Playing with Iron Waters … prep for the fibres samples

From left to right, the iron waters were made with… (material samples are cotton and raw silk)

1. Iron oxide power (1tbps), 1 cup tap water, 1 cup vinegar
2. Rusted iron coasters soaked (5 days) in 2 cups filtered water, 1 cup vinegar
3. Iron ore balls soaked (2 weeks) in 2 cups of tap water, 1 cup vienegar

The only obvious discolouration is with the red oxide powder. It seems that our local tap water is full of other metals and causes the water to darken, or get black (according to our teacher)… I’m not convinced this is the issue with my samples…

The red oxide is too pure a pigment and I’ve always used it in ceramic glazes to various effects. The redness could be its unfired state. It may change over time.

The black water I got from the iron ore might be that this is unprocessed ore from the ground… it should contain coke and many other minerals.

For my next experiments, I’ll stick with the iron water made with rust and filtered water.