Verdigris

Name: Christopher Eom
Date and Time:

2017.01.23, 06:25pm

Location: 431 Riverside Dr, Apt 3K
Subject: Verdigris Day 1

• Merrifield p. 124 (nr. 155) used
• Wetted copper with distilled white vinegar (no water as suggested)
• Salted evenly and covered it entirely (or as best as possible)
• Liquid of choice: urine up to a little less than 100 mL mark on jar (let sit from 6:25PM to 6:55PM [30 mins] in the closed jar, probably not “stale” enough)
• All was fine until the copper fell into the urine
  • Washed the copper in H2O, dried with paper towel, and redid the process
  • Possible variables because of this
    • H2O to wash off —> alter copper?
    • Redoing the process
    • Urine composition (addition of vinegar and salt, though vinegar might not make a huge difference as it is normally used too)
• String strung along top and secured in place with lid, copper bent and its bottom edge hits the 130 mL mark
• Placed jar on top of radiator-heater unit to “simulate” dung (sort of, since my apt half the time doesn’t have heat, and it’s right by the cold windowsill)

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Name: Christopher Eom
Date and Time:

2017.01.27, 07:25pm

Location: 431 Riverside Dr, Apt 3K
Subject: Verdigris Day 5

• Salt turned distinct green color, copper is darkened in places
• Some weird white powder started forming in the urine
• Crystalline growth observable around the areas of the string (both inside and outside of jar!)
• Weirdest thing: Clearish green growth from end of string
  • One end of string grows some weird clearish green “tendril”
  • Shape matches that of the string (“twisted”)
  • Tendril reached the radiator it’s sitting on!
  • Theory: string is getting soaked by liquids of the reaction —> crystallization occurs at the ends of the strings?

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Name: Christopher Eom
Date and Time:

2017.02.06, 02:30am

Location: 431 Riverside Dr, Apt 3K
Subject: Verdigris Day 15

• ​Weird clearish green thing started growing up at an angle from where it landed on the radiator
• Urine has more chunkiness in it than before
• Crustiness around string areas develops even more
  • Removal process
  • Everything is very crusty and stiff! String, lid, weird green clear growth included
  • Twisting off lid —> lots of flaky crystals fall off
  • Inside of lid has ridiculous amounts of condensation! Some water probably dripped onto the copper piece
  • String inside in contact with copper is dyed blue-green, but stops right where lid was: why did this happen, but crystallization continued beyond this point?
    • Maybe difference in environment, but similar chemical reactions
      • Inside has urine, copper, salt, vinegar
      • Outside has salt and vinegar travel from the string, but no urine and copper to induce reaction that creates verdigris
• Copper piece characterization
  • Inside (facing urine): looks more “wet,” darker in some spots, protrudes out from copper sheet
  • Outside: spongy, flat, porous

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Name: Christopher Eom
Date and Time:

2017.02.06, 01:35pm

Location: 260 Chandler
Subject: Painting Verdigris

• ​Scrape product off of copper
  • Mostly blue-green
  • Some chunks substantially bigger, seems to have more "metallic" nature
  • Some "wet" bits, they're more greener
  • Some metal scrapes off too
• Put product on glass sheet
• Mull (with more vinegar possibly)
  • Linseed used (dark yellow oil)
  • Grassy green color (pics don't do it justice)
  • Smells like fish (probably result of oil + rxn with compound of sorts? Not sure since oil is hydrophobic, metal compound is probably ionic in character)
• Mix with oil
• Used Panel 02, 7A
• When painted, it paints very grassy green

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