Rust

Those that know me and my art know how enamored I am with rust (or any iron oxide really...), at least part of the time. This is a shot of some rusty split washers doing their thing on a pieces of Arches cover. I've been making "rust prints" for many years that are basically transfers of rusting steel onto paper.

Recently I've been trying more controlled experiments with the test pieces being covered or uncovered, leaving them in contact for varying amounts of time and using different solutions to accelerate the rust formation. In the photos below you can see the set up. I tested all combinations using the same paper and the same washer so I could get somewhat comparable results, comparable in the sense of being able to limit that one variable so I could more easily see the aleatoric results.

I ran each piece with four different solutions: white cooking vinegar, Birchwood Technologies Presto Black, strong black tea and Birchwood Plum Brown. Interesting how the palette of each solution was consistent and hopefully somewhat repeatable.

Anyway, I continue to learn more and more about the interface between iron, water, oxygen and cellulose.

Starting the process...

Clockwise from top left: black tea, white vinegar, plum brown, presto black...