Megan Hillaker, Painting, 2026
Project Overview
“As the Mother, So the Child.”
I was considering my relationship with my grandmother when creating this piece. She was a hematologist and an incredibly intelligent lady, but growing up as a child who struggled with STEM-related subjects, I often felt disconnected from her and her legacy. Fiber arts were something I learned myself, but this edging pattern, Hens and Chicks, is one that speaks to the passing down and preservation of memory and craft. Although fiber traditions are often passed through maternal lines, in this piece, I feel that the love and excitement for science and developing new technologies are being passed through generations. I grew bacterial cellulose in silicon tubes, then soaked in glycerol for flexibility and tensile strength.
Process
I set out on this project with the intention of creating a thread-like quality to the cellulose. I started by pumping inoculated media with a syringe into silicon tubes that were clamped on both ends. The silicon is air-permeable, so the pellicle is able to grow. In this process, I discovered that no air bubbles will form if the syringe is always held at an angle so that the liquid is always being pumped upwards. In the present facilities, the length was limited to around 2 meters; a longer size should be possible with a larger autoclave.
I started two of these test tubes and left them to grow for 14 days. After 14 days, I harvested one of the test tubes and left the other to grow further. This harvested pellicle had grown well, and after autoclaving it and soaking it in 2% glycerol, I was satisfied with its tensile qualities but wanted a slightly thicker pellicle. I then inoculated four more tubes and let them grow for 21 days, at which point I harvested them and soaked them in 2% glycerol and 98% filtered water to the weight of the pellicle. I then dried them and began the lace-making process.
However, I discovered that the drying process created a flat shape to the strands that made them difficult to handle. To combat this, I partially re-hydrated the pellicles as I worked on them. This did not seem to affect the finished product that much, but next time I would dry the pellicle hanging from something and not lying on a surface.
