The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1885-02-05
Living Canoes and Bas-Reliefs.

This fascinating entertainment can
| be prepared by children, ut short no.
| tice, with very little trouble or expense.
The articles required are two sheets of
large card-b board, two sheets of white
| cotton wadding, one ball of white and
one of pink velvet chalk. a lead pencil,
pair of scissors, six yards of black
cambria, few tacks, and little
paste.
] One sheet of cardboard is fastened
on the side wall of a darkened room,
so that the shadow of the face of per-
son with large and regular features
will fall upon the center of it when
| lighted candle is held in front of the
| side of the face at distance of three
feet. A cup should be placed between
| the face and the cardboard and kept
| in position by the pressure of the head.
in order, so far as possible, to prevent
any moment on the part of the sitter.
The candle must be SO placed that the
shadow of profile is in the center of
| the cardboard; the outlines are then
| to be traced with a pencil. The card
| board can then be taken down and the
profile carefully cut out; the back of
the head usually being enlarged, so
that various methods of dressing the
hair may be permitted. The white
cardboard will be ready for the bas-
relief after the outer edge has been
cut into the form of circle, and made
thicker by several rings of pasteboad
of the same diameter, but only three
inches wide. When canoes are to be
exhibited, the outer surface should be
| oOraraI with y,i-, l.
A curtain of cheap black cambria or
any plain-colored material, reaching
from the ceiling to the floor, is then
| hung at a distance of about two feet
from the back wall of the room where
the exhibition is TO take place. The
card board is fastened into a hole made
| in the curtain, SO that the center of
opening is about six or seven feet from
the floor, and a chair or small table is
placed close behind this curtain and
another small piece of black cloth is
tackled to the wall behind the opening.
| The person whose face is to form the
bas-relief stands upon chair or table
so that the head fits into the opening
| in the cardboard, about one-half of it
| projecting in front of the surface of
the frame thus formed. The side-face
thus exposed is chalked and the hair
is covered with white waddlng, which
conceals it. and also can be fastened in
waves, plaits, or classic knots; for
canoes, pink chalk, and tissue-paper
take the place of the white. Very
pretty art studies can thus be made by
inexperienced persons.
| When it is desired to show several
of these art studies consecutively, it
will be well to have pink and white
frame placed side by side about one
foot apart, as then they may be shown
together or separately; the one not in
use being covered with little curtain
of black cambria. Thus pleasing
variety can be produced by showing
either a cameo or bas-relief or both
together. Faces of children or of
people can be used as desired, us it is
not absolutely Necessary that the feat
ures should exactly fill the cut protiles
in the card board. The eyes are always
closed, and little chalk should be rub
bed on the eyelids just before the face is
shown to the spectators.
The frames may be placed between
thick window-curtains draped above
and below them; this will save the
trouble of Il black curtain, as the per-
! formers can stand in the window be-
hind the curtain. The best manner of
lighting them is from the top; and
when the room has no chandelier, .
| lamp can be held as the left side as
high as can be done conveniently by a
person who stands upon a chair or
short step-ladder. George b. Bartlett,
il st. Nicholas for September.