I've been reading up on how to make inks from natural materials, and following the experiments of others. It's not a difficult process, but I don't have quite everything I need at the moment.
No worries! I decided to go ahead and try a very crude method today without fancy stuff like a dedicated pan for boiling things in (instead of one of Michael's cooking pans). I also don't have gum arabic, or an essential oil to prevent mold.
First, I picked a lot of flowers off of that plant across the street. In case you're wondering the stems are incredibly sticky. I washed my hands with soap and that did not get rid of the stickiness! I tried some hand sanitizer with alcohol in it and that did the trick.
The flowers have a nice fresh smell. Not "flowery" at all - just fresh. And they're so tiny!
I picked them off of the sticky stems, and filled up a salsa jar.
Then I smashed them with a stick!
Since I didn't have a pan to boil them in, I poured boiling water over them into the jar, then set it in the sun all afternoon to keep it warm as long as possible.
The water is taking on a pink hue, and I've tested it on a piece of watercolor paper - pretty pale! The color shows up a bit better on a paper towel. Tomorrow I will strain the flowers out, and let it sit in the sun again with the lid off so it can evaporate a bit. For a first try and not following the directions closely, it's still turning out interesting!
I really miss being able to dash off to the thrift store - soon! I'll get my hands on a dedicated plant boiling pan before long, as well as a few of the other vital ingredients to make proper ink. In the meantime, I'll report back tomorrow after I've messed around with this batch some more. I should have some decent marks on paper to share. If nothing else, it's very pretty pink water!
Cheers!
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