4. Biochromes¶

INSPIRATION¶

Pippin Drysdale is an Australian ceramic artist and art teacher. She is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the Australian landscape in the field of ceramics. Her works are known for their intensity of color and linear markings that interpret the artist's relationship with the Australian landscape.

COLORFULL¶

My inspiration is from the sculptor anchorball. I think he is such a smart sculptor to make a huge colorful piece. I really like his work, which is made from fabric and has a lot of colors.

These nice colors make you do very shinny things. Nice colors to try natural dyes. Bright and shinny colors. These are the samples I found for this artist.

READY TO DYE!¶

Here is my result of dying with red onions and eucalyptus bark.

PREPARE TO DYE¶

SCOURING¶

First, we learn about scouring.

Scouring is the process of cleaning or scrubbing a surface thoroughly to remove dirt, debris, or contaminants. It is commonly used in various industries such as textile manufacturing, agriculture, and cleaning products.

We have two kinds of material for scouring.

Plant fiber: cotton threads and fabric
Animal fiber: wool

Workflow:

We scale the wool. Then we put lukewarm water in a pot. We put soap in the lukewarm water and kept it soaked.

Then cotton-scouring.

We scaled the cotton.
Then we put boiling water in a pot.
We put washing soda in the hot water and kept the fibers soaked for an hour.

Tools used

scale, pot, mixing bowl, mixing tools, kettle fire source

MORDANTING¶

Later, we learn about mordanting.

Mordanting is the process of treating fabrics or materials with mordants, which are substances that help fix dyes to the fibers and improve colorfastness. Mordants create a chemical bond between the dye and the fabric, enhancing the permanence and vibrancy of the color. This process is commonly used in textile dyeing and printing to achieve desired color results and longevity.

Mordanting agents:

I use the ALUM "Aluminium sulfate" to mordant my fibers

Workflow:

We scale the ALUM according to the W.O.F.
Put the alum with the wool and the water for at least 30 minutes.
Put the alum in the cotton for at least 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, you can remove the fibers and rinse them.

The fabric is now ready to dye!

Tools used

scale, pot, mixing bowl, mixing tools, kettle fire source

DYEING - ONION DYE BATH¶

I prepare the onion dye bath by cutting the onions into small pieces and boiling the solution for 30 minutes to get the color. I finally filtered the dyebath from the onion pieces to use it for dying the fibers.

MODIFYING¶

Modifying in natural dyeing refers to the process of adjusting or altering the color obtained from natural dyes by using additional substances or techniques. This can include changing the pH level of the dye bath, adding mordants or modifiers to shift the hue or intensity of the color, or employing different dyeing techniques such as overdyeing or resist dyeing to achieve desired effects. Modifying allows dyers to customize and enhance the colors obtained from natural sources to meet specific aesthetic preferences or artistic visions.

I used lemon, vinegar, ALUM, soda, salt, iron to modify my colors.

We have a red onion dye bath.
We have lemon, salt, iron water, and vinegar for modifying the colors of the dye bath.
In order to dye the fibers, we split them into different jars and turned on the heat.
In some jars, we combine some vinegar with lemon or iron water to create different shades.
We can fold the fabric multiple times and tie it to make shibori designs.

I repeated the process of dyeing with rosemary, eucalyptus bark, and thyme from my kitchen.

I collected dry rosemary, eucalyptus bark, and thyme.
Then we put each one in a different pot with boiling water to get the colors.
We boiled it for 30 minutes and kept it over night.
Then we can dye with it by putting our fibers in the jars.

BEETROOT, CABBAGE DYES, AND INKS¶

I also experimented with beetroot and cabbage, and this time we made inks.

We have BEETROOT and CABBAGE chopped into small pieces.
Then we put each one in a different pot with hot water.
We boil it for 30 minutes, and you can keep it overnight.

INKS CABBAGE¶

In order to make ink, you need to combine the ingredients with water or ethanol.

First, we put the cabbage or any dyebath you have in some petri dishes.
Then we add different modifying agents for changing the colors: vinegar, alum, soda, lemon, salt, iron, and copper.
You can play with colors and see what happens with modifiers.
You can use the inks for painting, and you can preserve them in the fridge.