Colored fibers and fabric without chemical dyes
While scouring the great wide web for resources I came across a company as well as an artist that are working with structural coloured fibers.
Product or Process
Morpho butterflies remain a vibrant blue throughout their lives, without ever needing a coat of paint to spruce up a dull finish. The scales on their wings are made of many layers of proteins that refract light in different ways, and the color we see often is due entirely to the play of light and structure rather than the presence of pigments. Teijin Fibers Limited of Japan produces Morphotex® fibers. No dyes or pigments are used. Rather, color is created based on the varying thickness and structure of the fibers. Energy consumption and industrial waste are reduced because no dye process must be used.
Below: An example of the reflective fabric
Above: A close up of the butterflies wing.
The artist Signe Rand Ebbesen has started incorporating hand woven paper yarn and the morphotex fibers into his artwork to create unusual results with textiles.
You can clearly see the reflective quality of the textile. What I want to find out is if this technology can be applied to the fibers of paper. To create the same effect. Thus utilising the reflective quality in the paper to hide text or imagery and it is only revealed once positioned towards the sun. I will be getting in contact with a biologist to find out if it might be possible.
...Sheena...
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