Winter’s a great time to try making inks from sources other than what grows in my backyard. I have been reading a lot about the history of pigments, and I wanted to try making a red from cochineal bugs. According to Wikipedia, Cochineal dye was used by the Aztec and Maya peoples of North and Central America as early as the second century BC. Inhabitants … Continue reading Cochineal Ink
Last year, I enrolled in an online ink making workshop given by Maiwa School of Textiles. It took me a while but I finally finished it this winter. Although I have been experimenting and making inks for a few years I wanted to learn more about the process of making lake pigments. A lake pigment is a pigment made by precipitating a dye bath with … Continue reading Lake Pigment
It was a very cold spring, our bulbs and fruit trees had been late blooming. Last year 2021, I made my first daffodil ink on April 21. This year it wasn’t till the first week of May before I made my only batch. Daffodils represent the first of the years floral inks for me. The color yellow is cooler than a lot of other plants … Continue reading Daffodil Ink
Walnut Ink 2022 A gift! Last fall my friend James dropped off a bucket of walnuts! After sitting through the winter and drying out. I was ready to cook. My set up was outside on an early April day. They cooked on a low temperature for 6hrs. Then sat overnight. Looks like it is ready. First strain through a metal strainer, the again through a … Continue reading Walnut Ink 2022
Winter brings the sweet smell and tastes of oranges and tangerines. I didn’t realize that this beautiful fruit could be used to make a glorious ink until I saw a post in my instagram feed and I just had to try it. (I hoped to give credit but can’t find the artist) Save your orange peels in a container in your fridge. You don’t want … Continue reading Orange Peel Ink
For ink making in 2021, I wanted to experiment with plants and other materials I hadn’t tried before, one of which was honeysuckle berry. These cheery red berries show up in July and are everywhere on the borders of the woods and fields near where we live in upstate NY. I was so busy with summer events and life that I decided to freeze the … Continue reading Honeysuckle Ink
This year I decided I would try to grow a few things in the garden for making inks. I chose 5. Safflowers for the pretty pinks they can give, calendula and marigolds for the yellows, amaranth for the intense fuschia and Hopi black sunflowers for the purple and turquoise colors. I also had to take into consideration that I live in a place where the … Continue reading Ink Garden 2021
Making safflower ink Continue reading Safflower Ink 8.2021
I love the color blue in all its varieties. Blueberries and black beans can make nice blue inks and dyes but are fugitive and the color fades when in the light for a long period of time. I have read about the indigo plant and I plan to try making ink from the dry pigment. Since I adore the aqua color of patinas I found … Continue reading Copper Oxide Ink
This fall was an exciting time to be a rookie ink maker. I went for long walks to look for all types of berries and nuts that I could use and found that 2020 was a bumper crop year for so many of the plants that are great for making ink. Continue reading Ink Making Fall 2020
Leah's Notes and Art Blog 