eucalyptus uses + studio placements

the genus eucalyptus yields so much more than just dyes

timber, honey, paper, oil

and

a very useful trick for cleaning rust from tools

i bought this lovely implement when i was working on costumes

in Yamaguchi, Japan

nearly seven years ago

it had been lost for some while

and then i found it again. rusty and in need of care

so

knowing that eucalyptus leaves yield acids and oils when heated in water

and that those acids work to assist a rust reduction whereby the red rust

[ferrous oxide] which is quite hard

is turned black and soft [ferric oxide] and is then easy to remove from the tool

i boiled up my little cutter in eucalyptus and water

after tying some string around the handle in case of accidental patterning

[those are not my paws]

after an hour or so

the blade was as black as its shadow

so i dried it and honed it

greased it with lanolin from a scrap of wool

and waxed the handle

so now it's as good as new

+    +    +

which brings me to the second part of this post.

studio placement.

it's the time of year when i am deluged with requests from people who want to come and stay so that in a few short weeks i can teach them everything i know. they say that in return they will help me with my work.
it's kind of y'all to offer

but
i already have all the help i can handle

 and in case you were wondering

the liquid left over from cleaning the tool

...perfect as an iron-rich mordant.