If you were to pay a small monthly tuition to join a Living University of Ink what might you want a newsletter that is more than just a newsletter to include or offer? I am evolving The Colour in the next few weeks to include a paid version that feels a bit more useable and collaborative and I am very interested in hearing your ideas, requests and wild dreams.
Fermented nettle/winter watercress green, aged stick lac deep red and found copper/ blueing cube on church window shaped Japanese paper i
As one of my first paid subscribers, or one of my favourite colour colleagues, (or possibly as a member of my family) your thoughts will be a valued part of what I am building. Please do join the discussion below or maybe put heart on someone’s else’s great idea. Jason
i would love to see where other natural color artists are working, how they are setting up their workspaces, what's inspiring them, how they think about their work, the questions they're pondering / struggling with / working through
Rather than a University of ink (makes me think of one-way knowledge transmission and exams with right and wrong answers) maybe an Ink Collaboratory that focused on building confidence in an ethos of experimentation and discovery? Not sure what this would look like - learning the history of ink and colour would be important as would basic recipes - but then encouraging a community of experimentation?
Yeah - that word has been hanging around in my head looking for the right context so I am glad you like it! Despite the collaboratory you are creating, I do hope you will continue with your own written pieces which never cease to amaze in their ability to inform, imagine and touch us all.
I would love to get a sample color stain in the mail every so often— I mean via USPS. And I would love the opportunity to buy some of the inks you make.
Feb 19, 2022·edited Feb 19, 2022Liked by Toronto Ink Company
This is a great concept to collaborate about what this can be. You need to maintain editorial control not in a Putin kind of way but more managing the intended spirit and in keeping with the will of the tribe of merry inksters. I’ll be honest as much as I hate to say this - subscription fatigue is a real thing for people. I would pay for access to high res copies of your sketches that I admire or humour me. Print one high res per month included with a subscription, choose from Jason’s gallery. Rob
I like this idea. A high res printable of something. A shareable, high quality digital file. It could even be a poster or a monthly printable calendar ❤️
As I rewatch the video you made regarding the mother who experienced a mass shooting in which her daughter was killed, I realize that ‘idea prompts’ you suggested are appealing to me - making ink as an idea and journeying through materials in exploration, as you said.
So much of our existence revolves around substances made prior to our birth. I find it grounding to going through my own process to discover how to make things I need or just enjoy for living and sharing, rather than reading and copying how humans have previously made what they want.
Could you please share the link to the video? I forage colour in an expressive arts therapy capacity; super interested in the intersection of foraged colour and trauma and healing. Thank you.
Cilla: Ask Jason Logan / Toronto Ink Company directly - I no longer have access to the video. It had to do with the colour that gunpowder makes and related to a mother’s grief after losing a child in a school shooting.
As someone already said - there are so many subscriptions, patreon etc.
I understand the need to generate income from what you do & wanting interaction / community building.
The range of comments indicates the range of interest & ability to pay.
TBH as an artist, ink maker & community builder living (well) on a small income, I probably wouldn’t pay (any international money transaction also incurs costs).
I love reading about your inspiration, research and exploits - could there be different ways to be involved/connect? EG an exchange (of inspiration, research & exploits?) instead of an exchange of £$€
Yes to all of this. How do you build a space for a community? I want to do more of what I am doing and it just takes too much time to do it right without getting paid. Time is so precious so either I have to do less or get paid more so that I don't have to take on so many less interesting gigs. But I also hate that it becomes a thing only for people with extra money get to be a part of. And I absolutely hear everyone who is saying that they feel subscription fatigue. I do too. And I am also pretty sure (following a lot of what has already been said) that there is a value exchange inherent to the natural colour and ink scene that is WAY better than capitalism as I know it. I also want this to feel like a group project and it seems to me it is often the most broke people that have the most to offer. So Anna's question below is a great one. Does money stop the flow?
