info
MATERIALS:
DROPPED PINE NEEDLES, PINE RESIN, VEGETABLE BASED POLYMER
Application:
2021 Packaging for Cassette on Colony Collapse Editions
2022 Packaging for Cassette on Colony Collapse Editions
Pine needles, sap, and trees in Algonquin Ontario
Description
Pintria is a pine needle material inspired by the defoliation caused by invasive species that is used to create biodegradable sculptures and functional objects with a short and guilt free afterlife.
In the summer of 2021, 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."
Original tests and samples.
Substrait
Using the dead pine needles as a starting point, I experimented with different polymers and 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. The material has a beautiful natural texture and a lower burn point.
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 the time lapse below, you can see the material states at 1min, 1 hour, 1 day, and 1 week from de-moulding.
Process of making the material and a time lapse of it drying.
Ingredients in the material.
Packaging for the album Hypnopompia by Andrew Black on Colony Collapse Editions.
Pintria Flex
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 of a pine forest, with the movement of the ocean.
“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.
Video illustrating the materials flexibility.
Packaging for the album Costa Documental by Bahía Mansa on Colony Collapse Editions.
info
MATERIALS:
DROPPED PINE NEEDLES, PINE RESIN, VEGETABLE BASED POLYMER
Application:
2021 Packaging for Cassette on Colony Collapse Editions
2022 Packaging for Cassette on Colony Collapse Editions
Description
Pintria is a pine needle material inspired by the defoliation caused by invasive species that is used to create biodegradable sculptures and functional objects with a short and guilt free afterlife.
In the summer of 2021, 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."
Original tests and samples.
Substrait
Using the dead pine needles as a starting point, I experimented with different polymers and 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. The material has a beautiful natural texture and a lower burn point.
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 the time lapse below, you can see the material states at 1min, 1 hour, 1 day, and 1 week from de-moulding.
Process of making the material and a time lapse of it drying.
Ingredients in the material.
Packaging for the album Hypnopompia by Andrew Black on Colony Collapse Editions.
Pintria Flex
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 of a pine forest, with the movement of the ocean.
“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.
Video illustrating the materials flexibility.
Packaging for the album Costa Documental by Bahía Mansa on Colony Collapse Editions.