Abstract:
Novel appliances for the application, distribution, manipulation and/or removal of different types of media, including art and craft media, may be removably attached to conventional and commonly-available tools, such as palette/painting knives, brushes with hair/filament tips, and other media manipulators such as those having a polymeric contacting surface on their working end. The appliances are adapted for superimposition over the media-engaging working-head formations of the tools, and have media-engaging characteristics which differ from the native media-engaging characteristics of the working-head formations of the tools. Tools to which such appliances are attached in accordance with the invention are also disclosed.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a division of application Ser. No. 11/074,989 filed Mar. 8, 2005, abandoned, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/551,377 filed Mar. 9, 2004, each of which is hereby fully incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to the field of devices for the application, distribution, manipulation and/or removal of different types of media, including art and craft media such as paints, inks, glues, clays, slips, glazes, grout, pastel, charcoal, polymer-based materials and sealants, by artists, craftsperson, hobbyists and home decorating enthusiasts, as well as dental and cosmetic technicians and others. In particular, the present invention relates to appliances which may be attached to conventional and commonly-available tools, such as palette knives, paint and cosmetic brushes with natural hair or synthetic filaments, and other media applicators/manipulators such as those having polymeric contacting surfaces on their working ends. The present invention also relates to improved tools bearing such appliances. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Since prehistoric times, artists have applied and manipulated paint on substrates. Very early artists might have used their bare hands and fingers, as do children and even artists today, but the use of tools for painting became common very early. Some of the earliest of such tools were likely mere sticks. However, brushes have been known and in use for much of modern history. Traditionally, the bristles, which form the media-engaging working-head formation of such brushes, were formed from natural materials such as the hair of animals, although with the development of modern synthetic plastics, artificial filaments have become available; typically, the hairs/filaments are attached via a ferrule to a wooden handle. Brushes have similarly been used for hundreds of years in the application of cosmetics or make-up to the skin of the human body, particularly the skin of the face. 
     While hair/filament brushes are widely used, and are extremely versatile, especially since they are nowadays available in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and with varying granularity and coarseness of the hairs/filaments, enabling the production of a seemingly unlimited assortment of marks and brush stroke textures, there is, nevertheless, a need for a brush-type tool which is more universal in its application characteristics, so that such a tool may be used, for example, to blend and smudge powdery soft pastel materials, which the coarse boar bristles of a conventional oil painting brush are not ordinarily able to catch and hold. 
     Besides hair/filament brushes, alternative tools and implements have been developed to assist artists, craftsperson, hobbyists and others in the application and manipulation of paint and other media. Perhaps the most well-known among these are painting and palette knives, which although developed more recently than brushes, have nevertheless been known, and have remained virtually unchanged, for hundreds of years. These implements are used to scrape, mix, apply and manipulate paint and other traditional media, including glues, grouts and clays, either on a palette or directly on a canvas or other work surface. Traditional painting and palette knives generally resemble small trowels, and consist of a flexible metal blade attached to a handle (which is typically wooden); the blade, which forms the media-engaging working-head formation of these implements, may be formed in a variety of shapes, including round, pear-shaped, diamond-shaped, straight-sided, and hybrid shapes. More recently, such tools have also been fabricated entirely of plastic. 
     Although these knives are useful, and they provide some advantages over traditional hair/filament brushes in terms of longevity and cleaning, their usefulness is limited because these tools typically have a more limited range of marks and manners of applying. media to a surface; in other words, it is difficult to paint with a hard (albeit flexible), non-absorbent blade that is primarily a flat, two-dimensional surface. The texture that can be created by using such a knife is very specific, because the flat, two-dimensional shape effectively limits the manner in which these tools can be used to produce trowel-like strokes. In addition, these knives are useful almost exclusively for applying and manipulating only thick, viscous media having a consistency resembling that of soft paste, such as the “impasto” forms of paint; these knives are almost useless to apply dry media, such as soft pastels. These well-known undesirable characteristics of traditional painting and palette knives deter many artists, craftspersons and hobbyists from using them. 
