Making ink from plants
I am infatuated with ink. Some people collect baseball cards or figurines. I collect ink. Recently, I learned how to make it myself. And now, I am sharing it with you!
Watch videos of my production process below.
Samples of my handmade inks with a calligraphy pen and nib, from left: Oregon Grape ink, Oregon Walnut ink and Oregon White Oak Gall ink.
My outdoor kitchen: the ink-making process
My makeshift ink-making kitchen in my Portland, Oregon backyard.
It started with a particularly juicy summer season in my garden in 2022. I had planted several Oregon Grape shrubs that had reached maturity, and they were prolific with dusty bluish-purple fruits. I signed up for two classes on how to make ink from plants and read a few books (see resources list below).
After harvesting about a gallon of ripe Oregon Grape berries, I got to work. I set up a makeshift kitchen in my backyard with a propane-powered camp stove, several quart-size canning jars and a handful of cooking utensils I bought secondhand at a thrift store.
After some fits of cursing from scorching the pan on my first batch, my second batch yielded a lovely deep purple syrup that looked good enough to eat.
(NOTE: never eat ink!!!!)
I was hooked. Two more batches swiftly followed: walnut ink made from nuts I harvested near our neighborhood urban farm, and another special batch of Oak Gall ink made from galls I harvested from the native Oregon White Oak trees in my own backyard and around the Portland region.
Super Natural Ink… now available for you
Want to get your hands on some of my handmade super natural ink? Since I make these inks by hand in very small batches only when the ink-making plants are in season, there is a limited amount available. Get it before it’s gone!
Resources for making ink
Make Ink: A Forager’s Guide to Natural Inkmaking, by Jason Logan jasonslogan.com
Wild Inks & Paints: A Seasonal Palette, by Joumana Medlej. majnouna.com
Botanical Inks: From Blossom to Bottle, workshop by Carolyn Sweeney and WildCraft Studio School in Portland, Oregon. strataink.com. Carolyn also sells lovely inks in her online shop.
Foraging for Color, workshop by Daniela Naomi Molnar, danielamolnar.com.
