Making Ink from Natural Elements

Many people ask me how to make ink. My response is always, “It’s actually pretty simple—all you need to do is extract the color.” Most often, this is done with water and heat. The real masters of color extraction are dyers, who have long worked with plants to coax out their hues. For ink, you can use nearly any part of a plant: flowers (like blanket flower), stems and leaves (such as amaranth), seeds (like walnuts) and even roots (like beets).
One key difference between making ink and making dye is the amount of material needed. While dye requires a substantial quantity of plant matter to saturate fabric, ink needs only a small amount.
This summer, I gave a demonstration on ink-making and shared how colors can be adjusted with modifiers. By shifting the pH, the ink itself transforms. Some of my favorite modifiers include citric acid, alum, washing soda, and iron phosphate.
Unlike dye, my inks aren’t made to withstand countless washings or years of wear. Instead, they become part of my artwork. In my final show at Taza Coffee in the Adams County Government building, I will present Time Lapse, a series of 20 paintings.
Time Lapse (Change) is a quiet meditation on what we’ve gained and what we’ve lost: the wisdom once passed down through generations, the deep knowledge of soil and seasons overshadowed by mechanization, and the disappearance of small family farms. 
As agriculture grows increasingly industrialized, the intimate connection people once held with the land slips further away. My work brings these shifts into focus, honoring both the beauty of what remains and the melancholy of what’s gone.
My personal disconnection mirrors our collective one. Each of my techniques emerges from hands-on experimentation—failures and surprises alike. Through this process, I’ve come to embrace the impermanence of natural pigments and the fragile beauty they carry.