Ian Ong
Sculpture Major
Class of 2025
Project Overview
I was super interested in seeing if I could push the flexibility of the bacterial cellulose, and used them to make drums!
Process
As an experiment in trying to make the cellulose pellicle more flexible, I attempted two samples, one with Cyclomethicone and one with glycerol. The cyclomethicone pellicles were soaked in 100% cyclomethicone, and glycerol pellicles were soaked in a 2% glycerol mixture.
The steps I took for soaking the pellicles were:
1. Replace soaked pellicle alcohol for 2 soaks
2. Replace alcohol with Cyclomethicone or 2% glycerol for 2 soaks
3. Press pellicles to accelerate dry time and make it thin enough to mould over drum
4. Let dry (mine took less than a day after pressing them)
Overall I found that the cyclomethicone pellicles produced good sound one the drums, but were much more brittle and tore easily. The Glycerol pellicle worked best, as it seems resistant to tearing so far, and produced a more supple sound. (The glycerol pellicle is on the top most drum on the sling.)