You know? As a fellow artist, and as a human with more and more understanding of how necessary and helpful money actually is, I think one needs to find balance between the free flow of sharing and the flow of creation. The creator NEEDS to be taken care of, so they can continue creating. This is a discourse that needs to be brought into discussion more often and open heartedly. Because artists ideally shouldn’t have to find jobs that pay their bills just so they can create art and knowledge and content for free. I love that you want to keep half of your newsletter free. The other half, well, it would be great if it could take care of you so you could keep your research and creation ❤️
Have you looked at all into online community platforms? (Circle.co is my favorite but a lot of people like Mighty Networks or Tribes.) They provide a space where you can post all of the great topics you shared earlier but also videos, Q&As, sharing each other's work, even webinars or live classes, etc. It's more interactive so could also allow you to build that collective. And, a thriving community, creates content to share with each other so there's an energy to draw from.
I helped set up an art meets nature network in the UK (dialogues with nature) on mighty the platform is really well made but also feels like a lot of administration a bit elaborate for what I am imagining. But will look at a few others. 🧐 . Circle looks a bit pricey but good research for me.
Maybe you have other insights from your world of education meets tech and data. This collaboratorium could use a remote education specialist on the board of directors
million dollar question. does money stop the flow. yes. its a natural barrier. i am part of a discord channel that has focus groups, video/audio chats. not the most "artsy" environment. but it works for accessible convo.
How about exploring other peoples' colours too? Like Marcel Dzama and the root-beer powder painting group in Winnipeg in the 90s? Or Beam Paints, Indigenous foraged colours from M'Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island in the right now? Culture, history, and please! So many ink tests. My eyes are thirsty for them after the sea of digital colour...
Marcel’s rootbeer was an early inspiration. Among Beam and Rūta continue to be. Nice natural ink bat from Marcel in my book Make Ink and a shout out to Beem paints in the back. It’s a great idea tons of hero’s and fore-bearers out there.
I love that you get some money toward what you are doing. I love your ramblings, I would love to try making ink. It not in my time restraints at the moment. I would still love to be a part of this community.
On a side note I am a chinese herbalist and am about to send a ink/dye artist in Scotland some Zi Cao to try to get some colour from and some Hong Hua that went out of date for use.
Next question how much and would the money stop the flow ?
'tuition' makes me think of learning goals. I'd love to be able to easily connect and collaborate with people who share similar learning goals - documentation of progress-making, provocative questions, feedback...thank you for asking us!
i would love to have small ink-making kits or kit pieces available. i already have the basics you outline in your book, but think if you could share small pieces of pigment with which i could make ink at home...?
Recently discovered the book and love it. I am in the UK so interested in making (l)inks with ink-makers and foragers here. Have the sub fatigue thing too but would be willing to pay to stay involved....
This is a really interesting idea to me. I have recently relocated most of my life from the prairies to the east coast, and I am slowly finding my way into a completely different and unfamiliar ecosystem, and all its potential. There is a specificity to colour, and how one responds to it as well, that is tied to place and relationship to place. It's a rich source of ideas and discussion about diversity!
More of what you are already doing as the blend of fact, folklore, creativity, visuals and artistry is so interesting to read. Maybe an occasional video and links if you are so inclined. Thanks again. I’m happy to make a small monthly contribution but would préfère an annual subscription.
lots of gorgeous ink tests to look at, a warm bath for my retinas! I love hearing about the psycho-geography of foraging, provenance and rambling around
I especially enjoyed your newsletter today, Jason, regarding your connection to silver through childhood family experiences and then your experiment to make a silver-colored egg. Every ‘thing’ on Earth has a history/pre-history that can provide meaning for humans. That’s what initially enthused me when I first read your Forager’s Ink book. You were finding color in everything, including cigarette butts, and weren’t limiting yourself to natural plants, fibers, and so on. I would be interested in connecting the making of color with personal meaning, as part of what you are building. Thanks for listening.
