ELEPHANT DECORATION
The elephant decoration illustrated on page [91] (27 x 25 inches) was done on white taffeta. The frame was made of two-inch basswood with a narrow gilt-edge moulding for a finish. The decoration on the frame was batiked.
The elephant, with its decoration and border, was outlined in wax.
BATIKED TABLE COVER
The vertical stripes numbered from left to right were: yellow (1-3-5-7-9); orange (2-6-10); magenta (4-8). These were painted in and covered [!-- original location of illustration --] with wax. The fabric was dipped in a dye-bath of grayed purple.
The design on the frame was painted in wax and the colors in the design reproduced from the colors in the silk. Most of the wax was removed with a knife and the balance with a gasoline wash. It was afterwards finished with a coating of wax.
This wall hanging has a few spots where the treatment was not thorough. The red stripe under the elephant’s head shows unintentional breaking in the wax. Too much blue crept into many places. It cannot be emphasized too many times—before painting over the colors with wax, the colors must be dry.
This work illustrates the success of painting in rather large surfaces of color without streaks appearing and harmonizing the whole by tying together with crackle. The design of the elephant and the outside border are unusually meritorious.