Pigments
Pigments may be minerals, such as various rusts and dirts, or they may be
vegetable, such as flower pollen or many lakes. All pigments will need to be adhered to the fabric with a binder. I prefer soymilk.
Minerals are ground to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle, mixed with the soy
and applied much like a paint. Vegetable pigments may be finely ground plant
parts, as in the case of pollen, or they may be color that has been leached
from the plant in a more pure form, as in lakes. Pigments are available commercially or you may make your own.
One of the easiest ways to make pigments is simply is to pour whatever dye you
have left over from a given project into a glass pan and allow the contents to
dry. The dish should be shallow enough to allow the dye to dry before it begins
to deteriorate. Once dry, simply scrape it up and store it away for later. You
may want to allow several layers to dry, one on top of the other, until a
sufficiently thick layer has formed to warrant taking time to scrape it. Do not save dyes that have been mixed with soy milk. If they don't sour first,
the protein will harden the pigment and keep it from working well the second
time around.
Mineral pigments are fairly easy to prepare on your own. Find a local source for
interesting colors of dirt. In the Central Valley of California we have very
rich top soil. Just below that layer is a clay called hard pan. Below the clay is a beautiful yellow soil–terrible for growing crops, but ideal for pigments. Simply wash the soil until
it is free of rocks and debris, separate out the smallest particles for use and
you have a wonderful pigment ideally suited to our purposes.
Pigments may also be prepared as lakes. A lake is a pigment that has been flocculated (separated) out of a juice dye.
Basically you take a juice dye and add any hydroxide (calcium-hydroxide, etc.)
until the pigment separates out. This is how carmine lake, a popular color in watercolors, is manufactured.
There are many natural sources for bonding agents that may be used with
pigments. I prefer soymilk because it is easy to prepare, cheap, and more
importantly, leaves you with the best hand. As the soy milk dries, it absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, aided by the
natural oils found in the soy, helping the protein to form a very strong
bonding agent which will absorb water but not be dissolved by it.
If you are not particularly interested in making your own pigments, consider
using high quality watercolors as a substitute.
copyright John Marshall, 1992
