Wheat, Agreed on a study topic! I have not read extensively on mordant comparisons, but having worked in the garden industry during my working life, I know the most common mordant: Aluminum sulphate, is a fertilizer. It is frequently used to turn hydrangea blooms blue. Alum (same thing) is frequently used in foods, especially pickles. It is also common in deodorants (not the aluminum hydroxide that several years ago got the bad rap about causing Alzheimer’s). Aluminum is the most common metal on earth, supposedly (can’t quote source there). All that said, I’m guessing there are heavy metals used in commercial dyes.
Having also been an art major, and having watercolored for years, there are pigments (same things used in a lot of dyes) that are very toxic, and lots of watercolorists and painters avoid them. Particularly bad are the cadmium pigments.
There is a difference to me in reading the warnings to use a respirator (NOT a mask; the thing you see commercial painters wear) with chemical dyes, and being warned to wear a dust mask with natural dyes and mordants to avoid irritation (not poisoning or cancer).
I am not an expert on the chemical properties of natural dyes; I think some of the recent dye books are much better at dealing with these things. We would all benefit from personal research and sharing on this topic. Thanks for the suggestion! What about it everyone? I will make the promise to research this (if given the time) and report back after the fall fair season ends. I look forward to the findings of other dyers!
Did you know blue jeans cause cancer? If you eat one pair a day for a year,...
Having also been an art major, and having watercolored for years, there are pigments (same things used in a lot of dyes) that are very toxic, and lots of watercolorists and painters avoid them. Particularly bad are the cadmium pigments.
There is a difference to me in reading the warnings to use a respirator (NOT a mask; the thing you see commercial painters wear) with chemical dyes, and being warned to wear a dust mask with natural dyes and mordants to avoid irritation (not poisoning or cancer).
I am not an expert on the chemical properties of natural dyes; I think some of the recent dye books are much better at dealing with these things. We would all benefit from personal research and sharing on this topic. Thanks for the suggestion! What about it everyone? I will make the promise to research this (if given the time) and report back after the fall fair season ends. I look forward to the findings of other dyers!
Did you know blue jeans cause cancer? If you eat one pair a day for a year,...
Comment