Born
on this day in France in 1761, Marie Gresholtz learned to make wax
models from a doctor who made models as he studied anatomy. Dr.
Curtius began to make wax portraits, and he set up an exhibition in
Paris in 1765; Tussaud moved to Paris to be his assistant.
Two wax heads Curtius had made were carried by French
Revolutionaries in a protest march two days before protestors
attacked the infamous prison known as the Bastille. During the bloody French Revolution, Tussaud was arrested and
imprisoned. Her head was shaved to prepare her for execution by
guillotine, but a well-known actor who was also a revolutionary
vouched for her and her family, and Tussaud was released. Then—get
this!— she was hired by the revolutionaries to make death masks of
those who weren't so lucky! Since the revolutionaries were executing
France's former royalty and nobles, the wax portraits Tussaud made
were of the rich and powerful – or, rather, people who HAD BEEN
rich and powerful.
In
1802, Tussaud went to London, where she tried to make a living by
exhibiting her collection of wax heads. Eventually she created a
permanent exhibit in London. At the entrance of the museum is a
self-portrait of Tussaud herself, and several other sculptures done
by Tussaud herself still survive in the original Madame Tussaud's
museum.
More
than 200 years later, there are Madame Tussaud's museums all over the
place, including one only 30 miles away from my house!
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| A waxen Bruce Lee in the Hong Kong Madame Tussaud's |
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| Lady Gaga - in wax |
What
is wax?
The
word wax refers to a group of
chemical compounds that are plastic (something that you can push and
pull in order to form various shapes) at temperatures higher than
room temperature, but not that hot.
Wax generally melts at 45 degrees C (113 degrees F). They are organic
compounds, and some are naturally made by animals and plants—think
of the beeswax created by bees in order to create honeycombs, or the
waxy coating inside our ears.
Because
wax cannot dissolve in water, it resists water-based paints and dyes,
and therefore it can be used in a variety of art activities. Here are
some fun ideas using wax:
Crayons are waxy! Try out the projects suggested on the Crayola website, especially the “Crayon Resist” idea (scroll down).- Another version of crayon resist is found at Incredible Art-dot-org.
Here are some easy directions for batik.
Encaustic art works with melting wax to create landscapes. A low-cost version of this sort of art can be achieved with an
ordinary iron, waxed paper, and broken crayons, or other ordinary household materials. 
Make wax candles! Here you will find a lot of information.
Also
on this Date:
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