A Sense of Place
I have tried to answer the question "how did I get here?" with natural ink. The truth is I do not remember any one thing that led me here. After nearly a full year in this professional art business, I know that my creative path (and I would guess most others') is like a breadcrumb trail. The trail has taken me from watercolor class to acrylic paper making, to eco printing, and to natural ink making in one year. I am finding my way in the world of creative expression--and understanding my need for connection to the earth. Grounding. Freeing. The fresh air. The wild.
I previously shared about my foraging and the Honorable Harvest, and the foraging experience continues to be a serendipitous venture. Every walk I take seems to lead to surprising finds. I thought oak galls (small round brown balls that grow on oak branches) would be difficult to find, yet an oak tree along the boulevard near my house had a large cache of them. Now I can make the famous oak gall black ink used to write the Magna Carta and Beowulf. Learning the history of pigments and inks can be just as fascinating as finding the ingredients. On an evening walk, I noticed some bright yellow-topped bushes in the open field along a pond south of our house. I snapped a photo to identify it and was delighted to find it was goldenrod---and it was everywhere. The best acorn caps for gray ink were right along the boulevard entering my neighborhood. The abundance of natural color sources continues to amaze me and fills me with a sense of gratitude and place.
Natural ink making is like creating twice: the creation of the ink, then creating with the inks that were made. I can alchemize part of a place into color(s). How amazing is that? Ink making finds a purpose in what otherwise is overlooked, even discarded, similar to eco printing. I am simultaneously deepening my relationship with the places I inhabit; it is grounding.
The Kitchen Lab
This past week I was home with COVID and boy, it kicked my ass for a few days. I am still a little deconditioned and coming out of the brain fog. However, I promised myself I would try my first batch of ink and just get going. The oak gall ink is still in progress, needing to soak for a few days. What I was able to make the same day were an acorn cap gray and a rich dark black walnut brown. The first batch of acorn cap color was higher in rust to acorn ratio, but I like having variations of the colors. I created a short video here:
And here are a few photos from the day. I am recording and archiving all the test strips and steps I take. The final ink portraits are in progress, as I may add another color or two once created.
On the Inking Docket & Beyond
There is something very liberating about sourcing my own ink materials. I am already training my eye to see more, to be more mindful and conscious. Open mind, open eyes.
So what's next? I hope you'll follow along on this ink making journey. The materials yet to be transformed include: serviceberries, chokeberries, oak bark, birch bark, pigmented rocks, clay, and goldenrod, to name a few. Harvest season is such a great time for foraging.
The week after Halloween I will be sharing the eco printing process with my 7 year-old son's class. His teacher excitedly told me about how she wants to introduce the concept of art with nature, and I am very happy to share what I have learned. I have been collecting materials for them on my evening walks and trail hikes.
Cheers and happy harvest season!
Inktober is upon us!
Reader Interactions