lake pigments

I've had some, eh, camera issues lately. My life is a little too disorganized to have my DSLR and SD card reader handy at the moment, and my cell phone camera lens is busted up. But, I am still able to use the camera on the screen side of my phone. Some gymnastics involved, but it gets the job done.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to make pigment out of dandelions. I did it, and it worked really well. I used a process of botanical pigment extraction called "laking." The first step is kind of like making a syrup, or a dye. You heat the plant matter to just below boiling for 30ish minutes then strain out the bits. Next you mix in a mordant. I've been using Aluminum Sulfate, but there are other things you can use with varying levels of toxicity. Then I am mixing in Sodium Carbonate to precipitate the pigment, and pouring it through an old pillow case. Once the pigment is dry, you can scrape it off the cloth and grind it up either in a spice grinder or by hand with a mortar & pestle.

I did that process with dandelion petals, red onion skins, and rose petals.

Then with the dandelion pigment, I mixed it with a binder I made out of honey, vegetable glycerin, gum arabic, and water to make watercolor paint. The final product looks really yellow when it's painted onto paper, and a little bit green when it's dry in the pot.

Botanical paints have a reputation for fading and color shifting in the sun and over time, so it's not "archival quality" paint, but it's still neat.

Lots of surprises and thoughts as I move through the process. The red onion skins and the rose petals both made green pigments. Botanical pigments and dyes also have a reputation for being pH sensitive. I am going to try using Calcium Carbonate in place of the Sodium Carbonate and see if that slightly more acidic solution makes a difference. Carrots next.