Teaching Artist Residency: Natural Ink
In conjunction with Gage Academy of Arts, I had a teaching artist residency at Summit Atlas. This year, I lead three two-week sessions for middle and high school students. In each of the sessions the focus was: learn how to create natural inks and utilize it in student’s artwork.
pH Modifiers and Mixing Exploration
For the first few days students created eight inks. These inks were created from a range of minerals and plants that were locally foraged or found in the kitchen. In general the top two favorite colors came from blackberries and charcoal.
Student explored the concept of the pH scale to diversify and expand their color palettes. Through experimentation they could see how some of the inks would change with pH modifiers. For instance, blackberry ink looks purple when by itself, bright pink when lemon is added, blue when vinegar is added, and green with the addition of baking soda. One item that students really took to was the mixing of inks with the pH modifiers. They got to put on their explorers hat to see what other colors they could get. The combinations were endless! There was creation of: warm reds, vibrant greens, bright oranges, slate greys, and many more.
Inspiration
The beginning of each of the sessions started out with students learning how to use a dip pen and techniques for painting with ink. They progressed to creating art pieces and a poem by Whitney Hanson served as inspiration for their work. The poem asked, who are you and it goes on to answer this question by listing all the things that they love. Students used this poem as an impetus for their work.
Repeating Patterns
The high school students worked on a project that was rooted in a real life application. They learned the mechanics of creating a repeating pattern. They learned how to create one block that could infinitesimally repeat to the side and up/down. The single block of the cactus pattern is on the left and shown in repeat on the right.
Each student was asked to consider where their pattern could live in the real world. Some students noted that theirs might work: as a journal cover, a fabric pattern on an apron, or a digital banner on a website.
On the last day I received a few thank you notes. It brightened my day to see those kind words.
