Wax Resist

Object Persistence :: いない …いない … ばあ :: Nothing … Nothing? … Something!

Prep Time: 5 minutes / Creating Time: From 20 ~ 60 minutes /

Materials:

White Paper (preferably cardstock or watercolor, but it’s really up to you).
White Crayon.
Water Color Paints & Paint Brush.

Variations: Use any variety of papers and crayons. Using white crayons on white paper offers the biggest surprise element, but matching the same color crayon and paper can also be interesting. And/or, just use a mismatched variety and see where it takes you!

Instructions:

1. Gather all of the materials

2. Use your crayon(s) to draw: scribbles, pictures, designs, letters, characters, 汉字/漢字, say “Thank You”, etc.

3. Use your watercolors to paint on top of the crayon. The paint will bead and repel from the wax, it won’t blur the wax because waxes are insoluble in water.

4. and, there you have it…

Notes on waxes and solvents:

Natural waxes of different types are produced by plants (such as coatings on leaves and stems) and animals (beeswax is the most common) and also occur in petroleum.

Waxes are insoluble in water (a polar solvent). Waxes are soluble in non-polar solvents, such as those containing hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon solvents are oily liquids. (Some common household products that contain hydrocarbons are mineral oil based cosmetic products like baby and bath oil, creams, lotions. In addition, gasoline additives or motor oil). When thinking about solvents, it may be useful to remember “like-dissolves-like,” or “wax-on wax-off”.

Household products that contain hydrocarbons can be dangerous. Hydrocarbon related substances have been found in, for example – some baby oils – and have posed a serious or even deadly risk to children, if ingested into the lungs. If hydrocarbons coat the lungs there can be a seriously damaging result.