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My favorite color to produceĀ and make ink with is this one! I started this batch in January after carrying the jar with the dried sediment and copper pieces with me for 2 yrs. What I find fascinating is that it’s like the “mother” I had for my kombucha that I would put in the fridge when I had made plenty. This is even easier to … Continue reading Verdigris
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I enrolled in an intensive workshop, a deep dive into lake pigments. If you don’t know anything about lake pigments, I have put some links at the end of this post. One of the instructors, Natalie Stopka, has a book out right now, From Plant to Pigment. This week, I made the turmeric lake recipe from her book. … Continue reading Turmeric Ink
Some of the best resources for my ink come from the natural dyer’s recipes I find online. I have seen a few posts on hyacinths being a good flower for dyes, and I tried it a few years ago. Now I make it every year. To me, it is the epitome of the softness of spring. My sister has a large amount growing in the … Continue reading Grape Hyacinth 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
Winter brings the sweet smell and tastes of oranges and tangerines. I didnāt 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 donāt want … Continue reading Orange Peel Ink
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
I have been taking a lot walks to find plants to make more ink. This time of year there are so may things to choose from. In July I decided on wild bergamot, Queen Anne’s lace and a few day lilies I still had growing in my garden. I use wild bergamot to make infused vinagar (btw it’s really delicious) it causes the vinagar to … Continue reading Ink Making 8.18.20
For my next natural dye/ink experiment I decided to see what happens with dandelions. When I picked them there was a really beautiful yellow stain on my fingers, so I hoped that that would be the color I got after the steep. I steeped the flowers for 10 hrs by pouring boiling water on them and putting the lid on. The tea came out more … Continue reading Dandelions
Leah's Notes on Ink and Art 