Project Template

Shane Rucker, GFA MAT, 2026

Project Overview

When I began, this project was about imagining what it is like to be a bacteria. It was about storytelling. The idea was to create a bacteria cellulose sheet and then print onto that an illustration that describes the bacteria’s history; how they were created and indeed how they would perish. I imagined a tome of sorts combining a scientific diagram of the process with imagery representing aspects of the growth cycles. As it progressed it became a lot about the process. There is a lot of repetition and process inherent in printmaking so it is inescapable.

Process

Starting with a sample of K.Hansenii bacteria that has been in stasis in the -80 freezer.

By jamming a pipette tip into the frozen K.Hansenii culture, a small sample is removed and added to a test tube containing HS Media.

This test tube is left in an incubator for a few days until a small white pellicule forms on the surface of the HS Media. This is the bacterial cellulose that the K.Hansenii uses to float at the surface and suck nutrients from the depths of the liquid media. This is the gold that we are mining.

Once a pellicule has formed to about 1/4″ the contents are pipetted and or tapped out of the test tube into a (sterile) 50ml conical tube. This tube is placed onto the shaker and oscilated at 20,000 rpms for about 20 seconds. The contents are then poured into a larger Earlenmire flask with about 250mLs of HS media.

The Earlenmire flast is left in the incubator until a new pelicule begins to form. This sample is checked for contamination, before being added to a larger container for the final growth cycle. In my case the sample grew mold and had to be disposed of. Lukily I was able to get donated culture from a classmate to use for my next transfer.

Before transfering to a large 5 gallon tub, the tube needed to be sterilized:

First, the whole thing was hand washed with sponge, dishsoap, and hot water. (the inner lining of the lide was carefuly removed and washed as well.

Second, the tub, the lid, and all of the tubing/washers and nuts were sprayed down with 70% Isopropyl Alchohol and left to sit for 10-15 minutes before being wiped clean with paper towels.

The tub and lid are run through a few cycles in the UV box to ensure that the interior surfaces are sterile.

Afterwards 5 to 6Ls of HS media are poured in. Then the Earlenmire flask containing the K.Hansenii sample is poured in. The tub is sealed and lifted about an inch up and down on one end to gently stir the contents.

The tub is placed into the incubator and an oxygen tube is connected to one of the air filters on the tub. It’s left there for several weeks until the pellicule forms and reaches a thickness of close to an inch.

The Pellicule is then removed from the tub. The tub is washed, rinsed, and filled with fresh tap water. The pellicule is left to sit in there for a day. Every day the pellicule is removed and the rinsing/soaking process is repeated. After the third day the pellicule is soaked in an acidic solution for a day to kill of any remaining bacteria. It is then given two more rinse/soak cycles in fresh tap water. *Lab hours didn’t allow for this kind of consistency so each soak was multiple days for my project. It worked okay but I did have a smellier pellicule than others.

After rinsing/soaking the pellicule it was pressed between two thick boards. I placed the pellicule onto a plywood board and stuck the whole thing into a large plastic garbage bag. I then placed that on a table and added a large wooden block on top. The wooden block was clamped to the table with 16 large clamps. Each was slowly tightened more and more until i heard wood start to crack. At that pint at least 60% of the fluid had been squeezed from the pellicule.

I brought the flattened pellicule home to dry but the air was too cold and humid and the pellicule didn’t dry fast enough on its own. A small dark moldy looking growth appeared, so I did my best to spead up the process with a hair dryer. Laying the pelicule flat on a large mirror I went on to hit it with a hair dryer. It took multiple sessions of hours of drying + leaving it sandwiched between cardboard overnight to dry it out.

I test printed some smalles sample pellicules with a copper intaligo printing plate. The results were excellent. When I tried to print the final piece however only a hazy perforated lines showed up. I had to go over the print with a graphite pencil in order for the design to be legible. I think the thickness of the pellicule is the issue. If I were to repeat the experiment I would grow the pellice to between 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick.