Turmeric Pigment Extraction

Name: Emilie Foyer
Date and Time:

2015.11.16, 11:00am

Location: Chandler Laboratory
Subject: Turmeric Pigment extraction

Question:
What was the Terra Merita that was used?
Can we use powdered root as a pigment as it?

Test:

Try making oil paint with linseed oil.
I take dried ground turmeric root and mix it with linseed oil. I use the muller for 15 min to try to make a smooth paint.
I apply the resulting paint to the gesso panel.


Does not create smooth paint.
There might be too much fiber?

Finding a solution:

What if we made a pigment by using solvent extraction?
Which solvents to use:
Alcohol
Water

To extract turmeric, Ethyl acetate is typically used.
Looking at composition, ethanol should have similar properties as a solvent.
Use ever clear grain alcohol

attempt 1:

12:30 put 20g of turmeric in a jar.
added 180g of ever clear

1:09
Mixed by swishing around the jar.

1:30
Filtered the mix with a coffee filter


1:45pm set to heat in water bath in fume hood to evaporate


2 pm FIRE AT HOME HAD TO LEAVE!!
taken off fire and put to evaporate under the fume hood by Jenny

Nov. 18th - Covered By professor Smith

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Name: Emilie Foyer
Date and Time:

2015.11.23, 9:30am

Location: Chandler Laboratory
Subject: Turmeric Pigment



9:30 am
Went in to collect what I thought would be a powder but is actually a sticky red/brown goo that leaves a very yellow trace on my pallet knife.
Will it dry?
It seems to be getting drying with air contact.

Weighed once scrapped off of the beaker Yield is 1g

11:35
The terra merita is not completely hardened, but I try to make an oil paint anyway.
At first, it looks like it will not dissolve in the oil, the paste does not seem to mix with the oil.
After a bit more time and effort however, it does dissolve into the oil and becomes what looks like a beautiful orange paint.
Applied to the gesso, the paint is indeed orange and a lovely shade of it.

8D - Extracted pigment + Linseed oil 8E - Dried powdered turmeric root and Linseed oil

a thin layer on the silver however makes for a more yellow color with the metallic sheen of gold.


Seems to work!
once dry, I will try applying some varnish and we will see how close to "the purest of golds" it actually is!

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Name: Emilie Foyer
Date and Time:

2015.11.30, 12:00pm

Location: Chandler
Subject: Turmeric Extraction with Acetone

Since the first try with grain alcohol yielded more of a goo than a powder, I decided to try acetone rather than grain alcohol

12:00 - mixed 25g of Turmeric with 180 ml of Acetone swished around a few times (wearing gloves, under fume hood)

12:45 - Filtered out using coffee filter (still under fume hood)

12:50 left to evaporate.

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Name: Emilie Foyer
Date and Time:

2015.12.07, 12:45pm

Location: Chandler Laboratory
Subject: Turmeric Pigment

12:45
the final product resembles the one obtained with the grain alcohol: a paste
it is dark red, almost black in color, but leaves a bright yellow trace.

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ASPECTS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN MAKING FIELD NOTES

• note time
• note (changing) conditions in the room
• note temperature of ingredients to be processed (e.g. cold from fridge, room temperature etc.)
• document materials, equipment, and processes in writing and with photographs
• notes on ingredients and equipment (where did you get them? issues of authenticity)
• note precisely the scales and temperatures you used (please indicate how you interpreted imprecise recipe instruction)
• see also our informal template for recipe reconstructions

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