It really starts to feel like the holidays for me right after Thanksgiving. My grandmother always used to take the turkey carcass and make turkey soup, and it's a tradition I carry on - right down to the Tabasco! Something about the soup bubbling on the stove says, "Yup. It's really the Holidays now!"
In a previous post, someone asked about preparing the bones. I'm still in the process of perfecting my technique - and I have to admit that I would love to have a box of flesh eating beetles (like they use on Bones) for Christmas! But, for now, I'll just give you a quick description of how I do it . . . and if you've got any suggestions, let me know!
- Boil the turkey - this helps get the flesh off the bones, and gives you a great broth. Be careful not to boil it for too long, though, as this can bring the yellow fats in bone to the surface and leave you with greasy bones - usually, I bring it to a boil, then let it simmer.
- Run cool water over the bones and clean the last of the meat and flesh off with your fingers.
- Mix about a cup of bleach in one or two gallons of water and let the bones soak in it for a few hours. Remove, rinse, and let the bones air dry. Again, I'm still working this out . . . if there's too much bleach, or you leave it in too long, it can make the bone brittle and powdery.
- Once the bones are dry, I seal them with a matte gel medium or a matte spray sealant. Then, they go in the art. Fun!
2 comments:
yay! i love that bones can be a holiday post. thanks for the tip about boiling too long.
Hahahahaha, only assemblage artists can appreciate a "recipe" for drying bones to perfection!
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