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Exploring Sustainable Color: FABRICADEMY BIOCHROMES class reflection

BIOCHROMES

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YEAR2024

KINDGROUP

CATEGORYFABRICADEMY

FUNCTIONCOOKING, CUTTING AND DYEING

In today's world, sustainability in design and craftsmanship is more important than ever. In the BioChromes class, part of the Fabricademy curriculum, we dived into the world of natural color, learning how to embrace environmentally friendly dyeing practices using organic waste, plants, and microorganisms.

What Are BioChromes?

BioChromes refer to the natural pigments found in flora, fauna, and even microorganisms. These natural pigments not only offer vibrant and diverse color options but also introduce sustainable solutions to the often harmful practices of synthetic dyeing.

Traditional synthetic dyes have long been linked to the environmental degradation caused by toxic waste and harmful chemicals. However, BioChromes offer an exciting alternative, allowing us to harvest and use natural resources such as plants, insects, fungi, and bacteria for coloring textiles.

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Hands On Learning: From Organic Waste to Color

One of the most interesting aspects of the BioChromes course was how hands-on and interactive it was. We each collected materials such as leaves, fruit peels, vegetable scraps, and even tea to explore the world of natural dyes. It was fascinating to experiment with adjusting pH levels and temperatures, all while using natural mordants to create a wide array of colors.

For example, red cabbage proved to be very versatile, producing everything from bright purples to soft blues depending on whether it was paired with alum, lemon, or iron.

Beyond fabric dyeing, we were also introduced to the making of pigments and inks. Leftover dye baths didn’t go to waste; instead, we transformed them into sustainable pigments. By combining dye residues with alum and baking soda, the leftover materials became unique pigments that could be used for different projects.

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Reflections

Even though Global Classes were interesting and nice to listen to, with all the respect for the Fabricademy program it didn't add anything to me or any of my MDEF classmates. As I said it was interesting (even though having it last year would have made it way more interesting) but i feel like I paid money for a course that wasn't useful at all neither academicaly or for my research.

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