CREATING NON-TOXIC METALLIC JEWELRY FINISHES

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THE MANIFESTO IS MUTATING! IT IS TURNING INTO A WIKI THAT CAN BECOME THE HIVE MIND OF ALL COSTUMERS, FINALLY LIVING UP TO IT'S SLOGAN: "COSTUMERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!" YOU CAN HELP IN THIS PROCESS BY MOVING PAGES TO THE NEW SITE AT THECOSTUMERSMANIFESTO.COM, HELPING TO EDIT THE PAGES THAT ARE THERE ALREADY, AND ADDING YOUR OWN ORIGINAL INPUT.

Note: This workbook was made in 1984-85 as part of my my MA Project at California State University Fresno. It was intended as a text workbook for the Advanced Costume Construction class to use in the costume properties portion of the class. Certain portions of the text now border on the antique because of the date at which it was written, for example under "Materials" in 1985 a hot glue gun was an unusual craft supply, only obtainable at hardware stores. I hope you will bear with these small oddities and look to the basics of this work, intended as an introduction to several basic costume crafts processes. --TM

PROJECT 1

CREATING NON-TOXIC METALLIC JEWELRY FINISHES - A SAMPLE SHEET

These finishes are suitable for bright jewelry, and even for armor if an extremely flashy effect is desired. They cannot be washed or dry cleaned without partly coming out, so they may not be suitable for pieces which are sewn onto costumes. Experimenting with the different combinations of these finishes is very rewarding, for instance an improved silver effect uses silver paint, silver leaf, blue shadows and-black shadows. Gold is improved by using red and brown shadows, and using gold paint, gold leaf and variegated leaf, all at the same time. Trying different materials and combinations on your own can give you, more variety of choice.

CREATING NON-TOXIC METALLIC JEWELRY FINISHES - A SAMPLE SHEET INTRODUCTION

Procedure:

A. Mark off 18 - 2" square on the cardboard, as shown.

B. Put a squiggle or a raised design of hot melt glue in each square, as shown.

C. Paint a layer of gold, silver, or copper acrylic paint onto the squares of the sample, as indicated at right. Dry.D. Mix acrylic colors on palette with water to creamlike consistency. Paint a cover coat over bottom two rows of gilded squares, as shown. Allow to half dry so that there are an equal number of wet and dry spots of paint on each square. E. Gently wipe away colored paint with a damp rag. Some paint will stay in the crevices of the raised pattern to form shadows. This is called "antiquing". If all the paint rubs away, reapply paint and allow it to dry longer. If almost no paint rubs away, you have let the paint grow too dry before rubbing. See if you can remove more paint with a wet rag. If the colored in paint persists in covering all the metallic paint, you must start the process again with the metallic paint. F. Paint a thin coat of leaf size on the 3 blank squares. Lightly dry brush a little leaf size on to the raised patterns of the bottom row of squares. Allow to get tacky and clear.

G. Wash and dry hands. Pick up sheet of gold leaf and apply to top left. square. Dab leaf into crevices with soft bristle brush. Brush away excess leaf with toothbrush. Repeat on other squares as shown with gold, silver and variegated leaf. On the lower squares where leaf size was only dry brushed onto the squares the leaf only should adhere to the raised pattern and form highlights. If the lower squares are totally covered by leaf then either too much size was applied or the undercoats of paint were not allowed to dry sufficiently.

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