Know I am a bit late for the party but I would like to be a part of this community. I really enjoy your weekly ramblings. They are a helpful dose of different kinds of wonderings and images in a quiet sort of way.
Thanks, there is no deadline on the party. I think its already working. My ramblings continue every week and people are signing up to comment and be part of a community. So far not too much recipe sharing but the revolution is still young.
What I have found most valuable about your newsletter is your accounts of seeing and experiencing color. I feel transported and invigorated to create and explore. So, more than information, I would find this second tier to be most beneficial if it had that same catalystic, wonderful quality. Perhaps in the form of challenges and show-and-tell? Randomized ink sharing through the mail between participants? Beautiful photography and poetry?
To be honest, I like the way your newsletter already is - writing, images and length. I am not looking for more as I enjoy the voice you create using this current format. I am not looking for something more extensive either. As for recipes, there are plenty in your book already, some that I have tried out and many more to go.
What about a monthly interactive assignment - kind of like a photo club - where you name a material or a colour and everyone can send you their interpretations of the theme and you could post a little gallery of community submissions?
I love the idea, although not working at present, I think I will try it out. I love new recipes I can try and words, descriptions of work. Stories through ink.
I would love to learn more about different practical applications of the ink, but not just on paper. I don't need it all to be sucessful - experiments and failures are useful to me too. I'm using your ink recipes to stain/print/make surface patterns on leather and textiles (for products and art), but I want to screen print with this stuff too. I want to learn / have the opportunity to share all the ways we can use this magical stuff. Paying for individual lessons/corners of creativity would suit me better than a more hefty subscribe-to-all-of-it model. That would also allow you to see which individual areas were more popular and lucrative (otherwise you risk ppl doing the pay-Patreon-for-one-month-and-rinse-all-the-content-and-leave thing). Love your work, it's wonderful.
First, yes I would be interested. The posts are meaningful and contribute a great deal.
I wonder if you have looked at Kristian Brevik's instagram posts (Kbrevik_whalefall) and the zines he sells. They are amazing and would lend themselves to your thinking.
I also think you may want to gather a few academic types and consider an edited journal on inks.
I agree with many of the suggestions below. Would love to get more tips and tricks on altering certain recipes, but also have access to resources. I love the idea of community and collaboration where we can share our experiments, share recipes, ideas and histories.
It sounds like we all want similar things to come out of a paid subscription ie education, kits, recipes, the rambling, community, etc. But maybe what the focus should be on is the “how” and the “how do we keep it going” if we don’t want to run the risks of “does money stop the flow”. I’m not sure how to tackle this but very much open to collab!
I tried to sum up all of these comments here: https://thecolour.substack.com/p/what-kind-of-colour-are-you?utm_source=url.
Recipes?
Definitely! And discussion about chemistry, ie how you have created subtleties within a color. Thanks!!!
A bit of chemistry and subtleties (pH, pigments etc) in the subscriber part of newsletter this week on beets.
Yes, this would be incredibly useful!
HECK YESS!!!
tools, paper and specialty ink-making supplies.
would love the opportunity to purchase kits and supplies!
ahh a university gift shop and lab supply
Good mullers! Help!
chemistry, physics, biology, colour theory, history and geology special topics.
yes please! have a geologist at home, but he doesn't make ink .... (yet)
super-wierd experiments that I am still trying to figure out
Yeeees!! Jason!! These experiments could be your lectures. And we’d get to see your mad scientist processes in progress. Yay! ❤️❤️❤️
yes i'm all for weird experiments! i love hearing about and watching your creative process.
I really enjoy reading about your weird experiments! Maybe there could be a way for others to join in on the experimenting too?
this is the best
reading lists?
mini-video?
Yes, I love watching you paint with your inks!
Yes!!
natural colour artists studio tour
i would love to see where other natural color artists are working, how they are setting up their workspaces, what's inspiring them, how they think about their work, the questions they're pondering / struggling with / working through
And, field trip walking tours/workshops.
