I am working on a 10 min routine called in all caps "DEATH".
My left hand is the bringer of death and the right is the bringer of life and thorughout the routine I demostrate this.
Well, at the end of the routine I produce a rose from my right hand and when walking off stage I hand it to a woman from the audiance but to do so I must pass it to my left hand where it will wither away.

My problem is How to have a rose visably wither away...

Any ideas?

is the woman a spectater? is she is then this could be difficult. you might need to switch a healthy rose for a "dead" rose but that wouldnt be a visual transformation. if she isnt then i know a method that would make the pedals curve down but not change color. im gona keep thinking about it though this is an interesting idea

:bat: Jonathan

Seem to remember a chemical method for changing the colour of petals. From hazy memory, fumes of some sort do it. It's in the notes/library somewhere. Can anybody save me from alot of rooting through my files?

Caleb Strange.

I don't know a good method to do this visually (i.e. w/o switch), but I can think of numerous applications for it. (Sorry Caleb). I would be very interested to see what people come up with.

Dave

Why not do it the other way and give her a beautiful live rose instead? (End the cycle with life.)
Or, produce a live rose first, have it wilt, then bring it back to life. She will be much happier with a live rose to keep. It's more romantic too.
Just a thought. Nice ideas.

Luke jermay has an effect where a rose is on a table, it then visually dies infront of the audience. stunning routine, ask him about it, i am not sure if he is still selling his manuscript..it had this and other darker materials in

I like the idea of doing it the other way around and handing a live rose to the lady. You could always show the dead rose in your left hand, make a secret switch with the live rose but conceal the top of it with your right hand, handing the lady the stem. When she takes the rose, your life-giving right hand lets go of the top of it revealing the dead rose has come back to life.

Pulling my hair out, trying to find the petal chemical trick. I've a sneaking feeling that it bleaches a purple flower over several hours, so ok for a longterm pk thing, but not for you. I do remember in 'Mind myth and magick', there's a D.D.Home effect, where a fresh rose turns to ash.

The only plant things that appealed in my notes were for making simulacra (shapes occuring in nature, or otherwise that ressemble other things). Jesus in the clouds, or the name of God in aubergines have been cosidered simulacra.

Don't leave it to chance. Spray a pattern of fungicide on a mossy wall, and wait. Or, sprinkle fertilizer on a lawn, again in a suitable shape, and wait. Not only do you get a mysterious clump of grass taller than the rest, but you get the longterm effect of having one area significantly greener than the rest of the lawn, after several months of mowing.

People have used these methods for writing rude words on the property of enemies, but I'd be more inclined to go the glyphic route of crop circles, or something more bizarre. After a seance, over the unmarked, and deconsecrated grave of a notorious villain, a chilling message, or face seems to rise up through the earth. You could also use this to write '4 of hearts', but please don't .

Regards,

Caleb Strange.

Well the living rose thing is nice...and a little bit ,ore romatic so perhaps I will try that still I would like a method for this though.

And thank you for the compliment on the routine it should be very nice.

Take care,
Kyle

If anyone is interested the rose effect appears in my fourthcoming book Building Blocks.

Luke Jermay.

Instead of a withering, browning/curling effect, what if all of the petals dropped off, like autumn leaves falling? This might be easier to see from a distance anyway. I can think of a way that might achieve this with a needle, some fishline and knots. There are probably a few other ways to achieve this variation of the effect as well.

-Reg {*}

Rather than having it decay an alternative that might be easier to produce is if it burst into flame. That'd wither and blacken it pretty quickly =)

-Covernton

"Sorcerer's Apprentice" Tahir Shah...
Chloroform.
Slim Price

Slim, try GETTING chloroform these days.

First, it's a carcinogen. Causes cancer, big time.

Second, it's highly toxic.

Third, it's corrosive - damages plastics quite quickly.

Lastly, there is a VERY obvious and telltale scent that would have to be overcome.

Perhaps something using a supercooled liquid might be better - where the rose SHATTERS instead of withers?

Several ways to do that!

Lee Darrow, C.Ht.

You left out the extreme flammability!
I never meant it to be the best answer, just an answer. Further, though I am able to source it, the rules here forbid that...

Actually it take a bit of flame to get chloroform burning, Ether is the very flammable, and dangerous crystal forming one.....there must surely be other methods to use, I used to do white to pink with phenopthalein solution on fabric flowers, and spray with a light basic (dilute ammonia) to change colors back and forth, if you used a similar set of chemicals to that used by Kymistical for the Extraction effect, you could at least get it to go dark.

Kay

As noted, chloroform is not particularly flammable, but it DOES disperse quickly and can have an adverse effect on someone with a respiratory ailment or allergic sensitivity to it.

Try looking into methods that might use supercooled gasses instead. Insulation for yourself might be an issue, but it IS an impressive thing to see a rose shatter, especially after you have stroked its petals to show that it IS a real rose!

But, BE CAREFUL with this! Supercooled gasses, like liquid notrogen (do NOT use Oxygen - HIGHLY flammable, as in EXPLOSIVE! nor Hydrogen for the same reasons) are VERY dangerous to work with, so GET PROFESSIONAL HELP before even starting to experiment with them!

Come to think of it, carbon tetrachloride may well have the same effect on the rose as cholorform and, while toxic, isn't anywhere near as nasty as chloroform...

BUT - it's STILL quite toxic, so be careful!

Lee Darrow, C.Ht.

Anyone interested in this effect could do worse than wait for Luke Jermay's 'Building Blocks'. Luke modestly sold himself short with his brief post. There is a FABULOUS visible withering of a rose in there (and a great presentation), along with many more groundbreaking, wonderful, and meaningful effects.

Regards,

Caleb Strange.