     Recently, still other tools with which artists, craftspersons, hobbyists, and others may apply and manipulate paint and other media have been developed, such as the specialized tools described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,542,144, 5,689,872, 5,749,117, 5,850,664, 6,032,322, 6,308,371 and 6,319,004. These painting, drawing, craft and dental tools consist of cylindrical handle formed of wood, plastic or metal, to which a molded silicone rubber “tip,” which forms the media-engaging working-head formation of these implements, is attached via a ferrule. The silicone rubber formations are flexible yet durable, and are nonabsorbent and non-stick (and therefore easy to clean), which makes them ideal for use by artists, craftsperson, hobbyists and dental technicians for applying, manipulating and removing a wide variety of art and craft media, including paints, pastels, charcoal, pencil, clays, adhesives, sealants and other polymer-based materials. These tools are currently marketed and sold under the trademark COLOUR SHAPER, and they are available with a variety of useful, differently-shaped working-head formations, including conical taper point, as well as flat chisel, angle chisel, cupped round, and cupped chisel configurations. 
     Despite their advantages, however, these new tools cannot be used in the application of certain media. Indeed, it is the very same non-absorbent, nonstick characteristics of their working-head formations which make these tools so ideal for use with other media, that also make them less than ideal for use with dry media, such as soft pastels, and low-viscosity media, such as certain inks as well as watercolor forms of paint. 
     Accordingly, there is a need to improve existing art and craft tools so that each can be used to apply, distribute, manipulate and/or remove a wider variety of media, including dry drawing media, and so that each can be used to create a wider variety of marks and textures with those media, all ideally without permanently surrendering the beneficial existing characteristics of their native media-engaging working-head formations; it is the principal object of the present invention to provide such an improvement. 
     In addition, it is another objective of the present invention to provide a modification of the presently existing art and craft tools so as to allow them to be used in the application and manipulation of certain novel color compositions which have recently been developed by the present inventors and as to which separate patent applications are presently pending. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by providing a selection of media-engaging appliances, having common characteristics, which may be removably attached to the working ends of the conventional and commonly-available tools described hereinabove, thereby temporarily changing the attributes of their media-engaging working-head formations and resulting in an expansion of their usefulness by allowing them to be used to apply and manipulate surface coatings and other media for which they are not otherwise ordinarily suited. The appliances can be manufactured from a variety of materials, and can be made either disposable after one use or reusable. Optionally, the appliances may include a lining consisting of a material that is relatively impermeable to the transmission of fluids, so as to prevent contact between the native media-engaging working-head formations of the underlying tools and the media with which a particular appliance is in contact. 
     The shape of each appliance generally conforms to the shape of the working-head formation of the underlying tool to which it is attached, and most of the appliances are sized so that each one is slightly smaller than the media-engaging working-head formation of the underlying tool allowing the appliance to be attached to the tool via a friction fit. If desired, a crimp or groove can be molded into or formed in the blade, head or ferrule area of the underlying tool, providing additional mechanical friction and also providing a visual reference for positioning the appliance. The present invention encompasses not only the appliances themselves, but also the underlying tools as modified by such an appliance. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other aspects, features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the presently most preferred embodiments thereof (which are given for the purposes of disclosure), when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings (which form a part of the specification, but which are not to be considered limiting in its scope), wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a an exploded perspective view, partially in phantom, illustrating one aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the lines  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 1 , but illustrating another aspect of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view, partially in phantom, of yet another aspect of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the lines  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view, partially in phantom, illustrating another preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged plan view, partially in cross-section and partially in phantom, of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional taken substantially along the lines  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view, partially in phantom, illustrating one aspect of yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the lines  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIGS. 11-13  are truncated exploded perspective views, partially in phantom, illustrating additional aspects of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a plan view, partially in phantom, illustrating one aspect of still another preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the lines  15 - 15  of  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 16  is a plan view, partially in phantom, illustrating another aspect of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIGS. 17-19  are truncated perspective views, partially in cross-section, of still other aspects of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 20  is an enlarged, exploded perspective view illustrating yet another aspect of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 21  is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view, partially in phantom, taken substantially along the lines  21 - 21  of  FIG. 20 ; and 
         FIG. 22  is an exploded perspective view, partially in phantom, illustrating still a further embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. An appliance for use with conventional art, craft, cosmetic and general-use hair/filament brushes in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-8 . Referring first to  FIGS. 1-3 , which depict a first aspect of this embodiment, an appliance  10  is illustrated for use with brushes in which the media-engaging working-head formation consists of a wide but relatively flat hair/filament configuration. Appliance  10  is removably attachable to a brush  12 , the latter comprising an elongated shaft with a multiplicity of hairs/filaments  14  attached to a handle  16  via a ferrule  18  in a conventional fashion. As shown best in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , appliance  10  is generally planar and rectangular in shape, having a first inner surface  20  and a second outer surface  22 , and is adapted to surround the media-engaging working-head formation of brush  12 . 
