SECOND VERDIGRIS HARVEST.

                Second Verdigris Harvest
              By Symonne de la Croix
                             20.3.20



 I got bored with waiting for the madder root and alum to 'cook'. Its taking forever to change to the deep red that it is supposed to. (If I haven't messed it up 😊)

So I decided to do a second harvest on my verdigris bath.

 I am so messy. This time the copper (reused) has been in the same double strength vinegar for a bit over a month.
I believe that their could be a slight colour difference from the first harvest. Lighter slightly.
The yield wasnt as much, about half of the first lot, which is interesting.
I scraped the verdigris off with a safety razor.
 Note: WEAR A MASK AND GLOVES this stuff goes everywhere. You DO NOT want to be breathing it in. 
Refer to Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), specifically the first aid section

I mulled it with vinegar this time instead of water. This seemed to dissolve the verdigris better. Less gritty. 
I added liquid gum arabic but may try powdered next time to see if that aids the grinding process 

I put the same copper back into the same vinegar. 
Will harvest again in a month.
 It will be intersting to see if there is further colour change and what the yield is on the third harvest.

 It painted well on pergamenata. Need to try it on paper.
Not totally without grit but that would be my lack of patience with grinding it.
 The vinegar definitely seems to help.
 But I wonder if it will damage the parchment because of the extra acidity?

Now to let it dry in the shell and see how well it reconstitutes.



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