wax, and other kindred material,, requires a pattern, such as a statue, a fruit, or flower.

If the model is desired to be white as a church, cross, statue, or fence, coat with thin plaster and dust with burnt alum and frosting.

For imitating stone, cover with the composition for sanding roofs, and dress with crushed rock or colored sands,