     Appliance  10  may be manufactured from a variety of materials, including open or closed cellular foams, flocked sponges or foams, synthetic or natural non-foam polymeric materials, synthetic or natural hides, micro fibers, woven or non-woven fibrous materials, or a combination of two or more of the foregoing materials laminated together. Preferably, a cellular foam is used, which may be formed from natural or synthetic polymers. Preferred polymers for use in this invention are elastomeric polymers, although other non-elastomeric polymers, such as certain polyurethanes and homopolymers of styrene, acrylonitrile, vinyl acetate, alkyl acrylates (such as ethyl acrylate), alkyl methacrylates (such as methyl methacrylate), vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride and vinyl butyral, as well as copolymers of these materials with other polymeric materials such as ethylene, can also be used. Elastomeric polymers, which are defined by ASTM as materials that can be stretched at room temperature to twice their length, held for 5 minutes, and upon release will return to within 10 percent of their original length over a similar period of time, include such polymers as natural rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, isobutylene-isoprene rubber, nitrile-butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, ethylene-propylene copolymers ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers, silicones, fluoroelastomers, polyacrylates, polyurethanes including polyethers (such as polyepichlorohydrin) and polyesters, chlorosulfonated polyethylene, chlorinated polyethylene, ethylene-acrylic copolymers, polypropylene oxide, thermoplastic elastomers, and thermoplastic resins. 
     If appliance  10  is to be made disposable, then the most preferred material is a polyurethane foam such as that available from Foamex of Philadelphia, Pa. On the other hand, if appliance  10  is to be made reusable, then the most preferred materials are a nitrile butadiene rubber or a styrene butadiene rubber, such as those available from Zeon Chemicals LP of Tokyo, Japan. Preferably, the thickness of appliance  10  ranges from approximately 0.01 inches to approximately 0.75 inches. 
     In this aspect, appliance  10  also includes self-attaching fastener means, which preferably comprises a conventional hook-and-loop reclosable fastening system in which the hook structures are illustratively disposed on a portion  24  of inner surface  20  of appliance  10 , and the loop structures are illustratively disposed on a portion  25  of outer surface  22  of appliance  10 . Although suitable hook-and-loop fastening systems are available commercially from several different manufacturers, the one sold under the trademark SCOTCH MATE and identified as Thin Reclosable Fastener SJ3506/07, available from 3M Company of St. Paul, Minn., is preferred. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , appliance  10  may be wrapped around the hairs/filaments  14  of brush  12 , in the direction indicated by the arrows A in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , following which appliance  10  may be fastened into position, with the hook structures of portion  24  engaging the loop structures of portion  25 , as shown best in  FIG. 2 . Appliance  10  thereby encircles and encloses the hairs/filaments  14  of brush  12 , and temporarily provides an alternative media engaging working-head formation which eliminates the texture of the brush stroke, thus changing the working attributes of brush  12  and expanding its media range beyond paint by allowing it to be used to apply and manipulate dry media (e.g., to blend and smudge soft pastels on a paper surface, for which conventional brushes are not otherwise ordinarily suited), while still maintaining the bounce and flexibility characteristics normally associated with a brush. At any time after such use, appliance  10  may be removed by detaching the hook structures from the loop structures, thereby allowing the hairs/filaments  14  to be used once again in the usual fashion, thus restoring the native media-engaging working-head formation of brush  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , appliance  10  may be manufactured in a true rectangular shape, in which each of the corners  26  describes substantially a right angle, or in a shape in which two of the corners  26 ′ are somewhat rounded. Also, appliance  10  may optionally be manufactured with a flat leading edge  28 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or with a serrated leading edge  28 ′, as shown in  FIG. 3 , or with a pillowed edge, as described more fully hereinbelow in connection with  FIGS. 20-21 . It will be evident to those skilled in the art that by varying the shape of the corners and/or the shape of the leading edge of appliance  10 , the user is provided with the ability to make a variety of different marks with a given medium for which conventional brushes are not otherwise ordinarily suited. 
       FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate a variation of the aspect of  FIGS. 1-3 , in which the user is provided with the ability to make even a wider variety of marks with appliance  10  attached to brush  12 . Specifically, instead of the loop structures being disposed on only a portion of the outer surface  22  of appliance  10 , they are disposed on the entire outer surface  22 . In addition, an appliance extension  30  is provided, which is fabricated of the same material as appliance  10 , and which has a media-engaging surface  32  and an opposed attachment surface  34  on which hook structures are disposed. Extension  30  may be fastened into position on appliance  10  with the loop structures of outer surface  22  engaging the hook structures disposed on surface  34 . Although extension  30  is illustratively shown in the drawings as being cylindrical in shape, it is to be understood that extension  30  may be manufactured in many other shapes, according to the user&#39;s needs. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 6-8  in addition to the aforementioned  FIGS. 1-5 , a different aspect of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, specifically, an appliance  10 ′ for use with brushes in which the media-engaging working-head formation consists of a circular hair/filament configuration. In this aspect, appliance  10 ′ may be manufactured from the same materials and in the same thicknesses as specified hereinabove for appliance  10 , although unlike appliance  10 , appliance  10 ′ preferably comprises two sheets of such materials that are then sewn or glued, or are bonded together via heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing or the like, to form a thimble-like enclosure with an open end and a closed end, as shown best in cross-section in  FIG. 7 , but with side seams  35 , as shown best in  FIG. 8 . Furthermore, unlike appliance  10 , appliance  10 ′ does not require hook-and-loop structures in order to be fastened properly in place over a brush. 
     In this aspect, appliance  10 ′ is removably attachable to a brush  12 ′, the latter comprising an elongate shaft with a multiplicity of hairs/filaments  14 ′ attached in a conventional fashion to a handle  16 ′ via a tapered ferrule  18 ′. Preferably, appliance  10 ′ is attachable to brush  12 ′ with the aid of an inner sleeve  36 , which may be fabricated from any suitably smooth but rigid plastic or paper material, and which is used to protect and maintain the shape of the hairs/filaments  14 ′. As shown best in  FIG. 6 , inner sleeve  36 , which includes a longitudinal expansion, slit  38 , is first positioned on brush  12 ′ such that it surrounds hairs/filaments  14 ′ and also surrounds the narrower portion  40  of ferrule  18 ′ that is adjacent to hairs/filaments  14 ′, as shown in  FIG. 7 . Appliance  10 ′ may then be positioned on brush  12 ′ by sliding it over inner sleeve  36 , following which inner sleeve  36  may be removed in the direction indicated by arrow B in  FIG. 7 , by sliding it first over the wider portion  42  of ferrule  18 ′ and then over handle  16 ′, with slit  38  (not shown in  FIG. 7 ) expanding in a known fashion to permit such movement. 
     Appliance  10 ′ thereafter encircles and encloses the hairs/filaments  14 ′ of brush  12 ′, and temporarily provides an alternative media-engaging working-head formation which eliminates the texture of the brush stroke, thus changing the working attributes of brush  12 ′ and expanding its media range beyond paint by allowing it to be used to apply and manipulate dry media (e.g., soft pastels, for which conventional brushes are not otherwise ordinarily suited), while still maintaining the bounce and flexibility characteristics normally associated with a brush. Although inner sleeve  36  may alternatively be left in place after appliance  10 ′ is positioned on brush  12 ′, and may even be retained there while the brush is being used, it is to be understood that some of the bounce and flexibility characteristics normally associated with the brush will consequently be lost. 