Guest lecturers?
Yes!!
colour and ethics
1000%. My goal is to be working with invasive species, to transform that harm into a useful beauty.
ink as a small business
I would love to learn more about this too!!
Activities for kids?
Yes!!!
just go back to writing you rambling tales and don't charge me?
Or maybe you can offer some content still free and offer the more extended content for paying subscribers, like patti smith does…
will totally check out Patti Smith
round table discussions with experts
please keep the weird and discursive and divergent; build on the community side of things so we can share experiments, images, thoughts and failures
tips & tricks -- variations on basic ink recipes, modifiers, ink as it ages, etc.
this would be incredibly useful!
Rather than a University of ink (makes me think of one-way knowledge transmission and exams with right and wrong answers) maybe an Ink Collaboratory that focused on building confidence in an ethos of experimentation and discovery? Not sure what this would look like - learning the history of ink and colour would be important as would basic recipes - but then encouraging a community of experimentation?
i feel like even this comments section is feeling like a bit of a collaboratory. and also I love that word.
Yeah - that word has been hanging around in my head looking for the right context so I am glad you like it! Despite the collaboratory you are creating, I do hope you will continue with your own written pieces which never cease to amaze in their ability to inform, imagine and touch us all.
I would love to get a sample color stain in the mail every so often— I mean via USPS. And I would love the opportunity to buy some of the inks you make.
Oh, this is really cool!! Would be like a postcard for the awesome experiment of the month or the year ❤️
a summertime show and tell moment for fellow ink makers might be fun?
Colour rambling tales are wonderful
I’d suggest including an interactive format, where we, as subscribers, think and interact rather than just read what you write.
That’s a great idea
This is a great concept to collaborate about what this can be. You need to maintain editorial control not in a Putin kind of way but more managing the intended spirit and in keeping with the will of the tribe of merry inksters. I’ll be honest as much as I hate to say this - subscription fatigue is a real thing for people. I would pay for access to high res copies of your sketches that I admire or humour me. Print one high res per month included with a subscription, choose from Jason’s gallery. Rob
I like this idea. A high res printable of something. A shareable, high quality digital file. It could even be a poster or a monthly printable calendar ❤️
As I rewatch the video you made regarding the mother who experienced a mass shooting in which her daughter was killed, I realize that ‘idea prompts’ you suggested are appealing to me - making ink as an idea and journeying through materials in exploration, as you said.
So much of our existence revolves around substances made prior to our birth. I find it grounding to going through my own process to discover how to make things I need or just enjoy for living and sharing, rather than reading and copying how humans have previously made what they want.
Your authentic genius has my attention, Jason.
Could you please share the link to the video? I forage colour in an expressive arts therapy capacity; super interested in the intersection of foraged colour and trauma and healing. Thank you.
Cilla: Ask Jason Logan / Toronto Ink Company directly - I no longer have access to the video. It had to do with the colour that gunpowder makes and related to a mother’s grief after losing a child in a school shooting.
As someone already said - there are so many subscriptions, patreon etc.
I understand the need to generate income from what you do & wanting interaction / community building.
The range of comments indicates the range of interest & ability to pay.
TBH as an artist, ink maker & community builder living (well) on a small income, I probably wouldn’t pay (any international money transaction also incurs costs).
I love reading about your inspiration, research and exploits - could there be different ways to be involved/connect? EG an exchange (of inspiration, research & exploits?) instead of an exchange of £$€
Or contributing in some way ?
Or testing a ‘pay as you feel’ subscription ?
