I agree that context matters. I made ink from New Brunswick beach sand this past summer. It has a light peachy colour that is unlike sand ink from other beaches. Also, diatoms in water are distinct in each place so I can imagine they would affect ink-making, like terroir affects wine. And I know as a gardener, the same seeds planted in my front garden versus my back garden grow differently--different soil, nematodes, sun, proximity to specific plants, etc.
I agree that context matters. I made ink from New Brunswick beach sand this past summer. It has a light peachy colour that is unlike sand ink from other beaches. Also, diatoms in water are distinct in each place so I can imagine they would affect ink-making, like terroir affects wine. And I know as a gardener, the same seeds planted in my front garden versus my back garden grow differently--different soil, nematodes, sun, proximity to specific plants, etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatom#:~:text=Diatoms%20have%20two%20distinct%20shapes,dioxide)%2C%20called%20a%20frustule.
My Friday night activity was reading this article :)