     It will be evident to those skilled in the art that appliance  10 ′ may be manufactured to fit brushes  12 ′ with differing hair/filament sizes and shapes, with appliance  10 ′ being sized slightly smaller than the brush head itself in order to provide a friction fit. If desired, ferrule  18 ′ can be formed with an additional crimp or groove  44  (shown for illustrative purposes in phantom in  FIGS. 6 and 7 ), providing additional mechanical friction and also providing a visual reference for the proper positioning of appliance  10 ′. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 9-13  of the drawings, additional appliances in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention are illustrated for use with a group of patented painting, drawing, craft and dental tools having molded silicone rubber tips. As mentioned hereinabove, these tools are currently marketed and sold under the trademark COLOUR SHAPER, and they are available in several different sizes and levels of firmness, with a variety of useful, differently-shaped media-engaging working-head formations. For illustrative purposes, four of these working-head formations are depicted in FIGS.  9  and  11 - 13 , and these tools will be referred to hereinafter as “shaper tools.” 
     Referring first to  FIG. 9 , a shaper tool  46 , comprising an elongate shaft having a media-engaging working-head formation consisting of a silicone rubber tip configured as a conical taper point  47 , which is attached in a conventional fashion to a handle  48  via a ferrule  49 , is provided with an appliance  50  in accordance with a first aspect of this embodiment of the invention. Appliance  50  may be manufactured from the same materials and in the same thicknesses as specified hereinabove for appliances  10  and  10 ′, although natural hides are difficult to use and therefore are not preferred. Like appliance  10 ′, appliance  50  preferably comprises two sheets of such materials that are then bonded together to form a thimble-like enclosure with an open end and a closed end, with side seams  52 , as shown best in cross-section in  FIG. 10 . Appliance  50  has a conical taper point shape, so as to conform to the shape of the working-head formation of the shaper tool  46  to which it will be attached, and as shown in phantom in  FIG. 9 , appliance  50  may be positioned on shaper tool  46  by sliding it over conical taper point  47 . 
     It will be evident to those skilled in the art that appliance  50  will preferably be sized slightly smaller than conical taper point  47  in order to provide a friction fit. If desired, ferrule  49  can be formed with an additional crimp or groove  54  (shown for illustrative purposes in phantom in  FIG. 9 ), providing additional mechanical friction and also providing a visual reference for the proper positioning of appliance  50 . 
       FIGS. 11-13  respectively depict shaper tools  56 ,  58  and  60 , having media-engaging working-head formations comprising silicone rubber tips configured, respectively, in an angle chisel configuration  57 , a cupped round configuration  59 , and a flat chisel configuration  61 . In accordance with additional aspects of this second preferred embodiment of the invention, appliances  62 ,  64  and  66  are provided for use with these shaper tools, as shown in phantom, respectively, in  FIGS. 11-13 . As will be evident from the drawings, appliance  62  has an angle chisel shape, while appliance  64  has a cupped round shape and appliance  66  has a flat chisel shape, so that each of these appliances will conform to the shape of the working-head formation of the respective shaper tool  56 ,  58  and  60  to which it will be attached. Except for their shapes, each of appliances  62 ,  64  and  66  is otherwise identical, in its manufacture and manner of use, to appliance  50 . 