While I’m here 🙏💚🙏 for your book
(and where’s the ink-maker emoji 🤔)
Yes to all of this. How do you build a space for a community? I want to do more of what I am doing and it just takes too much time to do it right without getting paid. Time is so precious so either I have to do less or get paid more so that I don't have to take on so many less interesting gigs. But I also hate that it becomes a thing only for people with extra money get to be a part of. And I absolutely hear everyone who is saying that they feel subscription fatigue. I do too. And I am also pretty sure (following a lot of what has already been said) that there is a value exchange inherent to the natural colour and ink scene that is WAY better than capitalism as I know it. I also want this to feel like a group project and it seems to me it is often the most broke people that have the most to offer. So Anna's question below is a great one. Does money stop the flow?
You know? As a fellow artist, and as a human with more and more understanding of how necessary and helpful money actually is, I think one needs to find balance between the free flow of sharing and the flow of creation. The creator NEEDS to be taken care of, so they can continue creating. This is a discourse that needs to be brought into discussion more often and open heartedly. Because artists ideally shouldn’t have to find jobs that pay their bills just so they can create art and knowledge and content for free. I love that you want to keep half of your newsletter free. The other half, well, it would be great if it could take care of you so you could keep your research and creation ❤️
Have you looked at all into online community platforms? (Circle.co is my favorite but a lot of people like Mighty Networks or Tribes.) They provide a space where you can post all of the great topics you shared earlier but also videos, Q&As, sharing each other's work, even webinars or live classes, etc. It's more interactive so could also allow you to build that collective. And, a thriving community, creates content to share with each other so there's an energy to draw from.
It's Circle.so -- not .co!
I helped set up an art meets nature network in the UK (dialogues with nature) on mighty the platform is really well made but also feels like a lot of administration a bit elaborate for what I am imagining. But will look at a few others. 🧐 . Circle looks a bit pricey but good research for me.
Maybe you have other insights from your world of education meets tech and data. This collaboratorium could use a remote education specialist on the board of directors
million dollar question. does money stop the flow. yes. its a natural barrier. i am part of a discord channel that has focus groups, video/audio chats. not the most "artsy" environment. but it works for accessible convo.
Keep accessibility at the fore.
How about exploring other peoples' colours too? Like Marcel Dzama and the root-beer powder painting group in Winnipeg in the 90s? Or Beam Paints, Indigenous foraged colours from M'Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island in the right now? Culture, history, and please! So many ink tests. My eyes are thirsty for them after the sea of digital colour...
Marcel’s rootbeer was an early inspiration. Among Beam and Rūta continue to be. Nice natural ink bat from Marcel in my book Make Ink and a shout out to Beem paints in the back. It’s a great idea tons of hero’s and fore-bearers out there.
I love that you get some money toward what you are doing. I love your ramblings, I would love to try making ink. It not in my time restraints at the moment. I would still love to be a part of this community.
On a side note I am a chinese herbalist and am about to send a ink/dye artist in Scotland some Zi Cao to try to get some colour from and some Hong Hua that went out of date for use.
Next question how much and would the money stop the flow ?
'tuition' makes me think of learning goals. I'd love to be able to easily connect and collaborate with people who share similar learning goals - documentation of progress-making, provocative questions, feedback...thank you for asking us!
Goals is a great idea
i would love to have small ink-making kits or kit pieces available. i already have the basics you outline in your book, but think if you could share small pieces of pigment with which i could make ink at home...?
Recently discovered the book and love it. I am in the UK so interested in making (l)inks with ink-makers and foragers here. Have the sub fatigue thing too but would be willing to pay to stay involved....
I wonder if there could be geographical hubs/ nodes / blots ?
This is a really interesting idea to me. I have recently relocated most of my life from the prairies to the east coast, and I am slowly finding my way into a completely different and unfamiliar ecosystem, and all its potential. There is a specificity to colour, and how one responds to it as well, that is tied to place and relationship to place. It's a rich source of ideas and discussion about diversity!
More of what you are already doing as the blend of fact, folklore, creativity, visuals and artistry is so interesting to read. Maybe an occasional video and links if you are so inclined. Thanks again. I’m happy to make a small monthly contribution but would préfère an annual subscription.
lots of gorgeous ink tests to look at, a warm bath for my retinas! I love hearing about the psycho-geography of foraging, provenance and rambling around
I especially enjoyed your newsletter today, Jason, regarding your connection to silver through childhood family experiences and then your experiment to make a silver-colored egg. Every ‘thing’ on Earth has a history/pre-history that can provide meaning for humans. That’s what initially enthused me when I first read your Forager’s Ink book. You were finding color in everything, including cigarette butts, and weren’t limiting yourself to natural plants, fibers, and so on. I would be interested in connecting the making of color with personal meaning, as part of what you are building. Thanks for listening.
Know I am a bit late for the party but I would like to be a part of this community. I really enjoy your weekly ramblings. They are a helpful dose of different kinds of wonderings and images in a quiet sort of way.
Thanks, there is no deadline on the party. I think its already working. My ramblings continue every week and people are signing up to comment and be part of a community. So far not too much recipe sharing but the revolution is still young.
Place-based stories visualized through maps and historical text would be fascinating! Of course some ink tests to round it all up.
What I have found most valuable about your newsletter is your accounts of seeing and experiencing color. I feel transported and invigorated to create and explore. So, more than information, I would find this second tier to be most beneficial if it had that same catalystic, wonderful quality. Perhaps in the form of challenges and show-and-tell? Randomized ink sharing through the mail between participants? Beautiful photography and poetry?
To be honest, I like the way your newsletter already is - writing, images and length. I am not looking for more as I enjoy the voice you create using this current format. I am not looking for something more extensive either. As for recipes, there are plenty in your book already, some that I have tried out and many more to go.
What about a monthly interactive assignment - kind of like a photo club - where you name a material or a colour and everyone can send you their interpretations of the theme and you could post a little gallery of community submissions?
Oooh!!! I really looooove this!!!!!!! Imagine materials from the whole earth coming together in one assignment!!
I love the idea, although not working at present, I think I will try it out. I love new recipes I can try and words, descriptions of work. Stories through ink.
I would love to learn more about different practical applications of the ink, but not just on paper. I don't need it all to be sucessful - experiments and failures are useful to me too. I'm using your ink recipes to stain/print/make surface patterns on leather and textiles (for products and art), but I want to screen print with this stuff too. I want to learn / have the opportunity to share all the ways we can use this magical stuff. Paying for individual lessons/corners of creativity would suit me better than a more hefty subscribe-to-all-of-it model. That would also allow you to see which individual areas were more popular and lucrative (otherwise you risk ppl doing the pay-Patreon-for-one-month-and-rinse-all-the-content-and-leave thing). Love your work, it's wonderful.
First, yes I would be interested. The posts are meaningful and contribute a great deal.
I wonder if you have looked at Kristian Brevik's instagram posts (Kbrevik_whalefall) and the zines he sells. They are amazing and would lend themselves to your thinking.
I also think you may want to gather a few academic types and consider an edited journal on inks.
It's all good and exciting.
I agree with many of the suggestions below. Would love to get more tips and tricks on altering certain recipes, but also have access to resources. I love the idea of community and collaboration where we can share our experiments, share recipes, ideas and histories.
It sounds like we all want similar things to come out of a paid subscription ie education, kits, recipes, the rambling, community, etc. But maybe what the focus should be on is the “how” and the “how do we keep it going” if we don’t want to run the risks of “does money stop the flow”. I’m not sure how to tackle this but very much open to collab!
Color has an emotional impact. As a small child I recall the feeling I had as I colored a yellow space
next to a green area. The colors were simple pure crayons. Most likely a small pack, nothing fancy.
When I taught color to older elementary students I would discuss the vibrations and light waves. There is more to color than meets the eye.
Recipes and detail information on how to make the color ink you show in the photograph would be essential for a paid version
Good to hear!