Making Ink from Foraged Materials
For thousands of years, artists have used materials sourced from the earth as a medium for creative exploration. The first humans used crushed plants, rocks, and minerals to leave written and visual messages, dye materials, and even decorate their own bodies. Today, inks can easily be purchased from the store, however, making natural pigments at home is a great option for artists who want to do their part to protect the planet. In this article, we will explore some tips for sustainable art making that you can incorporate into your own artistic practice.
Manufactured Inks Can Be Toxic
Commercially available, manufactured inks are typically made with a variety of toxic chemicals, including heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury. These substances are known to pollute the environment, especially when they are disposed of improperly. In addition, the manufacturing process itself can release harmful chemicals into the air and water.
Toxins found in inks and dyes can cause serious health problems for both humans and animals. Lead, for example, can damage the brain and nervous system, while mercury can cause kidney damage and birth defects. Cadmium is a known carcinogen. Exposure to these toxins can occur through inhalation, skin contact, or ingestion.
Given the potential risks to human health and the environment, it is important to be aware of the dangers of manufactured inks and dyes before using them. Whenever possible, choose sustainable art materials that are safe for both people and planet.
Foraging for natural materials to make inks and dyes is a great way to connect with the earth and even improve your health. According to the American Psychological Association, “spending time in nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation.” Working with natural pigments has the potential to dramatically transform your art practice and give you a new connection and appreciation of the world around you.
“Moths and Butterflies”, Painted with natural foraged artist-made inks: walnut, marigold, turmeric, acorn, sumac, goldenrod with soda ash and rust water created with natural pigments by Cindy Stockton Moore.
What Types of Foraged Plants Can Make Ink?
The use of natural inks has traditional roots in many cultures spanning thousands of years. Mother nature offers a wide range of color options for ink making, including acorns, bark, roots, and berries, to create a palette that is infused with the unique essence of specific place. (Always make sure to forage responsibly, leaving nature as good or better than you found it!)
Experimenting with plants to create ink can be fun and often surprising. For example, avocado pits may yield red or pink dye, while red shiso leaves produce a magenta liquid that turns into a lovely blue ink on paper. Black raspberries are known for their ink which starts off as blue but gradually develops into a purple hue over the course of a couple weeks.
Fresh plants will produce different colors from those that are dried or frozen, and the same plant collected at different times of the year can also produce a variety of colors. Some plants require higher temperatures and long simmering times before unveiling their colors, whereas others yield results quickly. The wonders of nature never cease to amaze and making your own ink is just another great way to appreciate them!
Common Natural Materials
Flowers: Goldenrod, hibiscus, marigold, calendula, grape hyacinth, red bud, forsythia, purple iris.
Fruits: pokeberry, privet berry, wild grape, elderberry, mulberry, redcurrant, raspberry, sumac, osage orange
Seeds: acorn caps, walnut, dock, amaranth
Leaves: nettle, dock, ornamental plum, horsetail, Japanese maple
Roots: false indigo, iris, dock
Bark/Twigs: Osage orange, plum, barberry
Other: oak gall, inkcap mushrooms, some lichens, ground-up earth and minerals
Household fruits and vegetables: avocado skins/pits, beets, red cabbage, red/yellow onion, turmeric, paprika, greens, black beans, greens like parsley, some teas
How to Make Ink
The most common method to make natural ink is to boil the material in water or other suspending liquid to extract the pigment. Once the pigment has been extracted, it can be mixed with a binder such as soda ash or gum arabic. The binder is used to slightly thicken watery ink and prevent it from bleeding on the paper, as well as hold stronger color.
Mix your chosen pigment with the binder and substrate in a pot and let it simmer for hours. A small amount of this mixture yields a lot of ink, so testing out some different ratios is the best way to go about creating your own recipe. (Make sure to write down your formulations so you can recreate them later!) When the liquid reaches the desired color and the liquid is boiled down, use cheesecloth to strain it into a jar. To make your ink last longer, consider adding a bit of wintergreen essential oil or store it in the refrigerator to prevent mold.
Benefits of an Eco-friendly Art Practice
By creating your own art supplies from natural materials, you know exactly where your ingredients come from, and most importantly, that they can safely return to the earth. Using natural inks is a great way to decrease the consequences of relying on synthetic pigments and toxic chemicals. Besides this, developing a relationship with nature can build a sense of belonging and remind us of the interconnectedness of all beings on earth.
In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn the basics of creating ink and pan watercolors from natural ingredients.
Experimenting with organic modifiers to change color, we can create an entire palette from tea. In addition to learning about the science of color, participants will use the hand-made inks to paint from life - using fresh flowers and other natural elements as source.