     As will be evident, appliances  50 ,  62 ,  64  and  66  encircle and enclose the silicone rubber tips of the shaper tools to which they are attached, and temporarily provide an alternative media-engaging working-head formation which modifies the working properties and characteristics of those tools and expands their media range. For example, if appliances  50 ,  62 ,  64  or  66  are fabricated of an absorbent material, then the shaper tools can be used to apply and manipulate media of low viscosity, such as certain inks and watercolor-type paints, for which the nonabsorbent silicone rubber tips of these tools are not otherwise ordinarily suited. At any time after such use, however, these appliances may be removed, thereby allowing the molded silicone rubber tips to be used once again in the usual fashion, thus restoring the native media-engaging working-head formations of shaper tools  46 ,  56 ,  58  and  60 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 14-21  of the drawings, additional appliances in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention are illustrated for use with painting and palette knives, which are conventional art, craft and hobbyist tools that are available in an enormous variety of configurations, sizes and blade shapes, a few examples of which are depicted in FIGS.  14  and  17 - 20 . As mentioned hereinabove, traditional painting and palette knives generally resemble small trowels, consisting of a flexible metal or plastic blade (which constitutes the media-engaging working-head formation) attached to a handle, and they are used to scrape, mix, apply and manipulate paint and other traditional media, including glues, grouts and clays, either on a palette or directly on a canvas or other work surface. 
     Referring first to  FIGS. 14-16 , a palette knife  68 , comprising an elongate shaft having a blade  70  as the media-engaging working-head formation, which is attached in a conventional fashion to a handle  72  via a ferrule  74 , is provided with an appliance  76  in accordance with a first aspect of this embodiment of the invention. Appliance  76  may be manufactured from the same materials and in the same thicknesses as specified hereinabove for appliances  10  and  10 ′, and like appliance  10 ′, appliance  76  preferably comprises two sheets of such materials that are then bonded together to form an enclosure with an open end and a closed end, with side seams  78 , as shown best in cross-section in  FIG. 15 . Appliance  76  can be manufactured either so as to enclose substantially all of blade  70 , as shown in  FIG. 14 , or so as to enclose only a small portion of blade  70 , as shown in  FIG. 16 . In either case, appliance  76  is manufactured in a shape which corresponds to the shape of blade  70 . Also, appliance  76  may optionally be manufactured with a completely flat edge  80 , as shown in  FIG. 14 , or with a partially serrated edge  82 , as shown in  FIG. 16 , or with other edge configurations according to the user&#39;s needs. Appliance  70  may be positioned on palette knife  68  by sliding it over the end of blade  70 , as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 16 ; preferably, appliance  76  will be sized slightly smaller than blade  70  in order to provide a friction fit. 
       FIGS. 17-19  respectively depict other exemplary palette and painting knife tools  84 ,  86  and  88 , having elongated handles and having media-engaging working-head formations comprising, respectively, a rectangular-shaped blade  85 , an oval-shaped blade  87  and a pear-shaped blade  89 . In accordance with additional aspects of this third preferred embodiment of the invention, appliances  90 ,  92  and  94  are provided for use with these tools, as shown in phantom, respectively, in  FIGS. 17-19 . As will be evident from the drawings, appliance  90  has a rectangular shape, while appliance  92  has an oval shape and appliance  94  has a pear shape, so that each of these appliances will conform to the shape of the working-head formation of the respective tool  84 ,  86  and  88  to which it will be attached. Except for their shapes, each of appliances  90 ,  92  and  94  is otherwise identical, in its manufacture and manner of use, to appliance  76 . 
     As will be evident, appliances  76 ,  90 ,  92  and  94  encircle and enclose, either in whole or in part, the blades of the tools to which they are attached, and temporarily provide an alternative media-engaging working-head formation which modifies the working properties and characteristics of those tools and expands their media range, essentially converting them into universal painting and drawing tools capable of applying, manipulating and removing a wide variety of media ranging in consistency from a thick oil color paint to a thin ink or watercolor paint, the latter being media for which the blades of these tools are not otherwise ordinarily suited. In addition, these appliances expand the media range of painting and palette knives by allowing them to be used to apply and manipulate (e.g., to mix, blend and smudge) dry media, procedures which are messy and dusty, and for which conventional palette knife blades are also not otherwise ordinarily suited, while still maintaining the cleanliness of the hands of the user, a characteristic normally associated with a palette knife. Thus, palette knives bearing the appliances of the present invention can be used as alternatives to the traditional artists&#39; stumps and tortillons, and provide the user with virtually limitless possibilities for making marks and new surface textures. At any time after use, however, these appliances may be removed, thereby allowing the palette knife blades to be used once again in the usual fashion, thus restoring the native media-engaging working-head formations of tools  72 ,  84 ,  86  and  88 . 
