That's Gneiss! #171 ~ Two very old wax women
Plus: tiny organisms, and Zoom goats
Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
The day started out beautiful here, very spring-like. I just spent over two hours working in the yard and am so happy I fit that in because the next few days are going to be COLD. The clouds are coming in, and a large cold air mass is headed our way - will they collide and bring snow next week? Perhaps. The great news is I don’t have to drive anywhere if it does snow.
I’m counting down three more days of work until I take my regular Darwin Day time off. We’re not going anywhere this year, which is sad - I’m going to miss our annual trip to the coast. I am looking forward to some time off work for relaxation, art, and reading - and maybe building a snowman!
But now - it’s time to continue our exploration of wax figures.
You’re thrilled, I know, and have been anxiously awaiting this week’s newsletter. If you missed it, there’s still time to test your wax figure identification skills in last week’s post.
Wax is an organic substance that comes from a variety of sources including bees, sheep, and petroleum. Humans have found numerous uses for wax through the ages, culminating in such products as dill pickle scented alien head candles. What a time to be alive!
People used wax compounds as early as ancient Egyptian and Roman times to create amulets, death masks, and for use in religious rites.
The properties of beeswax make it an excellent medium for preparing figures and models, either by modeling or by casting in molds. It can easily be cut and shaped at room temperature, melts at a low temperature, mixes with any coloring matter, takes surface tints well, and its texture and consistency may be modified by the addition of earthy matters and oils or fats. When molten, it is highly responsive to impressions from a mold and, once it sets and hardens, its form is relatively resilient against ordinary temperature variations, even when it is cast in thin laminae. (Source)
In short, wax is fairly easy to work with, and readily available as bees keep producing it as long as they’re kept happy.
In the 1800’s wax sculptures were used in moulage - the creation of life-like models for medical simulation. I’ll not lie - they’re pretty gross so if you want to see some you can search “wax moulage.” Yuck.
The fascination with creating human figures began early, and busts were often made of notable people after their death. In one case, an especially insignificant person, Sarah Hare, who died in 1744 and left in her will the following instructions:
I desire to have my face and hands made in wax with a piece of crimson satin thrown like a garment in a picture hair upon my head and put in a case of Mahogany with a glass before and fix’d up so near the place were my corps lyes as it can be with my name and time of Death put upon the case in any manner most desirable if I do not execute this in my life I desire it may be done after my Death. (source)
The display of wax figures as an attraction became popular in Europe and England as early as the 17th century, when collections of wax figures were made available for viewing.
The 'Moving Wax Works of the Royal Court of England', a museum or exhibition of 140 life-size figures, some apparently with clockwork moving parts, opened by Mrs Mary in Fleet Street in London was doing excellent business in 1711. (source)
World famous Madame Tussauds was a late arrival to the world of wax museums, with the first permanent location opening in London in 1835. The oldest figure on display in the museum is Sleeping Beauty, modeled in 1763. A device in her chest makes it appear as if she’s breathing.
Wax museums have remained popular attractions to this day. Next week I’ll write more about these attractions and highlight a few you may not have heard of.
OH BOY.
Tidbits
Have goats? Need more money? Hire them out for Zoom calls like this farm in Lancashire does!
It’s J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise come to life! The Downside to Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, Breaks
All buildings sway in the wind, but at exceptional heights, those forces are stronger. A management email explained that “a high-wind condition” stopped an elevator and caused a resident to be “entrapped” on the evening of Oct. 31, 2019 for 1 hour and 25 minutes. Wind sway can cause the cables in the elevator shaft to slap around and lead to slowdowns or shutdowns, according to an engineer who asked not to be named, because he has worked on other towers in New York with similar issues.
Making: I’m off and running with my 100 Day Project! All of them will be collected on here at #100daysofwatercolorpods. Here’s one of them!
Reading: this week I finished Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World. We will be hosting the author, Dr. Anu Taranath on April 1st for a virtual visit at the library. Now I’m reading something completely different - Ring Shout, “a dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror.”
Art Zone
On most days you probably don’t think about all of the tiny things that surround us - out of sight, out of mind as they say! Unless you’re like me and follow several photographers on Instagram who capture the tiny creatures, fungi, and slime molds.
Here in the Pacific Northwest the damp forests are home to legions of mites and other tiny creatures that most folks never notice. Unless one stops and really looks at a log or stump (I mean REALLY looks), these tiny organisms will go unnoticed. Such a shame!
Today’s artist is photographer Michael Rennert from British Columbia, Canada, who goes by m.r.macro on Instagram. I especially like his work because in each post he uses a well-known creature as comparison so we can see just how tiny these things are.
Let’s start with some slime mold. This variety is actually pretty big, as these things go.
It's amazing how slime molds can blend into their environment so well. I was staring at a log for a little while, and right when I concluded that there wasn't any slime mold on it one of these caught my eye, and then I saw that there was a big colony of these chocolate tube slimes on it. They nearly blended in perfectly with the log. (link to post)
Here’s the comparison I was telling you about…
I’m determined to see some slime mold on my own. I just need the opportunity to go sit down and stare at a log for a while.
You may have seen a Red Velvet mite - their fairly large size and bright color make them easier to spot. This little fella is another story.
A very lime green Prostig mite. I should make a post with all the different colored ones I've found. They come in so many different colors. (link to post)
I think we’re all excused for not noticing these!
If you’d like to see the gear Michael uses to take these amazing photos, check out this post for an in-depth explanation.
Finally, this post shows his favorite spots for finding his subjects. The next time you’re out in the forest (or maybe your back yard), stop and spend some time and see if you can find some tiny new friends!
Video of the Week
May as well revisit Prince’s performance of Purple Rain during a downpour…
Current Temperature: 39.9 F (4.4 C)
Current Humidity: 93%
Wind (max gust): 10.3 mph
Precipitation: 0.01 in
There is so much going on on the cold swamps and log trails it’s bananas. Florida’s swamps are the only comparable scenery but it’s so hot and dangerous it’s nice to flip a log and not have three things that might kill you. I can’t believe how frozen the ground got so quick here. Snow fall tonite! Not much of that on the Everglades either. Man I love it here. Miss you and Michael. Hopefully see you soon!