The Curios Wild Ink Set 2024

This is the second year of creating these “curious” colors, and they offer some fabulous texture with the way they’re made.

Acorn cap grey-brown: This was one of the first inks I ever created, and one of my favorites. With many an oak tree in my neighborhood, I don’t have to walk far to forage some fallen acorn caps. The recipe calls for a couple rusty nails (plenty in our garage), and I’ve learned that creates more of a brown than warm grey.

Ground chicory root: A few years ago I read about chicory having antioxidants and being used as a coffee alternative in the Civil War. This chicory is ground in Louisiana, and I had purchased it to drink it. I never fully transitioned to chicory coffee, but this is one of my all-time favorite inks to play with! It’s a rich leather-tan like color and feathers beautifully when dropped into water with the wet-in-wet technique.

Japanese Indigo: I am a humble student of Japanese indigo to this day. I grew this plant from seed, and it flourished in my pots. As the name states, it is used for indigo dyeing, something I’m still working to accomplish. This ink is more like a suspension, but provides a textural green with hint of blue undertone.

Each bottle has a couple drops of clove oil to preserve the ink color. I recommend refridgerating the inks to make them last longer.

Remember to shake each ink bottle well before opening and painting. Cheers!