       FIGS. 20 and 21  illustrate an optional variation of this third preferred embodiment of the invention, shown illustratively as a variation of the aspect of  FIG. 17 , but which those of ordinary skill will understand as being applicable equally to any of the other aspects of this embodiment, as disclosed hereinabove. In this variation, the user is provided with the ability to make even a wider variety of marks with an appliance attached to a palette knife. In particular, an appliance  95 , which may be manufactured from the same materials as specified hereinabove for appliances  10  and  10 ′, may be attached to the blade  85 ′ of palette knife  84 ′ via a friction fit over the end of the blade, as disclosed in connection with  FIGS. 14-19 . However, in this variation an appliance extension  96  is provided, and a hook-and-Ioop fastener system, such as that disclosed hereinabove, is used to attach appliance extension  96  to appliance  95 . Specifically, hook structures are disposed on at least one surface  95 ′ of appliance  95 , and loop structures are disposed on at least one surface  96 ′ of appliance extension  96 . As shown in  FIG. 20 , appliance extension  96  may be moved into proximity with the blade  85 , in the direction indicated by the arrows C, following which appliance extension  96  may be fastened into position, with the hook structures on surface  95 ′ of appliance  95  engaging the loop structures on surface  96 ′ of appliance extension  96 . In this variation appliance extension  96  may be manufactured with at least one rounded, pillow-shaped edge  98 , or it may be manufactured with additional pillow-shaped edges, according to the user&#39;s needs, as shown by the phantom lines in  FIGS. 20 and 21 . 
       FIG. 22  depicts yet a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein appliances are provided to alter the characteristics of the media-engaging working-head formations of conventional modeling tools utilized by artists, hobbyists and craftsperson to manipulate clay and other semi-solid media. As shown in  FIG. 22 , a typical modeling tool  100  has an elongate shaft  102 , with a ball-shaped media-engaging working-head formation  104  disposed at one end of shaft  102 , and a flat media-engaging working-head formation  106  disposed at the other end of shaft  102 , with formation  106  typically carrying grooves  108 . In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, tool  100  is provided with one or more appliances  110 , each of which may be manufactured from the same materials and in the same thicknesses as specified hereinabove for appliances  10  and  10 ′, and like appliance  10 ′, each of appliances  110  preferably comprises two sheets of such materials that are then bonded together to form an enclosure with an open end and a closed end. Appliances  110  are each manufactured in a shape that conforms to the shape of the working-head formation of tool  100  to which it will be attached, and as shown in phantom in  FIG. 22 , appliances  110  may be positioned on tool  100  by sliding them over formations  104  and  106 . As will be evident, appliances  110  encircle and enclose the native working-head formations of tool  100  to which they are attached, and temporarily provide an alternative media-engaging working-head formation which modifies the working properties and characteristics of the tool and expands its media range, in the same fashion as disclosed hereinabove. At any time after such use, however, these appliances may be removed, thereby allowing formations  104  and  106  to be used once again in the usual fashion, thus restoring the native media-engaging working-head formations of modeling tool  100 . It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the modeling tool  100  shown in the drawings is for illustrative purposes only, and that such tools are widely available in an array of shapes and sizes, and with a variety of different working-head formations. Moreover, this embodiment of the invention is applicable to other tools as well, including, for example, blending tools such as traditional artists&#39; stumps and tortillons. 
     Any of the appliances manufactured in accordance with the present invention may optionally include an inner lining consisting of a material that is relatively impermeable to the transmission of fluids. In this manner, the native media-engaging working-head formations of the underlying tools may be protected from any liquid medium which is being applied or manipulated by the overlying appliance, or with which that appliance is in contact, and for which the native media-engaging working-head formations are not otherwise ordinarily suited. Those persons skilled in the art will realize that numerous means exist to provide such a fluid-impermeable barrier material, including but not limited to, providing gauze having such a barrier formed on one side, or providing a fluid-absorbent material impregnated with a fluid-impermeable substance, or bonding a thermoplastic sheet to a fluid-absorbent surface, etc. 
     While there has been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims.