4. BioChromes¶
Cover art/Edible Alchemy/Biochromes assignment week 4 - Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Previous Work¶
Ive always been fascinated by colour.
In my previous practice of fabric dye and surface design, I had the opportunity to experiment with botanical biochromes; Kola nut, Sorrel leaves and Palm nut, these are all edible (kitchen- based) biochromes native to Western Africa.
Kola Nut¶
Kola Nut (Guru) Biochrome experiment - Ndeyfatou Ceesay 2024
Sorrel Leaves¶
Sorrel Leaves Biochrome experiment - Ndeyfatou Ceesay 2024
Palm Nut¶
Palm Nut Biochrome experiment - Ndeyfatou Ceesay 2024
Kola Nut and Sorreel Leaves Mixture¶
Kola Nut and Sorrel Leaves Mix Biochrome experiment - Ndeyfatou Ceesay 2024
Open work cording/natural dye experiment - Ndeyfatou Ceesay 2024
Primary Sources¶
In my pasts experiments I had never used any mordants to scour materials before dyeing or fully grasped the Ph changes that could occur with biochromes. I experimented with botanical food sources that I could easily source that produced strong lasting results.
For this weeks assignment on biochromes I was excited to learn about mordants and PH changes related to dye pigments. I didn’t have access to a Lab so I concentrated on the Kitchen. I found out there were many sources of food I could use to experiment with.
I decided to base my theme on food sources in the kitchen. Red Cabbage , Red Onion and Avocado Rind.
Kitchen based primary sources/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Mordants and Light Fixatives¶
I had not heard of mordants while experimenting with natural dyes in the past so it was fascinating to learn about them. Finding out that they act as binders to help the colour immerse itself into the material and helps prevent fading had me curious about the results kitchen based mordants could provide.
Kitchen based Mordants and Fixatives/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Modifiers Acid/Alkaline¶
To keep on theme, I set out to experiment with Lemon Juice and Vinegar as mild acidic modifiers, and lastly Baking soda as an alkaline modifier.
Kitchen based Modifiers (Acidic/Alkaline/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Scouring Materials¶
Kitchen based/Scouring/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Dye Extraction Process¶
This step is all about getting the dye bath going by extracting the colour from the primary source. In this case I began with the Red cabbage, chopped up, boiled in water. Ideally I would have measured the cabbage, the fibres and the amount of water. Unfortunatley I didnt have access to a weighing scale or measuring beakers, so I had to use my discernment to decide on the metric amounts. Missing this equipment had many influences on my overall results.
Kitchen based/Red Cabbage/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Paper¶
Kitchen based/Red Cabbage/Paper Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Cotton¶
Kitchen based/Red Cabbage/Cotton Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Avocado¶
Using Red cabbage to experiment with colour was very insightful and enjoyable. I had an avocado available and some Lemons so I wanted to try extracting dye from avocado peel and pit. I peeled off the avocado chopped the peel and pit into pieces and repeated the process to see what colours I could produce on cotton with these 2 kitchen based ingredients.
Kitchen based/Avocado/Cotton Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Avocado yielded some beautiful light pinks, they faded when I ironed out the cotton. I’m intrigued to discover what results Avocado could yield with non kitchen based mordants, modifiers and fixatives.
Red Onion¶
Red Onion is the 3rd primary kitchen-based source I experimented with. My goal was to make Ink from the extract dye.
Kitchen based/Red Onion/Cotton Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Red Onion is the 3rd primary kitchen-based source I experimented with. My goal was to make Ink from the extract dye.
During my exploration of kitchen based Biochromes; Red cabbage and Avocado, I had saved the dye baths with the various modifiers to use as base colours for creating art on Paper/ Cotton and also to understand how the different consistency’s would react together .
Kitchen based/Red Onion Pigment/Paper Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
The greens produced on paper with the red cabbage extracts of Salt and lemon resembled a green galaxy, and it was insightful to see the change in ph during the drying process. I wanted to try the ink now that I had a workable base.
Kitchen based/Red Onion Pigment/Paper Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
I was pleased to see that the ink, didn’t react with the base dye and dried in a dark grainy brown. The consistency visually different. The possibility of creating pigments with kitchen based Biochromes was exciting to see.
I was intrigued to see if the Red onion Ink would react if a modifier was applied directly on the surface. I decided to do 1 more experiment on paper to see what results could be achieved.
Kitchen based/Red Onion Pigment/Paper Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Kitchen based/Red Onion Pigment/Cotton Experiment/Biochromes Ndeyfatou Ceesay
Learning about the chemistry of dye and pigment creation was truly an exciting and fulfilling experience for me. I can only imagine what’s possible with other sources such as bacteria. If 3 sources in your kitchen can produce a spectrum of colour; I’m very intrigued to experiment with more sources and finding potential alternatives to create my artwork
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Ingredients¶
Primary Sources¶
- Red cabbage
- Red onion skins
- Avocado pit + peel
Fibers¶
- Cotton fabric
- Watercolor paper
Modifiers¶
- Lemon juice (acidic)
- White wine vinegar (acidic)
- Baking soda (alkaline)
- Black tea infusion (tannin)
- Pink Himalayan salt (Fixative)
Binders / Additives ( ink)¶
- Liquid gum arabic
- Glycerol (glycerin)
- Lavender oil (natural preservative)
- Flour (thickener substitute)
Tools¶
- Coffee filters
- Cooking pots
- Glass jars
- Brushes & pipettes