Wild Colour by the Forest of Dartmoor - Iron Gall Ink
Every specimen in this series begins with the marble galls of Andricus kollari, gathered from Dartmoor oaks. The galls are steeped and combined with iron II sulphate following a recipe scribes and dyers would recognise from centuries of use. The straw-gold washes are the unmodified oak gall ink; the black and grey pools are the addition of iron II sulphate. Together, they form iron gall ink.
Each piece was made with the same method of application, but the final result is at the whim of the alchemical reactions on the page. Variations in gall, water, weather and paper mean no two have dried alike. Some read as a horizon, some as a tor rising out of mist, and some simply as a record of a chemical reaction taking place.
Two specimens in the collection were modified with tin, which shifts the palette toward a white crackle that is reminiscent of a pottery glaze.
The ink is applied to 270gsm handmade watercolour paper made by Barcham Green around 1983. Each piece is captioned by letterpress in an edition of 18.
The ink work on every sheet is unique.
Details
- Paper: 14 × 19.5 cm.
- Framed: 24 × 33 cm
- Botanical ink foraged on Dartmoor, with gum arabic.
- Modifiers: iron II sulphate (and tin, where noted)
- Letterpress caption in synthetic ink from Hawthorn Printmakers
- Unique ink work; letterpress edition of 18; unsigned, with a certificate of authenticity
- £165 each, inclusive of shipping within the UK
