In January 2023 I received the funding for Research Projects from the culture department of Basel-Stadt. I applied with the project „Pflanzen drucken und Erden rakeln“. The research includes deepening the use of organic pigments in textile printing and the expansion to mineral pigments / anorganic pigments found in my surrounding soils, earths and stones.
The first results I documented for initial conclusions. The test prints with precise documentation help me to recognize which recipes could work.
The soil is washed and dries slowly in a cotton fabric. Finely minced the pigment is processed to an earth colour. I collect different soils and each one results in a specific tone.
There are a lot of tools for the first steps of pigment preparation. A pigment is the basis for different colors. Depending on the solvent and binder, the same pigment can be used to make oil paint, watercolor or, in my case, a screen printing paste.
I am laying my focus on soils that I can find in my surroundings. The earth from my garden, from a construction site or earth I find on a walk in the woods or next to a river. With a bit of attention I was able to find already beautiful colours.