9. Textile as scaffold¶
WEEK 9:
This week we have known different ways or techniques of how to manufacture objects or coating objects from textiles subjected to crystallization processes, composites, polymerization, all leading to make your own solid from the textile as a base. And of course, try to use bio resins in these processes of accumulation of the textile material.
I am very interested in these processes or techniques that allow to reuse leftover or second hand textile material. I think that applying these processes, could be one of the variants to take advantage of the tons of textile waste and second hand clothes that exist.
Research and inspiration¶
These are 4 examples that I find inspiring:
-
The work of the artist Derick Melander, who uses recycled clothes to build architectural structures.
-
The products of the company FabBrick, which makes bricks from all kinds of textile leftovers.
-
The sofa by designer Harry Nuriev that was made as a unique piece for a Balenciaga space, but it seems to me a good design principle.
-
The Rag Chair by artist Tejo Remy.
Tests¶
I have made 3 tests. One crystallization and 2 textile composites based on bio resins.
Test 1 Crystallization¶
It was a nice experience with the crystallization process. In this case I tried to draw a line or text with the crystals and the result was interesting. In the photos you can't see it very well but in reality the drawing is visible and it seems to me an applicable option.
Preparation¶
The steps for this were; Make a preparation of Alum. Ingredients used:
-
Tap water 1L
-
250 gr of Alum
Dissolve the aluminum in the water in a pot, then put it to heat and stir for about 10 minutes. Then it is strained and placed in several containers where you are going to hang the samples.
In this case I took 2 textile fragments of polyester, and polyester cotton and drew using a fixative and placing small lumps of aluminum, previously crushed. Then one of the samples was hung inside a glass and the other was placed floating, although completely wet, on a flat container.
The result was very interesting, because although the crystallized surface was quite homogeneous, they could be differentiated from the traced drawing.
Tc1 - Before and after¶
TC2 - Before and after¶
Test 2 Bio-Composites¶
The first idea I thought of was to make a solid block of textile and bio resin that when dried would be hard enough to be turned into pieces that could be used to build furniture or other useful objects inside the house. A bit like the work of FabBrick but using textiles from recycled pieces of clothing cut up, layered one on top of the other, like a sandwich. The textiles were diverse, and 20 layers were used. This process is not finished because of the 2 samples I made, the one that looks like it will work is not completely dry. The idea I have is to try to cut it with CNC or Laser.
Test 1¶
Test 1 was made with a formula I found on the internet for bio plastic, which I did not know about.
Ingredients:
-
30gr cornstarch
-
1 cup of water
-
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
-
1 tablespoon of glycerin
-
Cinnamon (it is supposed to prevent mushrooms).
Mix all the ingredients in a pot, then put on medium heat, stir constantly so that it solidifies, then add the cinnamon, turn off when it has consistency.
When it was not too hot, I poured the fragments of cloth into the pot so that they were covered with the compound.
Then I placed them on top of each other, drained them and put them on a board. I thought I could apply pressure with tweezers and 2 boards, but it is too slippery and totally deforms, so it was not possible to apply pressure.
The drying process is very important because it can produce fungus before it is ready. This time I have tried to reinforce this step and I have used the industrial dryer and the 3 tests of bio composites were put to dry in the open air for 3 days, 2 of them seem to dry correctly, where bio resin from gelatin was used, but this first one from cornstarch has not worked.
This sample had not worked until Sunday, because it is still very wet. It looks like it will stay wet for a long period of time.
Test 2¶
The other two tests were with the bio resin and bio plastic formula with gelatin as a base.
I prepared another set of textiles just like the first one, but with 15 layers instead of 20 of various textiles.
The formula for this was:
-
48 gr gelatin
-
240 ml of water
-
8 gr of glycerin
-
Cinnamon (1 tablespoon)
The process was typical, heat the water in the pot to 60 degrees, pour in the gelatin, stir, pour in the glycerin, stir, then the cinnamon. Stir over high heat for 5-10 minutes.
Submerge the tissue fragments and build the sandwich.
This result is quite dry and I think it will work for testing CNC or laser cutting.
Test 3¶
Same formula and procedure as above, but with 35 gr of glycerin. The idea in this case was to test on a rounded surface, and it is closer to a bio silicone. The textile in this case, approximately 20 gr of textile cut in small pieces, was dipped in the formula.
This test seems to have worked, it is drying well and feels solid and resistant.
Conclusions¶
The bio resin and bio silicone (gelatin based) formulation seem to work well mixed with textile. When I test the CNC and laser cuts and dry everything completely, this page will be updated.
