Continuation of Experiment: Coating the Flowers in Resin

February 17, 2015:

Today I took out the two large pink and white flowers from the silica gel since the rest of flowers still had some water in the petals. I then put the rest of the flowers back in the silica gel and left it for about 3 days to ensure that the flower would be fully dried. Though since the two large flowers were already completely dried, I started preserving them in the ice resin.

 This is how both the flowers looked like after being dried for about a week.

 I then measured 0.5ml of both the resin and the hardener so that I would be able to create a mixture with equal amounts of both chemicals. I mixed it with a toothpick for about 2 minutes and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

 Once I had the resin mixture I used a paintbrush to coat both flowers. I plan to leave it to dry overnight before applying a second coat.

Coating Flowers with Resin and Painting Flowers Gold

After about 7 days I removed the 7 flowers from the silica gel. I then did the process of coating the flowers with Ice Resin.

I measured about 1 ml of resin and 1 ml of the hardener and mixed them together in a cup using a toothpick. I mixed it for about 2 minutes and let it rest for about 5 minutes to get rid of excess bubbles.

 I then used a paint brush to coat all the flowers with the Ice Resin.

 This is how all the flowers looked like after I coated all of them with resin.

I decided to leave the first coat to dry overnight before putting a second coat on them.

Besides creating jewelry by using flowers coated in resin, I also planned from the start of this journey to create artwork by using black and white photography. I planned from the beginning that I would take pictures of the flowers in black and white and then stick a gold plated flower on the painting. Originally my plan to get the flowers to be coated in coper was through electroplating the flowers. The electroplating process involves using a battery and attaching the flower to the negative terminal of the battery while attaching the metal to the positive terminal of the battery. Then the flower would be placed in a beaker with the solution salt of the metal. Supposedly what would happen is that the metal from the metal object would transfer to the negatively charged object, in this case the flower. Though when I tested it out the metal from the copper only reached the clip of the cable and did not even reach the flower. Based on these results I decided to just spray paint the flowers with gold paint.

 Instead of coating new flowers with resin I decided to just used some of my failed experiments so that they would not go to waste. The picture above is a flower from my experiment in which I painted fresh flowers with resin, hoping that the more layers of resin applied would mean the flower would be preserved and not wilt. Though as you can see the experiment did not work as the flower turned brown. Though, since the shape was retained I had the idea of using these flowers for the artwork since I just needed the shape of the flower and not the color, as I was painting the flower.

 To paint the flowers I used red and gold spray paint. I first had to spray the flower with red paint as it would act as a base paint and would help the gold be seen. After coating the flower with red paint I waited for about 5 minutes before spraying it with gold paint. I let the gold paint dry on the flower for about an hour.

 This is how all the flowers looked like after the gold paint dried. As you can see the bottom left flower in the second picture lost its form so I decided to just use the other two flowers. I also decided to use one of the flowers for the artwork and the other for a necklace.

Continuation of Drying of Flowers

January 24-25, 2015

Originally I planned to leave both orchids in the silica gel for only 5 days, but once I checked the flowers after 5 days, the petals still had moisture in it. Since the flowers required more time in the silica gel I left it for one more day.

These are how the flowers looked like after 6 days in the silica gel.

I then started the process of coating the flowers with silica gel by measuring 0.5ml of both the resin and the hardener. I mixed it for about 2 minutes and let it stand for 5 minutes to get rid of excess bubbles.

I then used a brush to paint the resin all over the flower. Once I was done coating both flowers I left it overnight and painted a second coat of resin the next day.

The white flower seems like it was fully dry since the petals were not drooping and seemed to stand on its own, though the purple orchid’s petals were drooping, showing that there may have been moisture present in the flower. I decided to still coat the purple flower thinking that the resin would cause it to harden, therefore making the petals stand, though I found it a challenge to paint the petals since they were very fragile. In my next batch of flowers I plan to dry as much flowers as possible, hopefully at least 10 flowers. I also plan to make sure they are completely dry to help make the process of coating them with resin an easier task.

I would also like to give an update on my last experiment, in which I coated a fresh flower with resin instead of drying it first. In this experiment I thought that if I coated a lot of layers of resin on the flower the flower would remain preserved and not wilt, though my results show that even with multiple layers the flower will wilt within the resin.

Here is how the flower from my last experiment looks

 As you can see the flower is already beginning to turn brown, showing the importance of drying the flowers before coating with resin. I expect that within the week the entire flower will turn brown.

3 Ways to Dry Flowers

Today I decided to dry my flowers by experimenting on various ways as my method of leaving the flowers in silica gel for a certain amount of days takes a bit too long and makes the whole process of making jewelry and art longer. I just wanted to experiment today so that I can truly see what method is better, though I will be using the flowers if they are successful.

Before I begin I would just like to correct what I said in my last post, that the small flowers wilted because I left them too long. I realized that the flowers did not wilt because they were in the gel too long but rather they were in the gel for a short amount of time that the moisture was not completely removed from the flower. If the moisture from the flower was completely absorbed by the gel, the flower would not wilt. Therefore, two days in the gel was not enough for the gel to absorb all the moisture in the small flower. From that I now learned that the longer in the gel the better. I plan to apply this newfound realization into my future experiments.

Now the first way I decided to coat the flower was through microwaving it with the silica gel. I did this in the beginning of this project but found that microwaving the flower caused it to turn crisp and slightly burned. So I decided to now do that method again but to lessen the time in the microwave so that the flower would dry but not burn.

Before microwaving I prepared my flower for the first two methods:

 These are the flowers I will be using for the first two methods.

