4. Biochromes

This week I worked on defining my final project idea and started to getting used to the documentation process.

Assignment

  • Produce at least one natural dye:

  • Natural Dye - modifying it’s colour and mordanting it in different ways to dye at least 2 different categories of fibers

  • Produce at least one botanical:

  • Botanical Ink - explore different materials, recipes and understand how to adjust them based on the ingredients

  • Document your recipes, the ingredients and process and if there have been changes, document your unexpected discoveries

  • Name your materials, classify them by typology and display them in a systematic order of samples.

  • EXTRA POINT Submit some of your swatches to the analog material library of your lab. (20cm *20cm aprox)

How will it be evaluated

  • Master techniques for making botanical or bacterial inks
  • Documentation : Anyone can go through the process and use the recipes
  • Final outcome: create a color chart
  • Originality - Aesthetics : Has the design been thought through and elaborated

Dyes and Inks

Workflow

  • Research
  • Tests and understanding
  • Methodology
  • Experimentation
  • Charter

Research

Examples of companies using natural plants dyes

Some experimentation

Tests and understandin

I have previous experience in 3D scanning with photogrammetry, laser, tomography and infrared frequency.

Mordant

We have follow Cecilia recommendation to make our mordent. We left a pace of iron A36 outside and 3 raining days iron was oxidized. Then we put iron into a pot with vinegar and wait 2 days. At that point we find a nice yellow mordant. Then we put mordant into a recycle plastic glass with our cotton sheets and silk cocoons.

PH test

In next Photography you may see PH variations. If the test is more basic it turns more purple and more acid more red.

Methodology

For this exercise David and I decide to use pure silk “Bombyx Mori” (the cocoon) to see how dye could attach to it. Also we use cotton “Gossypium” fabric to dye different botanical species. Also you may see PH variations we used.

Experimentation

In next photographs you may see the process we used on to extract color from our targets. We used an electrical balance to make sure about accuracy.

Also we used a normal pot to prepare everything. An important note, we used coffee filter to avoid impurities on our dyes. .

Charter

I am impressed of the capacity of silk to absolve color, even more than cotton. And how colors change just changing PH.

Conclusions

This was a super funny assignment and my first experience with this ancestral technology. It is amazing how we lose capabilities to produce our own garments because it’s common to buy clothes instead of produce and personalize it. Also it is important to understand better these concepts to avoid the consumption of warning chemicals industry that fashion industry consume to produce fast fashion clothes.