Eggshell Bead Recipe

Materials Needed:

Small pot

Eggshells

Agar-agar

Granulated sugar

Glycerol (or glycerin)

White distilled vinegar

Filtered water

Scale

Graduated cylinder (or scale for liquid measurement)

Natural dye (e.g., dragon fruit powder, pea flower dust, charcoal, turmeric)

Coffee grinder or mortar and pestle

Casting molds

Instructions:

Prepare the Eggshells
Rinse the eggshells with water immediately after breaking them. Boil the shells for 10 minutes,

then allow them to dry completely—either at room temperature or in an oven at 200°F.

Crush the Eggshells
Once dry, crush the eggshells into a fine dust using a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.

Note: If using a coffee grinder, thoroughly clean it before and after use, or designate one specifically for biomaterials.

Combine Ingredients
In a small pot, add the following ingredients in the order listed:

64 mL (or grams) of filtered water

5 grams of glycerol (measure by weight, even though it's a liquid)

2 grams of granulated sugar

2 grams of agar-agar

1 teaspoon of white distilled vinegar (to prevent mold)

1-2 teaspoons of natural dye powder (adjust depending on the intensity of color desired)

Heat the Mixture
Set the pot on medium-low heat and stir gently until the agar dissolves into the liquid. Do not allow the mixture to boil.

Incorporate Eggshell Dust
Once the mixture becomes smooth and uniform, add 7 grams of crushed eggshell dust. Stir quickly, as the texture will thicken to resemble liquid cement. Stir for 1-2 minutes, ensuring the mixture doesn’t burn.

Mold the Mixture
Remove from heat and immediately pour the thickened mixture into casting molds. Don’t worry about excess spillage; you can trim it off later.

Set and Cure
Let the molds sit for 10-15 minutes before carefully removing the material. The beads will be soft and malleable at first but will harden completely within 2 days.

Note: The finished material will have a texture similar to a spongy rock. To avoid mold or bacteria growth, ensure the beads dry thoroughly by air. Handle them with care during the drying process.

Recipe for Making Mardi Gras Beads from Eggshells

Thanks to everyone who came out to our residency showing and material making at Dancing Grounds in NOLA this past March!

Stay tuned for more workshops, performances in New York, Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis!

Unstable States [working title] is the seventh work in the Desire Motor series

(Beast, One of You is Fake, Thirst, Thesis, Things Do Not Bellow Long Together, Precipice, Decay Delay). 

Unstable States is a performance/installation/biomaterial fabrication that investigates our connection to the materials that make up our physical world, their origins, and how they came to be. 

Current research includes:  theory-based systems of meta-movement geometries (Post-Human Ecologies), detritus of physical material temporarily transformed with natural chemistry play, and kinetic becoming of material with the human body.

Join us for an informal showing  at Dancing Grounds. Engage in a fun and informative practice of re-imagining Mardi Gras bead necklaces made from an original eggshell biomaterial as we contemplate the use of materials in our daily rituals and communal celebrations. Watch and listen as we transform these practices into sound and movement to open up space to envision new ways of being with material traditions in order to find more sustainable and renewable connections with our environment. Lean more about our project: HERE

Photo by Effy Grey