I first cut the stem of the flower while leaving about an inch of the stem. I then pressed my finger on the top of the flower as I put a toothpick through the remaining stem. The toothpick will help me hold the flower during the experiment.

    

Next I used a cup full of silica gel and poured about two inches worth of gel into another cup. I then put the flower on the silica gel. After, I poured the remaining silica gel over the flower.

 I put the flower in the microwave for 20 seconds on high power and this was the result. As you can see the flower wilted, meaning I didn’t put the flower in the microwave for a long enough time. I tried it again doing the same method, except I put it in for 45 seconds. The flower wilted once more as 45 seconds was too short for the flower’s moisture to be completely absorbed. Due to the fact that this requires trial and error, I decided to not use this method as I wasted two flowers already and I do not want to waste a lot flowers just for this experiment when I could be doing other methods.

Now the next method involves coating fresh flowers with silica gel. I did this in my last experiment but the flower ended up wilting.

 This is how the fresh flower from the last experiment looks like now. As you can see it turned brown as it wilted.

Based on this result I decided to try it again, except this time I will coat multiple layers, hopefully sealing the flower completely so that it would prevent it from wilting.

  First I measured 0.5ml of the resin, and put it in the cup. I measured the same amount of 0.5ml of the hardener and put it in the same cup.

Using a toothpick I mixed the resin and hardener for about two minutes (as said in the instructions of the resin). After the two minutes I followed the instructions and let the resin mixture stand for five minutes to get rid of excess bubbles. I then painted the flower with the first layer of resin. I waited 8 hours for it to dry and then painted a second layer of resin. I plan to paint a third layer of resin to fully seal the flower.

My third method was my usual method of putting the flowers in silica gel and leaving it for a certain amount of time.    I used these two orchids and did the usual method of burying it in silica gel and sealing it with the cover of the container. I plan to leave this in for five days.

Continuation of Experiment: Drying Flowers from Surigao

I took all the flowers out of the silica gel to be coated in resin.

 This is how all the flowers looked like.

I did the usual process of mixing the the ice resin with the catalyst to activate it and brushed each flower with the resin. 

I also read on an article that I can apparently put the resin on a fresh flower without drying it. I decided to test that out by painting a fresh flower with resin.

This is how all the other flowers look like after I brushed them with resin:

Coating the small flowers with polyester resin

December 6, 2014:

To continue from my last post, I started coating the small flowers in polyester resin. Sadly the big yellow flower and the small purple (with white) flower changed color and began to wilt, so I decided to not coat it with the resin. These flowers probably wilted either because I must have placed them in the silica gel too long or I waited too long to coat them in resin.

Since the two flowers wilted I decided to just coat the orchid (big),and two of the orchids (small). I also used the small yellow flower, except instead of doing the usual procedure of brushing the flower with resin, I decided to make a prototype of a keychain by putting the flower in a mold and pouring resin over it.

 I brushed both of the small orchids that were from my grandmother’s garden with the resin, coating both the top and bottom of the flower.

  I did the same process to the big orchid by brushing the flower with resin.

This is how all the flowers looked like after I brushed them with resin.

              For the keychain I started by filling half of the mold with resin. I then mixed it so that the resin is activated by the catalyst. I plan to leave this over night so that it can harden. Tomorrow I plan to put the flower and to fill the other half of the mold.

I also found this pink flower growing in my garden, so I decided to preserve that as well.

 This is how the flower looks like.

I did the usual drying procedure by pouring silica gel all over the flower and by sealing it in a tupperware for about 5 days.

Based on the fact that I have been spending the past few months making prototypes before I actually preserve flowers from my parent’s birthplaces I have decided that I should use some of these prototypes in the actual jewelry and artwork collection. Due to this, I will be appreciating my heritage, not only through the flowers found in my parent’s birthplaces, but also through the flowers found in my garden, as this is part of my heritage as well.

Preserving Small Flowers and Applying a Second Coat on the Orchids

To continue on from the last experiment I coated the Orchids with a second layer of resin in order to completely preserve and harden the flower.

I coated the Orchid with the mixed resin, coating both the front and back of the flower.

 I did the same process to the other Orchid.

I then picked small flowers from my garden to use for smaller jewelry and for the keychain. My grandma came to the house over the weekend and she brought the Orchids that grows in her garden. All the flowers I have been using are prototypes and are practice for when I use the actual flowers from my parents birthplaces. Though I am planning to sell these prototypes since they were picked from my backyard. Also, due to the fact that I already have flowers from my mother’s birthplace, I will be including the flower to the collection of jewelry and photography from flowers from my parents birthplaces.

 These are the flowers from my mother’s birthplace, Pangasinan.

  These are the three small flowers from my backyard.

 I followed the same process of drying the flowers with silica gel by covering them completely with the gel and sealing it for five days before coating it with polyester resin.

Coating the Flowers in Resin: Experiment

Continuing on from the last experiment, where in I dried the flowers using silica gel, I now moved on to the next step of coating the flowers in resin.

Here is how the flowers looked like after being covered in silica gel for about 6 days.

I was happy with the outcome because the silica gel was able to successfully remove the moisture from the flower, whilst retaining its color and shape.

 I then clipped the flowers to a plastic clothes pin to help hold the flower.

To create the resin mixture I mixed the ice resin with the catalyst.

 Using a paintbrush I brushed the flower with the resin mixture, coating the top and bottom layers.

 This is how the flowers looked like after I painted the first coat of resin. I plan to let the resin dry overnight. Once it dries up I will apply a second layer of resin to the flower to make sure the flower is permanently preserved and suitable for creating art and jewelry. After both layers of resin are applied and dried on the flowers, the flowers are expected to be permanently preserved as they would be fully dried and coated in hardened resin.