Today, I thought I shall put on my "Teacher Hat" and share with you a lesson on mordants and modifiers. Mordants and modifiers play a pretty big role in my art. Depending on the dyes and fabric I'm using, without mordants, there would be no art!! Modifiers can also act as a mordant. However, most of the time, I just use modifiers for fun!! Mordants and modifiers CAN be the same thing. But, not all mordants are modifiers. Nor are all modifiers a mordant. I know this sounds rather convoluted and confusing. You probably want to stop reading about now!! :) It confused me a whole lot when I first started this dyeing and printing adventure. I came to understand and appreciate the similarities and differences between both processes. Stick with me...it'll be FUN!!
Let's first learn what a mordant is and why it so important. Mordants have the ability to "stick" your dye onto your fabric so your dye will not wash out and leave you with a plain, unprinted or dyed fabric. It is essentially a substance that will permanently bond your colour to your fabric. This is known as washfastness. Not only will a mordant keep your pretty colours from washing away, they often help the colour become stronger and brighter. Mordants also can help a fabric from fading in the sun. This is called lightfastness. Aren't mordants useful?
Generally speaking, mordants come in two types: chemical and natural. Chemical mordants use compounds of aluminum, copper, or iron. Historically people also used chrome and tin. I will not be talking about these, though I find them interesting. I don't use them in my work as they can be dangerous to my health and the environment. Disposal is difficult and must be carefully planned for. Why walk that road when what we have readily available is perfectly lovely and effective? The next category of mordant comes from Mother Nature herself. She produces plant material that has mordants built right into them!! How cool is THAT I ask you?? :) Some leaves such as Sumac have the tannin needed in the mordanting process, in abundance!! Oak trees produce a gall which is rich in tannin as well.(I will send pics of sumac and oak galls to insert here!!) Rhubarb is a fascinating plant. It's really tasty AND useful!! Rhubarb roots can impart in your fabric shades of yellow, gold, and orange. The leaves of the plant contain both a mordant and a modifier!! Now, this is VERY important!! Pay CLOSE attention to this part!!! Both the roots and the leaves of the rhubarb and poisonous. They contain a substance called oxalic acid. It is dangerous if ingested, or if you inhale the steam produced while processing the leaves for use in your art work. I DO NOT suggest that this is something your try at home. I have safety equipment and a LOT of experience. I do this process outside and handle the leaves with gloves and wash vigorously afterwards. So, I am sure you are wondering why on Earth I would do such a thing?? Good question!! I enjoy immensely making my own mordants and modifiers as well as my own dyes. For me, this is and extension of my process and a way to feel even more connected to Nature and my work. I can assure you, not everyone feels this way and I respect that!!! (I have pics of my chopped leaves and kettle, and after bottling and filtering to insert here)
Another fascinating thing about mordants is that they can also be used to effect the final colour of the dyes you are using!! Not unlike modifiers which we will discuss in Part Two of this Blog. You can take the same piece of fabric such as silk and mordant it in different ways to achieve three entirely distinct colours!! This just keeps getting better doesn't it?? :) Aluminum based mordants can make your silk have brighter, clearer colours and can also change yellow dyes to a more pinker hue!!! Using copper in your dye bath can give you colours that change from yellow to green, red to purple, and gold into brown. This is yet another mordant I like to make myself!! It is a simple, but time consuming process. (insert picture of copper here) Iron is a mordant, but is primarily used as a colour modifier. (insert picture of iron) It is known as a "saddening" mordant as it makes colours more somber and can darken them quite a bit if you use a heavy hand while preparing your iron water. Ask me how I know that!! :) You can take a yellow dye like marigold and change it to an olive green using iron. An orange colour such as some madder baths can develop into a wonderful wine red, and most interesting of all, a beige colour can turn deep purple blue!!! Isn't science a marvellous thing?? :)
I hope you enjoyed this little lesson on mordants and are looking forward to learning more. My next Blog will continue where this one left off. I think it is best to tackle a big subject like mordants and modifiers into a smaller, less intimidating series of Blogs. On that note, we will dive into what a modifier is and how a mordant can be a modifier!!
The End
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