"There is a kind of white that is not created by bleach but that itself is bleach.”
— David Batchelor, Chromophobia
White was a little hard to get, but it was an important color.
White, in a composition -and perhaps in life itself- supports, and in a way, also divides. It can include, or it can exclude. It can provide relief or create tension. It can create compositions by including or excluding, or through a dance between the two. And who decides how that quest is carried out is perhaps the most controversial role of white.
I tried adding various ingredients to the mixture that were supposed to make it whiter: vegetable oil, cornstarch, eggshells, and white fibers, but I still couldn't achieve a pure white. The first two make the yarn less translucent, giving it a “matte” finish. It looks gorgeous and has a delicate texture that I want to preserve, but they both affect the structure a bit -they weaken it.
The eggshell powder gives it a little white texture that I ended up incorporating into my recipes because I really love it, but in reality, it acts more as a “filler” or “texturizer” than as a pigment: the dust particles are very large and don’t “bond” to the polymer’s structural composition; instead, they get trapped and float within it, giving it a colored texture but also making it weaker and more prone to breaking—so you have to be careful about how much of it you add.
Some samples:
Sunflower oil / Sunflower oil months later / Cotton fiber
Because it contains calcium, the eggshell influences the cross-linking process that occurs when the alginate paste comes into contact with calcium chloride (the moment when the filament “hardens”). Adding an extra source of calcium to the material can accelerate this process. That's why it's important to keep an eye on how long we leave these threads in the bath, since the eggshell can affect the speed of solidification.
How to prepare the eggshell powder?
After cracking the egg, wash the shell and peel off the thin membrane on the inside.
Rinse it again and let it dry. Once dry, place it in the oven on low heat for 5 minutes (this is very variable and depends on each oven—I speak from experience—it may take more or less time). The idea is for the shell to dry thoroughly without turning yellow or burning. Once it’s crispy, grind it with a grinder or mortar and pestle. The finer the powder, the better it will incorporate into the mixture; the more granular it is, the greater the chance that your thread will break.
Because white, in addition to its color solidity and nuanced possibilities, also brings me pink: another important color.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
After researching and experimenting with different ingredients, I finally found the one I needed: titanium dioxide. It’s a natural mineral used to whiten practically all the products we use in our daily lives that are white in color: toothpaste, food, medications, cosmetics, sunscreen, acrylic paint, etc.
And it's white white. If I say “white,” you think of this color -even when there are shades of it. It's perfect for what I'm looking for.
Now that I've achieved white, it's time for pink, and then green -because green, pink, and white make one heart, and it's a perfect way to start a colorful composition-
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