6. B I O _ M A T E R I A L S¶
BioFabricating Materials
I N S P I R A T I O N¶
_ 1 Alanna Lynch uses kombucha as an art medium - Read more here
__ 2 Suzanne Lee is part of the Bio-couture project, which has used bacterial-cellulose material giving it various moulding forms like shoes and body form.
Carolyn Raff creates sustainable biomaterial sequins using algae - Read more here
R E S E A R C H¶
T U T O R I A L S¶
How to make Algae Seaweed Bioplastic
Biocouture on Biodegradable Fabric
Making Bioplastics from Avocado Dye and Agar
Biofabricating Materials Fabricademy 2023-24 Week 6 Lecture
F U R T H E R _ R E A D I N G¶
Fashioning the Future: Tomorrow's Wardrobe - Suzanne Lee
Materiom Growing the next generation of materials
M A T E R I A L S¶
I N G R E D I E N T S
_ 1. Glycerol (plasticiser)
__ 2. Agar - Agar Powder (polymer)
___ 3. Agar - Agar Powder (polymer)
____ 4. Gelatine Powder (polymer)
______ 5. Mica Powder (colour / iridescent)
Pigments for colouring :
- Food colouring
- Left over dye bath
- Inks
- Mica Powder (colourful iridescent)
- Essiential oils for gelatine (smell)
T O O L S¶
Pot + Stove + Spoons + Whisk + Blender
Jars for Mixing + Measuring Scales
Moulds + Surfaces + Spray Bottle + Syringe
G E L A T I N E / A G A R¶
_ 1. Bio Resin - Gelatin
__ 2. Bio Foil - Agar
___ 3. Bio Foam - Gelatin + Agar
____ 4. Bio Foam - Gelatin no soap
______ 5. Bio Foam - Gelatin + soap
R E C I P E S¶
Gelatine & Agar Recipes 1
E X P E R I M E N T S¶
Mould & Surface Preparation
Ready to be cast with Gelatine / Agar mixtures
C H A R C O A L
_ Crushed artists charcoal using mortar and pestle
__ Charcoal added into Agar Bio Foil mixture
___ Mixed together until smooth
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Slow pour mixture into mould to avoid air bubbles and ensure even coat as mould is three-dimensional
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Final picture shows resulting shrinkage of Agar Bio Foil mixture
Agar Bio Foil + Charcoal
Gelatin & Agar Bio Foil
This mixture was wast on semi hollographic patterned frabric.
Result = Gelatin and Agar pick up pattern well.
Gelatin Bio Resin + green ink + mica powder (unmixed)
Petri dish mould with Mica powder (golden maroon)
Gelatin Soap Bio Foam + Mica powder
Gelatin Bio Resin cast on holographic sheet
Mixture did not pick up hollographic effect as much as I would like
Gelatin Bio Resin with mica powder, cast on leaf
R E S U L T S¶
- Front / back surfaces are different on most (shiny / matt / texture)
- Gelatine = give yellow/ golden colour
- Agar mixtures remain clear in colour
- Mixtures vary in shrinkage: Agar will shrink a lot, gelatin will keep its consistency
Video showing properties and appearnce:
Mould growing on Gelatin and Agar Bio Foil
I used calcium chrolide mixted with water spray to try and remove it
A L G I N A T E¶
R E C I P E S¶
Alginate Recipes 2
Use a solution of Calcuium Chloride 10 % with water to cure Alginate.
Dries from outside in = keep in mind for shrinkage
E X P E R I M E N T S¶
Mix the alginate very well until smooth and alginate fully combined
_ Meduim thickness alginate mixture with mica powder
__ Mixture inserted into syringe
___ Mixture extruded using sryinge onto plastic surface
Alginate tests sprayed with calcium chloride solution (mixed with water)
Alginate (meduim mixture) extruded using syringe
I wanted to make yarn, however I could not achieve an even, continuos piece using this syringe.
Alginate (meduim mixture) extruded using syringe onto patterned fabric.
I don't like this particular attempt to make 'lace' by hand but the alginate picked up the pattern very well
Alginate (thick mix) combined with golden food colouring cast onto patterned fabric, with mixture of alginate (thin mix)
_ Alginate (medium mix) with mica powder hand marbeled pattern
__ Alginate (thin mix) with weld pieces in mixture
R E S U L T S¶
- Dehydrator 50 degrees C max (for the ones that did not dry after a few days)
- Allow for shrinkage (the more watery the mixture)
- I really liked the effect of the alginate mixed with mica powder
F I S H _ S K I N¶
Salmon Skin Leather Recipe 3
Step 1: Clean the skin
- Using back of knife / spoon scrape off all the meat and fatty bits.
Until everything is removed and you are just left with clear skin.
Scrape well with elbow grease!
- Always work COLD
- Wash and clean.
Step 2: Tanning
Make a mixture of:
1 decilitre Olive Oil or grape seed oil
1 egg yoke
Teaspoon soap
- Squeeze any water out of skin and place skin in mixture.
- Work with it for 10/15 minutes really massaging well.
- Allow to hang dry (massage skin regularly) for 3 days.
Step 3: Wash
Wash skin in natural dish soap and water and massage.
Step 4: Break the skin
Break the hardness of the skin by brushing it around something e.g leg of table
Massage in every direction
Step 5: Dry
Allow to dry flat on board
Examples: Fish Skin Leather
K O M B U C H A¶
Kombucha Recipe
Ingredients
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100 grams of sugar per litre of liquid
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50 : 50 liquids e.g. water : beer
Box 1
6 beers 500 ml x 6 = 3 litres Beer
3 litres Water = (6 litres of liquid)
500 ml Kombucha
250 grams Fructose
300 grams Granulated Sugar (550grams sugar total: extreme sweetness)
Box 2
50 grams Green Tea
1.5 litres Water (hot)
300 grams Glycerine (medium sweetness)
500 ml Kombucha
1.5 ml Cold Water (stop tea brewing) (= 3 litres water)
Box 3
100 grams Rooibis tea
1.5 litres Water (hot)
2 litres Water (cold to stop brewing) (3.5 litres total)
500 ml Kombucha
200 grams Glucose (low sweetness)
Method
Step 1: Sterilize boxes with Ethanol. Keep boxes closed and as sterile as possible
Step 2: Combine ingreients (for the tea mixtures, allow to cool down)
Step 3: Place on a heated mat 25-30 degrees C
C O N C L U S I O N¶
I'm interested in and would like to pursue:
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Texture transfers
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Laser Cut Bio materials
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Iridescent / Holographic colours and textures
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Experimenting further and testing properties
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Testing resistance (water / heat)
R E C I P E S¶
Download Bio-Material Cookbook here