I live a long way from shops
and I do a lot via the internet
and the postal service
But I really like to find alternatives
to do things myself
so as I have to buy whiting
a form of calcium carbonate used to make
traditional gesso
I thought I might have a play
with alternatives
The first two samples
are cuttlefish bone ground in a mortar and pestle
this is mixed with rabbit skin glue
* glue mix
this is chicken bones
that were loose in the fire overnight
in the morning they were a lovely soft white
crushed in a mortar and pestle
top with rabbitskin glue on fabric
below with the glue mix*
The next two samples
are made with shell nacre
I found if I heat it with the blow torch
it separates and becomes very brittle
and easy to break up
it is then crushed in a mortar and pestle
again the top is rabbitskin glue on fabric
and below is Glue mix
This is cuttlefish and rabbitskin glue
which has then been printed with egg yolk
and then dipped in Purple Carrot
and Bloodroot, both dissolved in methylated spirit
the glue used through out to stick down the pieces
is skim milk powder and water
*Glue mix consists of equal parts
white sugar and white flour
mixed with water
Normally this would be cooked
But I did not do that
this time
I will repeat this experiment
but next time
I will use my studio spice grinder
for a finer result
I also now have a darker bone powder
made by enclosing the bones in a tin
and therefore excluding the air
before placing in the fire
and questions
or feedback
please leave a comment
x te