the first day back at school this year was special and hard. full time instructor for nine months. it was tinted with the plastic kickboards around my office peeled from the wall, a mix of drywall dust, forever-old glue (the kind that has aged for so many years and ended up a damped ochre), and shards of the electric blue the entire room had been painted by the office occupant before me.
it’s still a construction zone but there’s something okay about the filtered light and the continued changes in scenery as it is repainted and repaired.
I love reading the Colour. It is my special treat when my daughter is finally down for her nap. it reads like poetry and has inspired me to start writing and reflecting on my own art practice again. I have attempted making alder cone and bark dye, and ink from onion skins, and other kitchen waste, but most of them are very diluted. I am located in Estonia, so would welcome any online course on natural pigments and ink making <3 oak and acorns are next on my dye plant list. Anyway, thank YOU for the Colour <3
Thank you so much for your book. With your tips and encouragement I've made my firt foray into ink making. The hidden benefit to the art made is the the neighbours met when asking for permission to tread in their gardens to pick up spent blooms. Hibiscus has provided some pretty exciting and varied colours.
I LOVE that you have a comment section! First day of school colour for my kids is Blue! Blue for the colour of our house which is where they unschool! What have I been foraging? Mushrooms! I've been collecting different species and also Alder bark. I plan to dye some snake and fish skins as well as Indigo leaves I've been growing all summer!
Love this piece about pencil charcoal ink. I'm inspired by Tim McLaughlin's Ink Making course. So happy with New Brunswick sand ink I made. I'd love more guidance about foraging for colour in Toronto. With all the restrictions on foraging because of damage to the ecosystem, I'm confused. At this point, I'm simply haunting back alleys. https://www.instagram.com/abigailjanejohnson/
You are a poet, in the way you tell a story. Thank you for your evocative narrative
I'm many many many years out of school, the physical organized structure. But learning happens every day, thank goodness always something to explore. Recently i explored our fire pit. My husband is a woodworker, collects all his offcuts, which we then burn on a nice evening, in the firepit, with a glass of wine or 3. I collected some lovely hardwood charcoal bits, a mix of white oak, and cherry and mystery wood. I ground it all up as per your instructions in the book and made some ink. I might call this colour Summer Firepit.
Image with yellow flags shows California native, Monkey flower. Did you make ink from it?
the first day back at school this year was special and hard. full time instructor for nine months. it was tinted with the plastic kickboards around my office peeled from the wall, a mix of drywall dust, forever-old glue (the kind that has aged for so many years and ended up a damped ochre), and shards of the electric blue the entire room had been painted by the office occupant before me.
it’s still a construction zone but there’s something okay about the filtered light and the continued changes in scenery as it is repainted and repaired.
I love reading the Colour. It is my special treat when my daughter is finally down for her nap. it reads like poetry and has inspired me to start writing and reflecting on my own art practice again. I have attempted making alder cone and bark dye, and ink from onion skins, and other kitchen waste, but most of them are very diluted. I am located in Estonia, so would welcome any online course on natural pigments and ink making <3 oak and acorns are next on my dye plant list. Anyway, thank YOU for the Colour <3
Thank you so much for your book. With your tips and encouragement I've made my firt foray into ink making. The hidden benefit to the art made is the the neighbours met when asking for permission to tread in their gardens to pick up spent blooms. Hibiscus has provided some pretty exciting and varied colours.
I LOVE that you have a comment section! First day of school colour for my kids is Blue! Blue for the colour of our house which is where they unschool! What have I been foraging? Mushrooms! I've been collecting different species and also Alder bark. I plan to dye some snake and fish skins as well as Indigo leaves I've been growing all summer!
School bus yellow is the color of the first day of school.
Love this piece about pencil charcoal ink. I'm inspired by Tim McLaughlin's Ink Making course. So happy with New Brunswick sand ink I made. I'd love more guidance about foraging for colour in Toronto. With all the restrictions on foraging because of damage to the ecosystem, I'm confused. At this point, I'm simply haunting back alleys. https://www.instagram.com/abigailjanejohnson/
You are a poet, in the way you tell a story. Thank you for your evocative narrative
I'm many many many years out of school, the physical organized structure. But learning happens every day, thank goodness always something to explore. Recently i explored our fire pit. My husband is a woodworker, collects all his offcuts, which we then burn on a nice evening, in the firepit, with a glass of wine or 3. I collected some lovely hardwood charcoal bits, a mix of white oak, and cherry and mystery wood. I ground it all up as per your instructions in the book and made some ink. I might call this colour Summer Firepit.