OUTCOMES

While experimenting with bioplastics I discovered a bioplastic material made from gelatin and honey, making a honeyfoam bioplastic. The honey is used as a plasticizer alongside glycerin and makes the bioplastic thicker and stronger. The most redeeming qualities of the honeyfoam are it’s stretch, it can stretch up to one and a half time it’s size. It can also be pressed together to half the size. The material is waterproof but, will temporarily get slightly soggy from too much exposure to water. It is heat resistant to temperatures up to 50 degrees.

Photo 6: honeyfoam plate

SHAPES

Honeyfoam can be made in many different shapes. It can be made in blocks, sheets, strings etc. while holding the same qualities. It can be made big and small.

Photo 10 and 11: honeyfoam web

SHAPES

Honeyfoam can be webbed. When touched while still hot the honeyfoam will stick like chewing gum to an object. The web is strong but can tear easily because the web strings are constantly under pressure from the stetch. Honeyfoam can also be made in small grains. the grains are soft and can be pressed together without permanent deformation into a flat grain.

Photo 14, 15, 16 and 17: stretching a honeyfoam

STRETCH

Honeyfoam can stretch up to one and a half time it’s size when stretching strings. Stretching strings with too much pressure however can break a string in two. Solid forms can also be stretched substantially. These forms will less likely tear, they are relatively strong.

WATERPROOF

Honeyfoam is not entirely water resistant, it gets slightly soggy after being submerged in water for a long period of time. It also get slightly bigger in size because it absorbs the water. However it will not break down nor will there form any tears in the material. It takes around a day to fully dry, depending on the exact size of the honeyfoam. It also floats on water.

Photo 18: honeyfoam after one day of water exposure.

Photo 19 and 20: honeyfoam before and after being ecposed to 75 degree heat for 5 minutes.

HEATPROOF

Honeyfoam is heat resistant up until a temperature of 50 degrees. While exposing it to 75 degree heat it melted within minutes. When it’s exposed to 75 degree heat or more for longer periods of time it will boil and become hard.

Photo 21, 22, 23 and 24: honeyfoam inprints - before and after

INPRINTS

I used a leaf to make an inprint on the honeyfoam. The leaf was pressed into hot foam. The inprint has quite a lot of detail, however it has not made a complete inprint of the leaf. Air bubbles will form between the object and the honeyfoam when the object is pressed into it. However, when casted on a inprint, the honeyfoam will completely replicate it without air bubbles.

Photo 25 and 26: honeyfoam casted with a shell

STICKINESS

Objects that are stuck against or in the honeyfoam while casting can be easily removed without tearing the foam or breaking the object. Honeyfoam can be removed from materials as glass, metal, ceramics and paper very easily, however it will stick to cardboard slightly and can tear when removed. 12

Photo 10 and 11: honeyfoam web

CUTTING

Thin pieces of honeyfoam are easily cuttable by a sharp object like a knife or scissors. It will cut off very smoothly with sharp edges. Thicker pieces are harder to cut as the cutting tools will get resistence from stretching qualities of the material.

POKING

When poking the honeyfoam with a sharp object like a needle it will very easily break through the material. When the needle is pulled out however the material will stretch back into place and the poked area is barely visable anymore.

Photo 30 and 31: poking honeyfoam