PNNL

Abstract

Emergent technologies are driving forces in the development of innovative art medias that progress the field of modern art. Recently, artists have capitalized on the versatility of a new technology to create, restore, and modify art: additive manufacturing or three dimensional (3D)-printing. Additively manufactured art relies heavily on plastic-based materials, which typically require high heat to induce melting for workability. In contrast, biologically-derived polymers such as polysaccharides are being used to create bioinks that often do not require heating the material for workability. This convergence of biological systems, materials chemistry, and additive manufacturing is broadening the types of techniques available for printing and artwork. Here, we detail the formulation of a bioink consisting of mica pigments suspended in alginate as an emerging, vibrant art media for two dimensional (2D) and 3D compositions. The properties that make alginate an ideal colorant binder include but are not limited to: low-cost with wide availability, non-toxicity and biocompatibility, minimal color, and array of attractive physicochemical properties that offer workability and processing into 2D and 3D structures. Further, the chemical composition, morphology, and dispersibility of an array of mica pigment additives are characterized in detail as it pertains to the quality of an art media. Alginate-based media with 8 mica colors were formulated, where mica addition resulted in vibrantly colored inks with moderate hiding power and coverage of substrates necessary for 2D-printing with thin horizontal and vertical lines. The utility of the media is demonstrated via the generation of 2D and 3D vibrant structures.