How-To’s

The last interview was with Beatriz Sandini, who studied business but later went into fashion. She saw what kind of waste that brought and went to look into it. She then joined the fabricademy and went to look into bioplastics and made wallets out of it. We talked about plastic waste that is becoming a bigger problem and that it’s a good idea to look at other alternatives. This can be bioplastic or something else. Right now, there isn’t enough bioplastic to make a system to dispose of it correctly but maybe later there is. The discussion about synthetic and natural dye is also interesting. For dying there is a lot of waste, like water. So, is it really necessary? Or can we leave it out? Another point is that not all synthetic colors are toxic so you could also use those. So, it’s interesting to think about, the bad should not outweigh the good.

Gelatin recipe The gelatin recipe came from the lecture notes called Biofabricating Materials for the Fabricademy program (Raspanti, 2019). The recipe that was used for the experiments is Bio Resin with foam from the same document. The dishwashing soap was added so that the bioplastic would mold less. But unfortunately, it still does. Make sure the bioplastic dries in a cool area with fresh air and turn the bioplastic every day.

For the recipe you’ll need: 48gr gelatine 8gr glycerine 240ml water Tablespoon dishwashing soap (transparent) Pigment

Tools: Pot Stove Spoons Scale Molds Jars for storing the pigment water

How to: 1. Warm up the water in a pot on your stove (the water can be plain or already dyed if you are planning to use one color only). 2. Add your plasticizer, the glycerine will bond with the gelatine, the polymer. 3. Add the gelatine, your polymer. 4. Gently mix the ingredients until they form a smooth mix. 5. Add a tablespoon of dishwashing soap to the mixture. 6. Boil for 15-20 minutes (86C max). 7. Prepare your surfaces and molds to be filled. 8. Take the pot off the stove and let it sit for another 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. 9. If you are planning to make a batch of multiple colors, prepare your colors in a jar or small container, to which you will add the mixture once it’s ready to be cast. 10. Once your mixture has thickened, almost like syrup, pour on your chosen surface. Once you start pouring, try to cast slowly, without inglobating air, and by carefully pouring on the liquid itself. 11. Let the mold dry in a ventilated and dry room, turning your piece until it’s dry will help you preventing mold formation, but might affect deformation due to water loss.

Agar recipe An agar recipe was used to get the color blue. This recipe came from the book Bioplastic Cook Book (Pistofidou, 2018). Gelatine affects the color of natural ingredients too much to get blue. With agar, it is easier to get a natural blue. You also have to pour agar faster into the mold, or else the color changes too much.

For the recipe you’ll need: 9,6gr agar 8gr glycerine 240ml water Pigment

Tools: Pot Stove Spoons Scale Molds Jars for storing the pigment water

How to: 1. Prepare your surfaces and molds to be filled. 2. Warm up the water in a pot on your stove (the water can be plain or already dyed if you are planning to use one color only). 3. Add your plasticizer, the glycerine will bond with the gelatine, the polymer. 4. Add the agar, your polymer. 5. Mix the ingredients over medium heat and stir until the solution starts to boil and becomes viscous. 6. Lower the heat to low heat and keep stirring until you’ll have a smooth mix or the right color. 7. Pour on your chosen surface. Once you start pouring, try to cast slowly, without inglobating air, and by carefully pouring on the liquid itself. 8. Let the mold dry in a ventilated and dry room, turning your piece until it’s dry will help you prevent mold formation, but might affect deformation due to water loss.

Coloring The main thing for coloring the water is to put the ingredient in a pot with boiling water and let it sit for a couple of minutes or longer. The boiling time differs for each recipe. Creating the pigment is for every recipe different and because this project has a lot of them, it’s not all going to be explained here, but only the seven basic colors. The rest of the information can be found on the Gitbook page https://app.gitbook.com/@ minormakerslab/s/students-1920/andrei/desiree/week-12 and the website https://desiree-van-dam-1.jimdosite.com

Red A great way to get red is with beetroot. Use 300ml water and 355g beetroot and let it boil for 10 minutes. Use 94,1ml of that water, 147,8g plain water, 5 tablespoons of vinegar, and half a lemon It will turn out really bright. Use a gelatin recipe for this.

Red Bioplastic with Beetroot - Desiree van Dam

Orange Boil some water and add one teaspoon of turmeric (kurkuma). Let the pigment boil for a moment and let it color the water. It will turn out a beautiful orange. Use a gelatin recipe for this.

Yellow The best way to make the color yellow with a gelatin recipe is to use no pigment at all. Just make the recipe with normal transparent water and you will get a nice yellow color.

Green Yellow Bioplastic with Gelatin - Desiree van Dam When you add baking soda to the red cabbage, the water will turn green. Use 179,7g red cabbage, 400ml water, 1 teaspoon baking soda and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Use a gelatin recipe for this.

Green Bioplastic with Red Cabbage and Baking Soda - Desiree van Dam

Blue It is possible to make blue out of red cabbage, just with an agar recipe. The water will slowly become green because of the ph value. So make sure the water has a deep purple color (so let it stand for a couple of hours). After that you just have to make sure you work fast. When you add the agar, the purple mixture will slowly turn to blue. But later it will turn to green. So, before that happens, pour the mixture into the moulds. Now you have a blue color.

Blue Bioplastic with Red Cabbage - Desiree van Dam

Pink To make a pink/ purpleish one. Let the red cabbage stay in water for a day and then add vinager. This makes the color deep pink.

Purple To make purple you’ll need a fresh red cabbage. In the beginning, the water will turn blue but if you let it sit for a while it will turn purple. For the best result you let it sit overnight (16 hours). Use 400ml water, 147,3g fresh red cabbage.

Pink Bioplastic with Red Cabbage and Vinegar - Desiree van Dam

Purple Bioplastic with Red Cabbage - Desiree van Dam