PINTRIA
is a pine needle material inspired by the defoliation caused by invasive species that used to create biodegradable sculptures and functional objects with a short and guilt free afterlife. ↓
Material Name: pintria
Composite: DROPPED PINE NEEDLES, PINE RESIN, VEGETABLE BASED POLYMER
Projects to date: 2
first project: 2021
application: indoor
In the summer of 2021, Nicole Charles and I visited the Muskoka lakes area of Ontario. The beautiful landscape of this region is unlike anywhere else. This year it was hard not to notice the mass excess of dead pine needles all over the ground due to a bloom of Spongy Moths (Lymantria dispar dispar), an invasive species to North America, feeding on the trees above. According to the Ontario Ministry of Forests "defoliation caused by the moths in Ontario increased from 586,385 hectares in 2020 to almost 1.8 million hectares in 2021."
A highlighted section of the Muskoka region.
Using the dead pine needles as a starting point, I experimented with different polymers and other bio-based binders. The ideal mixture, Pintria, allows the substance to be packed into a mold and, once dry, have the ability to take screws and be cut and shaped similarly to wood.
With the high turn over of decorative household items, this on-going exploration aims to create biodegradable sculptres and functional objects with a short and circular afterlife.
As the material dries and hardens, the excess water is evaporated. The colour, texture and shape change slightly as it takes its final form. In this animation, you can see the material states at 1min, 1 hour, 1 day, and 1 week from demoulding. →
Hypnopompia
MATERIALs: PintrIa
Location: Algonquin, ON
YEAR: 2021
Hypnopompia was both an exploration in material development and a collaboration with a musicians music and life story.
In early 2021 I had a conversation with musician Andrew Black to talk about his influences and story. It was evident from this conversation that his upbringing amongst the giant pines of the pacific northwest was very important, and creating something out of the natural waste produced from these trees was the direction to go in.
On the other side of the continent, a place that I grew up adventuring in the summers, also happened to be covered by these similar types coniferous trees.
In the summer of 2021, on trips to the Muskoka and Algonquin regions of Ontario, it was clear that there was an abundance of dropped pine needles compared to past years. These needles were collected and became the base of these sculptures.
"I was nearly finished writing this album in October of this year when a good friend of mine suddenly passed away. I took some time away from working on the songs to grieve and when I returned to them they no longer felt right. I tore most of the songs apart and reconstructed them with sounds and chord progressions that I felt more accurately conveyed how I was feeling at that point.
I find a lot of my inspiration comes from the environment of my home in Oregon. This album is special to me, it is a memorial to a friend that I’ll miss forever.”
- Andrew Black
Costa Documental
MATERIALs: Pintria FLex
Location: Toronto, ON
YEAR: 2022
A flexible leather like material that merges the look, feel and smells of a pine forest, with the movement of the ocean.
While working with the solid Pintria material, I wanted to create a version that had more fluidity to it and could be shaped and react more like a fabric than a solid. By rethinking the binding properties and changing the production method, I was able to make a more leather-like pine material that still has the look, smell, and texture of Pintria.
“Pintria Flex” bends and moves like a rigid fabric and can be cut with scissors and sewn. It reacts to its environment by getting more rigid in cool/ dry temperatures, and more flexible in warm/humid ones. Production waste can be ground down and reused in future batches, and it is fully biodegradable.
When conversations for the Bahía Mansa release started, I wanted to make sure that the packaging was a reflection of the music itself. Using this material that is a convergence of the ocean and the forest, it is cut in a way to mimic a landscape. The removable sheet of Pintria Flex weaves its way through a piece of solid pine, and encases a “ocean fog” coloured tape containing the music about this influential area of the artists life and released through Colony Collapse Editions.
"This album was born in order to document my conversations with the sea and thus reconfigure a narrative towards a more oceanic perspective. The album was composed from photographs, memories, trips and faces found on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.”
