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I am not even sure if \u201clyed\u201d is a word. You might have to gel me on that. Anyway. You know how all techniques have their \u201cdon\u00b4t-do-this-or-you\u00b4ll-ruin-the-whole-thing\u201d-rules? Many a good art-by-accident has occurred by defying these rules. Using bleach on dark fabrics for instance can make beautiful and powerful images. Today I wanted to try something I\u00b4ve only heard about, to see if it really was true.<\/p>\n
You see, I had this little piece of oak, and I had heard that oak turns into silvery-grey when you use lye on it. I saw images of driftwood-look-alikes in my head, and found the equipment I needed.<\/p>\n
Caustic soda + plastic gloves + safety goggles + natural soap + plastic bucket + lots of fresh air!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/MG_3426.jpg\" "\\"_MG_3426\\"")
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The caustic soda is some seriously nasty stuff, and you want to be REALLY careful with it!!! Add a bit of water in you bucket, then slowly ad the soda. NEVER the other way around, or you\u00b4ll get a chemical geyser in your face before you can say help! I cannot stress this enough!<\/p>\n
Also I decided very quickly to take the bucket outside. You simply cannot breathe in the fumes. Seriously. An open window is not enough.<\/p>\n
Below you can see the pieces of oak. The top one is the original colored one (a little wet on the righthand side.)<\/p>\n
And below is the one I exposed to the lye.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/MG_3427.jpg\" "\\"_MG_3427\\"")
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I made a fairly strong mix, so the reaction was pretty instant. However it didn\u00b4t turn grey at all, but a dark, warm brownish color, almost like mahogany. I let it rest under running water, then in natural soapy water, before rinsing it again. There seems to be a lot of excess color. Which isn\u00b4t color at all, but some sort of chemical reaction between the wood, the chemical, and the water. I did scrub it with steel-wool as well, to help get excess chemicals off the wood. I have to admit I\u00b4m looking forward to seeing what it looks like when it\u00b4s dry.<\/p>\n
I\u00b4ll let you know tomorrow! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
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I am not even sure if \u201clyed\u201d is a word. You might have to gel me on that. Anyway. You know how<\/p>\n