Kombucha—for centuries it’s been brewed as a tangy beverage made of tea and a symbiotic glob of bacteria and yeast. In this bioart papermaking course you will explore a new way to utilize kombucha. It is not only a great source of probiotics—it can also grow a renewable art material!

Using emerging biotech we can grow our art from living materials. Participants will grow paper from a living kombucha culture. We will discuss brewing techniques, and contextualize this process within bioart. Participants will walk away with their own kombucha cultures and parchment-like paper they grew themselves. In addition, students will have a chance to grow their own materials and paint with naturally extracted inks.

Instructor:

Nikki Romanello received her BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture and a Concentration in Photography at Maryland Institute of College of Art. She graduated with an MFA in Studio Art, majoring in Sculpture from the Pratt Institute. She has worked at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Harris Rubin, New Arts Foundry, and the University of Maryland Iron Pour. She participated at the artist residency at Hot Wood Art Center and had a solo Bio Art show at the University Science Center in Philadelphia. Currently, she is exhibiting bioart, working as a TIG welder for Token NYC, and teaching at Brooklyn Brainery and Genspace.