- Iván Aguayo
Photograph of the bahía mansa area.
PINTRIA
is a pine needle material inspired by the defoliation caused by invasive species that used to create biodegradable sculptures and functional objects with a short and guilt free afterlife. ↓
Material Name: pintria
Composite: DROPPED PINE NEEDLES, PINE RESIN, VEGETABLE BASED POLYMER
Projects to date: 2
first project: 2021
application: indoor
In the summer of 2021, my partner and I visited the Muskoka lakes area of Ontario. The beautiful landscape of this region is unlike anywhere else. This year it was hard not to notice the mass excess of dead pine needles all over the ground due to a bloom of Spongy Moths (Lymantria dispar dispar), an invasive species to North America, feeding on the trees above. According to the Ontario Ministry of Forests "defoliation caused by the moths in Ontario increased from 586,385 hectares in 2020 to almost 1.8 million hectares in 2021."
A highlighted section of the Muskoka region.
Various mixtures and tests were done to find the mixture that would use the most dead pine needles in comparison to the other elements. In some, the mixture created a very hard and brittle substance while others soft and flimsy. When a middle ground was found, the mixture could be packed in moulds and has the ability to take screws and nails like wood when fully dry.
As the material dries and hardens, the excess water is evaporated. The colour, texture and shape change slightly as it takes its final form. In this animation, you can see the material states at 1min, 1 hour, 1 day, and 1 week from demoulding. →
Hypnopompia
MATERIALs: PintrIa
Location: Algonquin, ON
YEAR: 2021
Hypnopompia was both an exploration in material development and a collaboration with a musicians music and life story.
In early 2021 I had a conversation with musician Andrew Black to talk about his influences and story. It was evident from this conversation that his upbringing amongst the giant pines of the pacific northwest was very important, and creating something out of the natural waste produced from these trees was the direction to go in.
On the other side of the continent, a place that I grew up adventuring in the summers, also happened to be covered by these similar types coniferous trees.
In the summer of 2021, on trips to the Muskoka and Algonquin regions of Ontario, it was clear that there was an abundance of dropped pine needles compared to past years. These needles were collected and became the base of these sculptures.
"I was nearly finished writing this album in October of this year when a good friend of mine suddenly passed away. I took some time away from working on the songs to grieve and when I returned to them they no longer felt right. I tore most of the songs apart and reconstructed them with sounds and chord progressions that I felt more accurately conveyed how I was feeling at that point.
I find a lot of my inspiration comes from the environment of my home in Oregon. This album is special to me, it is a memorial to a friend that I’ll miss forever.”
- Andrew Black
Costa Documental
MATERIALs: Pintria FLex
Location: Toronto, ON
YEAR: 2022
A flexible leather like material that merges the look, feel and smells of a pine forest, with the movement of the ocean.
While working with the solid Pintria material, I wanted to create a version that had more fluidity to it and could be shaped and react more like a fabric than a solid. By rethinking the binding properties and changing the production method, I was able to make a more leather-like pine material that still has the look, smell, and texture of Pintria.
“Pintria Flex” bends and moves like a rigid fabric and can be cut with scissors and sewn. It reacts to its environment by getting more rigid in cool/ dry temperatures, and more flexible in warm/humid ones. Production waste can be ground down and reused in future batches, and it is fully biodegradable.
When conversations for the Bahía Mansa release started, I wanted to make sure that the packaging was a reflection of the music itself. Using this material that is a convergence of the ocean and the forest, it is cut in a way to mimic a landscape. The removable sheet of Pintria Flex weaves its way through a piece of solid pine, and encases a “ocean fog” coloured tape containing the music about this influential area of the artists life and released through Colony Collapse Editions.
Photograph of the bahía mansa area.
"This album was born in order to document my conversations with the sea and thus reconfigure a narrative towards a more oceanic perspective. The album was composed from photographs, memories, trips and faces found on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.”
- Iván Aguayo
