Recipe
Pine cone tile
Pine cone scales pulled or ground, bound with a starch or gelatine paste and pressed into a textured tile. Carries the scent of pine resin and the shape of the scales themselves.
Every A New Field recipe has been run in a domestic kitchen or community hall. Read the safety notes before you start and adapt for your venue.
What you’ll make
A speckled, fragrant tile with visible scale flecks if torn coarsely or a smoother surface if ground fine. Hard enough to display, soft enough to drill.
Flexible slots (flex around your material)
Cellulose filler
Cellulose-rich powder30g powdered or tornFine, dry, ground-up plant matter. Acts as filler and body in composites and doughs.
Examples Pine cone scales, walnut shell, sawdust, fallen leaf powder, tea leaves
Note, Pine cone scales tear off easily once the cone has dried and opened. Crush further in a mortar for a finer finish.
Fixed ingredients
- Binder paste · 60g, Cook 10g cornstarch into 60ml water until thick and clear, or melt 8g gelatine in 60ml water.
- Glycerine · 5g, Keeps the tile from cracking as it dries.
Equipment
- Saucepan
- wooden spoon
- rolling pin or mortar
- sieve
- silicone or wooden mould
- baking paper.
Refinements and variations
- Substitute walnut shell or fallen-leaf powder
- Add a pinch of charcoal for a darker tile.
Source notes
Pine cones are common in parks, woodland and gardens across the UK. Collect dropped cones and let them open out in a warm room before use.