Table of Contents
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Personal Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris Setup
Weather: Sunny, 23°C
Aims:
To start verdigris growth by exposing copper sheet to acetic acid.
Materials:
½ pint glass mason jar & metal lid
Copper sheet, about 2”X2” (manufacturer unknown)
5” piece of cotton twine (manufacturer unknown)
About 25ml Heinz All Natural Distilled White Vinger (5% acetic acid)
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Procedure:
A piece of copper sheet is tied onto 5” piece of cotton twine. A glass mason jar is filled with about 25ml of distilled white vinegar.
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The string is clamped onto the rim of masor jar using the jar’s lid.
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The cover is screwed tightly over to suspend the copper sheet above the vinegar. The jar is labeled with the student’s name, the date, and the concentration of acid used. The jar is placed on the topmost shelf in the kitchen, away from sunlight and wind.
Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 2-day growth
A thin layer of green-blue is formed on copper sheet, visible through the jar. Formation is speckled, but even.
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 7-day growth
Layer of green-blue appears thicker, completely covering the copper sheet and visible through the jar. Irregular streaks and patches in a darker shade of green-blue present on both sides of the sheet.
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 11-day growth
Verdigris jar was accidentally knocked over by roommate last night. Portion of the verdigris was submerged in vinegar solution. Layer of green-blue removed. Replaced by a metallic silver sheen, with flecks of black spots on area.
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Darker shade of green-blue increased on both sides of the copper sheet that remained untouched by vinegar.
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 20-day growth
Thin layer of blue observed in area that came into contact with the vinegar. Darker shade (tint of black) compared to the rest of the copper sheet. Also noticeably demarcated from the rest. No change to the other areas of the copper sheet.
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 25-day growth
Layer of blue in area that came in contact with vinegar grew slightly darker in shade. Still noticeably demarcated from the rest. No change to the other areas of the copper sheet.
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 30-day growth
Layer of blue in area that came in contact with vinegar grew slightly darker in shade. White strip that demarcated it from the rest grew slightly blue, reducing the distinctiveness of the demarcation. No change to the other areas of the copper sheet.
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 35-day growth
No change to thickness, colour or shape of copper sheet and verdigris growth.
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Name: Min Lim
Date and Time:
Location: Apartment Kitchen
Subject: Verdigris 43-day growth
No change to thickness, colour or shape of copper sheet and verdigris growth in area untouched by vinegar. The area that came into contact appears slightly darker. This made the black specks on the copper sheet more pronounced.
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Rotating the jar, I also noticed that the copper sheet that came into contact with the vinegar appears thinner / bent vs. the rest.
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Thoughts/Observations:
On Mistakes: On one hand, I was glad that the accident occurred, as it showed me the impact of vinegar coming into contact with the copper plate after some verdigris had grown. This allowed me to compare the behaviour of verdigris growth left untouched vs. disturbed by vinegar solution. Indeed, this made me understand why various verdigris recipes (see compilation here) emphasized on not letting the copper come into contact with vinegar. It also showed me the different shades of green-blue that could be produced, and why the Ms Fr 640 made a note on his process to create a “beautiful green” (vs. one that has a blackish tint, as mine did)
I wonder however, if that contact with vinegar also affected verdigris growth on other parts of the copper sheet… Looking at some of my classmates’ pictures, my verdigris growth was not as thick (see for instance, Nancy’s fieldnotes here), though it was quite even in its growth.
On Environment: I had left my verdigris on my kitchen rack undisturbed and away from direct sunlight, only moving it to take pictures for my field notes. The recipes (Liber Coloribus and The Secrets of Master Alexis of Piemont) called for it to “put it in a warm place” or “underground” i.e. away from the sun, vs. Mappae Clavicula’s recipe that called for it to put it “under the sun” (see recipes here). While I tried my best to replicate conditions of the former, the changing seasonality would have let to varied temperatures in the kitchen. I also wonder if artificial light would have affected verdigris growth as well. I am also curious to see how the former recipes may compare with Clavicula’s - how does lighting and temperature affect verdigris growth? Is it an either/or (dark or light) or do varying degrees of brightness and temperature have different effects on the verdigris?
On Taking Field Notes: It was much harder to remind myself to document changes in my verdigris over a period of time, especially when there isn’t any distinct next step of the process or any need to tell when it’s done. Also I realize that most of the time I’m more inclined to document any changes to the verdigris, but I think there’s also value in documenting a lack of change over a period of time, as that too says something perhaps about the % of acid, the conditions for verdigris growth, etc.
I also found pictures in this set of field notes more important than text since most of my entries were noting down my visual observations. I therefore could not use words really to describe my actions. Also I struggled with precision in my terminology (eg. “green-blue”) in capturing the exact shade/change in the verdigris, since everyone’s conception of colour is different — this made pictures even more important for me.
On Verdigris Itself: The process of growing verdigris took longer than expected. The preparatory process of painting/dyeing must have taken a while if verdigris was not commercially available / if the craftsmen somehow had no access to it.