Lake pigment washing
Name: David McClure
Date and Time: 10/23/2015 - 3:30pm
Location: Chandler 260
Subject: Lake pigment washing
I wasn't in class the Monday we prepared these pigments, but after reviewing the recipes with Jenny I seems like I've already had a lot of experience when I prepared madder lake with Naomi and Marjolijn.
Pigments I worked with:
- #1, Logwood - distilled water - Jenny
- #5, Logwood - distilled water - Yuan
- #6, Brazilwood - distilled and tap water
Before starting I photographed filtered water from previous washings to provide a baseline for comparison after subsequent filtering. Ideally the pigment is finished and ready for drying when water runs clear through the pigment and filter, so I was a little surprised to see how colorful the water was even after more than 10 washings; when I made madder lake earlier in the month it took only 4-5 washings before the water was almost clear.
After photographing everything I drained the previous filtered water and rinsed each jar. At 3:35pm I poured 200 ml distilled water into each logwood filter, and at 3:40 I added 200 ml tap water to the brazilwood. Below are tables showing the times I added new water to the filters, the # of washes at that point, and an image of the water after it completely drained through the filter. I rinsed each jar thoroughly before each new wash.
Logwood #1
Logwood #5
Brazilwood #6
As you can see, while the filtered water for each pigment was clearer by the end, there was still a noticeable amount of color in each jar.
Additional notes
Both logwood pigments drain very quickly (for some reason #1 drains a bit slower than #5 even though they are the same preparation; the pigment in #1 seems to clump together more than in #5.)
Initially used 200 ml of distilled water for washing logwood; after 3 washes I started to use 150 ml because it more than adequately covers the pigment (used 150 ml for washings at 3:55 and 4:05). Went back to using 200 ml because logwood drains so quickly and I thought it might help make the water to run clear with fewer washings.